The chair of the state Senate Education Committee says he’s glad to see officials with the state’s largest teachers union are open to talking about school reforms. State Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) says Republicans are still moving forward with their own proposals, but he says the Wisconsin Education Association Council is showing it at least realizes changes are needed.
WEAC on Tuesday proposed a series of reforms that would create an evaluation system for teachers, move to performance-based pay, and break up the Milwaukee public school district. Olsen says they are worth taking a closer look at, although he says some questions would need to be answered before they could become part of any GOP plan.
The Ripon Republican says he does have some serious concerns about a proposal to turn MPS in to several smaller school districts. He says many of the kids going to those schools move around a great deal, which could make it hard to get a consistent education if they move from one district to another.
Olsen hopes to have the Republican education reform plan introduced later this year.