Editor:

Our union of educators supports and has been working toward the goal of holding all public school employees accountable for improving the education for students in our state. However, proposed legislation based on the governor’s proposals begs a lot of questions about what is actually being done to improve education. You cannot look past the fact that the governor cut $1.6 billion from public schools, a move that stands to eliminate school staff and increase class sizes for students.

The proposed legislation is political jockeying and rhetoric-and by being so vague, it positions the governor to have control of rule making that historically has been the constitutional authority of the Department of Public Instruction. It does nothing to address what parents across the state say is important-that Wisconsin students need access to a well-rounded education that includes smaller class sizes, art, music, foreign language, and career/technical education.

Parents and educators across the state want a more holistic approach to school accountability, and this legislation based on the governor’s proposals fails to deliver that.

Mary Bell, President, Wisconsin Education Association Council