March 2009

Recently Governor Doyle introduced his Biennial Budget (AB75) for the 2009-2011 cycle. The key proposed items that would directly impact education include:

- Removing the QEO (qualified economic offer)

- An arbitrator shall not make the ability to pay a primary consideration when deciding a contract dispute

- No adjustment to the revenue limits. No tweaks or adjustments to help districts with declining enrollment

We are disappointed in the proposed budget, as we had hoped that that the Governor would at least include some relief for districts with declining enrollment. We contend that these proposals not only do not support districts in their effort to maintain quality education but have a potentially serious negative fiscal impact.

The bill has been referred to the Joint Finance Committee, who will now be working on a budget version to present to the Legislature. We encourage you to contact the Governor and the Joint Finance Committee to encourage them to include provisions that will adequately address the financial challenges faced by school districts throughout Wisconsin.

Constituents will have an opportunity to attend the Joint Finance Committee Budget Hearings when the committee meets at State Fair Park on March 23 from 10 – 4:00. We encourage ASMTS members to attend even a portion of this meeting to show your concern over the public education situation.

Listed below are the members of the Joint Finance Committee and include Alberta Darling who is the Senator for our district.

Senate Members

Mark Miller – co-chair – sen.miller@legis.wisconsin.gov

Dave Hansen - sen.hansen@legis.wisconsin.gov

Lena Taylor - sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov

John Lehman - sen.lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov

Judy Robson - sen.robson@legis.wisconsin.gov

Julie Lassa - sen.lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov

Alberta Darling - sen.darling@legis.wisconsin.gov

Luther Olsen - sen.olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov

Assembly Members

Mark Pocan – co-chair - rep.pocan@legis.wisconsin.gov

Pedro Colon’ - rep.colon@legis.wisconsin.gov

Cory Mason - rep.mason@legis.wisconsin.gov

Jennifer Shilling - rep.shilling@legis.wisconsin.gov

Gary Sherman - rep.sherman@legis.wisconsin.gov

Tamara Grigsby - rep.grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov

Robin Vos - rep.vos@legis.wisconsin.gov

Phil Montgomery - rep.montgomery@legis.wisconsin.gov

The legislature needs to hear from you now. Please take the time to write or call to voice your concerns.

Thank you,

Nanci Schiman
Chairperson

Mary Sullivan
Legislative Chairperson

Did you know that the current public school funding legislation . . .

· Has been in existence since 1993 and largely ignores the issues that confront schools today. The current formula creates a harmful tension between schools and the communities they serve.

· Forces districts to reduce services to meet a mandated financial limit.

· Forces districts with level or declining enrollments to reducing services disproportionately. Over half of the districts in Wisconsin suffer this accelerated loss of services.

Why do other states seem to find a way to avoid these educational problems and continue to grow their schools, their economic engines of the future, in ways Wisconsin once did?

Strong Communities need Strong Schools

We encourage you to join the Alliance for Strong Mequon Thiensville Schools and to contact your legislators to urge them to restructure the School Funding formula so that our district and districts across the state can maintain a strong education system.

Alliance for Strong Mequon-Thiensville Schools Statement of Operating Principles

ASMTS operates on the premise that providing a high-quality public education for the residents of Mequon-Thiensville is a communal priority.
ASMTS operates on the premise that it is the responsibility of state and local elected officials to make public education a priority and to take actions reflective of and consistent with that responsibility.
ASMTS operates on the premise that the ability of state and local elected officials to fulfill their responsibilities is enhanced when their constituencies are knowledgeable and active in the legislative process as it relates to educational issues.

Based upon the foregoing, ASMTS may become involved in some or all of the following activities:

Educate Mequon-Thiensville residents about important issues and developments that affect public education in the community.
Communicate with elected officials regarding matters and developments that affect public education in the community.
Encourage and/or facilitate communication between community residents and elected officials.
Advocate for or against current or proposed legislation affecting public education.
Encourage and/or facilitate the creation of similar groups in other communities for purposes of collaboration.

Matters that fall outside the scope and mission of ASMTS include, but are not limited to:

collective bargaining and contract issues
curriculum design and content
private fundraising initiatives
internal operations of the district schools