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Assembly Republicans call on Governor Evers to increase funding to schools that had in-person classes

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Assembly Republicans want Governor Evers to prioritize some 20 million dollars in emergency school funding for rural districts that have been holding in-person classes for most of the current year.

State Representative Pat Snyder said schools that prioritized in person classes should get more of that funding. 

“Some of the districts that haven’t been in like say through the first half of this year but came in after Christmas, they wouldn’t maybe get as much as the ones that have been in since September.”

Snyder says says those districts carried a heavy, unplanned financial burden. “Cost they’ve had in cleaning and staff and all the other things that are associated with it.”

That 20 million dollars of CARES act funding is under the Governor’s personal discretion. The state GOP already moved 66 million dollars of CARES funding to those schools earlier this year. 

AG Kaul joins multistate push for federal student loan forgiveness

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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining a multi state push for federal student loan forgiveness from the Biden Administration.

Kaul says the issue is a matter of equality and justice, especially when loan agencies and for-profit schools have abused the federal student loan system.

“To hold accountable for-profit colleges that have engaged in predatory tactics and to try to secure a debt forgiveness for people who were victims. And we can make a real difference with people who are stuck with in some cases very significant loans and sometimes a degree that’s not worth much more than the paper that it’s written on.”

Kaul says existing loan forgiveness programs are slow to act, and that most people who qualify for the programs are never granted acceptance. 

“This is a benefit that would immediately be extended to people, it could lead to immediate relief in people’s lives.”

The pair of resolutions in Congress would call for President Biden to forgive 50-thousand dollars of federal student loans, something that Kaul and the other Attorneys General say is entirely within the President’s power to act on.

Underly and Kerr advance in state superintendent primary

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Pecatonica Area School District superintendent Jill Underly and retired Brown Deer superintendent Deborah Kerr are the two finalists for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Underly and Kerr won the most votes in Tuesday’s primary which included a total of seven candidates.

Underly, who had the backing of the state’s largest teachers union, led the field with 27% of the vote. Kerr – backed by Republicans but calling herself a Democrat – received 26% of primary votes.

Current State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor is not seeking another term.  Underly and Kerr will meet in the April 6th election.

Primary voters will narrow field of 7 Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates

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Voters will narrow a field of seven candidates for state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Absentee voting is already underway for Tuesday’s spring primary. State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor, appointed after longtime superintendent Tony Evers was elected governor, is not seeking another term.

The candidates are Sheila Briggs, an assistant state school superintendent, Joe Fenrick, a high school science teacher from Fond du Lac, Troy Gunderson, a retired West Salem School District superintendent, Shandowlyon “Shawn” Hendricks-Williams, director of Evers’ Milwaukee office, Deborah Kerr, a retired Brown Deer superintendent, Steve Krull, principal of Garland Elementary School in Milwaukee, and Jill Underly, Pecatonica Area School District superintendent.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction acts as the executive head of the Department of Public Instruction, serves a four year term, and is officially a non-partisan office.

Joint Finance moves some federal education funds to schools that held in person classes

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Republican members of the state’s Joint Finance Committee have reallocated some federal school funding to prioritize school districts who were open for in person classes this year.

Co-Chair Senator Howard Marklein says schools ought to be rewarded for bringing kids back to school buildings. 

“The motion before us today provides an incentive to those districts that have been doing the right thing and by offering in-person instruction. It also provides an incentive for those schools that are not currently open to in-person instruction.”

But Democrat Senator Jon Erpenbach says that Republicans are being punitive for school districts that had to make a tough choice to move to remote learning.

“Teachers adapted quickly. Administrators adapted quickly. Parents adapted quickly, and the kids adapted quickly. They shouldn’t be punished for that. Individual school districts, through their boards, their elected boards, made their own decisions based on what their community as a whole wanted. They shouldn’t be punished for that.”

The move redirects around $66 million dollars in funding from the program. Another 615 million dollars is directly awarded by the federal government and cannot be moved. 

Evers appoints Dem donor John Miller to Board of Regents

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John Miller

Governor Tony Evers has appointed a Democratic donor to an open seat on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

John Miller will replace Jose Delgado, who died of a stroke last month. Miller is CEO of Miller-Saint Nazianz Farm Equipment Company. He’s given tens-of-thousands of dollars to Democrats during political campaigns.

