With all the hubbub about the virtual schools in the news recently, I have to wonder why there is so much concern about the funding of the education of 3,500 students in Wisconsin's virtual schools, while there is no mention of the sad state of affairs in the funding of our public "brick and mortar" schools. I don't begrudge any child an excellent education, including those in virtual schools. Something is wrong, however, when things are this much out of proportion.
The current school funding system has forced many of our public schools to make so many cuts that they are on the verge of collapse. Schools in Wisconsin have three choices: referendum, consolidation or dissolution. Referenda are not popular with anyone, except perhaps the politicians who claim it is democracy in action. Besides, it doesn't solve the problem; it only puts off for a few years the next crisis. Consolidation isn't popular with anyone and can be a serious detriment to small communities whose identity, as well as jobs, rest in the school. Dissolution can have a domino effect on the surrounding school districts - when one closes, those around it have to take on the extra students and the extra debt.
So how is it that the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, Rep. Brett Davis, can so quickly introduce a bill to save virtual school funding, schedule and hold a hearing, and have the bill debated on the floor of the Assembly but is not even willing to hold a hearing on a resolution to discuss changing the way our public schools are funded?
Assembly Joint Resolution 35 was jointly introduced by Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts and Sen. Roger Breske. The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. John Lehman, held a hearing on this resolution where there was six hours of testimony with only one person speaking against it. Yet Rep. Davis refuses to even hold a hearing. Does that mean that all those students in the public schools don't matter?
So what about it, Rep. Davis? How about holding a hearing for the rest of Wisconsin's public school kids and not just the 3,500 in virtual schools?
The current school funding system has forced many of our public schools to make so many cuts that they are on the verge of collapse. Schools in Wisconsin have three choices: referendum, consolidation or dissolution. Referenda are not popular with anyone, except perhaps the politicians who claim it is democracy in action. Besides, it doesn't solve the problem; it only puts off for a few years the next crisis. Consolidation isn't popular with anyone and can be a serious detriment to small communities whose identity, as well as jobs, rest in the school. Dissolution can have a domino effect on the surrounding school districts - when one closes, those around it have to take on the extra students and the extra debt.
So how is it that the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, Rep. Brett Davis, can so quickly introduce a bill to save virtual school funding, schedule and hold a hearing, and have the bill debated on the floor of the Assembly but is not even willing to hold a hearing on a resolution to discuss changing the way our public schools are funded?
Assembly Joint Resolution 35 was jointly introduced by Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts and Sen. Roger Breske. The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. John Lehman, held a hearing on this resolution where there was six hours of testimony with only one person speaking against it. Yet Rep. Davis refuses to even hold a hearing. Does that mean that all those students in the public schools don't matter?
So what about it, Rep. Davis? How about holding a hearing for the rest of Wisconsin's public school kids and not just the 3,500 in virtual schools?
