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The Stakes In the 2022 Elections Are Enormous
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 3, 2022
As the 2021-22 Legislative Session grinds to its conclusion, I can’t help thinking that we have just struggled through the worst legislative session for public education in my lifetime.
Consider the following developments from this session:
- Lawmakers froze school revenue caps and forced Wisconsin school districts to redirect one-time federal COVID relief funding to pay for ongoing school operations.
- Lawmakers provided very little help for schools as we navigated the unpredictable challenges posed by the pandemic.
- Lawmakers continued to advance legislation adding more K-12 instructional requirements, testing and reporting…during the pandemic!
- Lawmakers again attempted to restrict a community’s ability to go to referendum in support of educational opportunities for children.
- Lawmakers tried to impose unrestricted voucher expansion and a “Parental Bill of Rights” that legal experts concluded would “make it extremely difficult to manage and deliver a successful education to all students”.
School leaders throughout Wisconsin are focusing more and more on how their district can weather the fiscal impact of frozen 2021-23 revenue caps, the impending ESSER fiscal cliff, and inflation rising at a rate of 4.7% or more. And, as we digest new reports showing that Wisconsin has fallen further below the national average in per-pupil spending, we wonder how our lawmakers will address these K-12 fiscal challenges in the 2023-25 state budget.
One thing is for certain. The stakes in the 2022 elections are enormous. After the elections, anti-public education forces will once again seek to deny school districts the state budget funds necessary to meet student needs.
I want to thank you all for building and strengthening your relationships with your legislators to advocate more effectively on behalf of the children you serve. But, we have a lot more work to do. Our first job is to help elect and re-elect “friends of public education” in the 2022 elections. Vital resources for Wisconsin school children hang in the balance.
Support for SAA PAC is critical to our continued efforts to stand up for children in the State Capitol. If you are interested in supporting SAA PAC, simply click here to make a secure, online donation or mail your check to: SAA PAC, 4797 Hayes Road, Madison, WI 53704.
For more information on SAA PAC, please see SAA PAC Frequently Asked Questions and The “Why” Behind SAA PAC.
Please note, the Wisconsin Elections Commission advises SAA members to make online donations from a personal device and not on school servers.
Thank you for your support and for your continued efforts on behalf of the children you serve. If you have any questions, please contact me at (608) 242-1370 or john.forester@wsaa.org.
Paid for by the School Administrators Alliance Political Action Committee, Beth Holznagel, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s agent or committee.
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