“As a large employer, former public servant, and active community member on various boards and organizations, including the University of Wisconsin Law School Board of Visitors, John will bring a well rounded perspective to the UW Board of Regents,” a statement from Evers said. “John recognizes the role the UW System plays in connecting the dots across our communities, our economy, and the culture and history of our state, as well as our future, and I believe he will be an excellent addition to the Board of Regents.”

“I began my career serving the public and believe that I have an affinity for helping government institutions better serve their constituencies,” said Miller. “With the onset of Coronavirus and ever-present budgetary challenges present today, the University System is facing a profound set of dilemmas that require smart advocacy and adherence to the core belief that public universities must play a vital role in improving the health, quality of life, the environment, and agricultural sector for all citizens of Wisconsin.”

Miller will serve out the rest of Delgado’s term, which expires in May. Evers says he will reappoint Miller then.

 

UW-Madison education dean says schools, parents need to allow for robust civics education

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With political polarization on the rise in American Culture, what room does civics education have in preparing children for their entry into society?

UW-Madison education dean Diana Hess says schools and parents should not shy away from teaching about current events in their civics courses, like the Black Lives Matter Movement or the riots at the US Capitol.

“I think what happened on January 6th was incredibly serious and Incredibly important and it needs to be included in the curriculum.”

Hess says that parents need to give their students some room to learn, which is why the events this summer in Burlington where parents violently objected to a lesson on the Black Lives Matter Movement is a perfect demonstration.

“They should want their children to learn about political issues, and to learn about multiple and competing views on political issues. And we know that in high quality political education that teachers can do that in a way that is not in fact pushing children to a certain point of view.”

Dr. Hess says that a strong civics education among students could be a step towards undoing the highly partisan political landscape that we currently live in, and will help our students mature into politically healthy citizens.

Report finds UW System competitiveness threatened by financial challenges

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A new report indicates the tuition freeze imposed on the University of Wisconsin System has led to many financial challenges.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum report says the tuition freeze is choking off a stream of new revenue. It also says the flagship campus in Madison is slipping behind its competitors as a major research institution, and campus buildings are starting to deteriorate.

The Policy forum also found that stagnant state funding and declining enrollment have added to difficulties for the UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS).

The group Badgers United is advocating for a tuition increase, more money in the state budget, and a billion-dollar line of credit for UW Madison.

Beloit College will test students weekly for COVID-19

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Beloit College is testing all of its students for COVID-19 weekly.  The College has partnered with Abbott Laboratories in Chicago to provide weekly on-campus COVID-19 testing for all of its roughly 1400 undergraduates.

The College will cover the costs of inner nasal swab tests which produce results in 20 minutes or less. According to a press release the College will also hire up to eight certified nursing assistants or emergency medicine technicians to staff the new testing center.

Since resuming in-person classes, Beloit’s policy has included cloth face coverings, physical distancing, frequent hand-washing and completing daily wellness checks on an app.

Governor Evers won’t be issuing a school closure order, still deciding on mask order extension

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Governor Tony Evers won’t be issuing any general school closure orders, after a swathe of districts have had cases of COVID-19.

Evers says that local school districts continue to be the best source for their own decisions on whether or not to reopen. 

“They are the experts on what resources they have locally. The ability to open safely is one that is a local decision.”

Evers says sending out a blanket order at this point would be confusing. 

“If you’re in a very small District where you have already small class sizes it’s much easier to provide social distancing for students than it is than in school districts where you don’t have that ability.”

The state has been providing guidelines to districts since before the start of the school year. 

The governor is also still mulling whether or not he’ll be extending the statewide masking order. Evers says that repeated legal action has hampered the state’s ability to combat COVID-19.

“We’re severely limited as to what we can do and now we’re seeing that even counties are severely limited to what they can do.”

He says he’d like to work with the Republican controlled legislature on the issue.

“The legislature seems reluctant to accomplish anything as it relates to restrictions so to put it bluntly we’re going to continue to do what we can do and masking is one of them and we have that until the 28th of this month.”

Evers first formal efforts to control COVID-19 through a public health order were struck down by the State Supreme Court, which ordered the Governor and the Legislature to work out a plan to handle the virus.

Republicans have not put forward their own plans on the issue.