#girldad x2 w/@klozadamorgan, Exec Director @CityForwardCol, always a Civics teacher, Obamillenial, cheesehead who knows what it means. INTJ/P, heavy on the I.
@WillFlandersWI@SenChrisLarson As are we @cfc_mke — just in the MKE portion of the district, students in public charter and private schools are seeing ~$7M LESS than their public school counterparts this year.
Here’s the core per-Phil funding gap for MKE for the current (25-26) SY.
At least a quarter of K–3 teachers aren’t fully committed to the science of reading.
In disadvantaged schools, it’s at least a third.
That gap matters.👇https://t.co/ncn3d6dHCL
1) diversity of opinion in the @WisDems primary field is good!
2) f/u for @TheOtherMandela@FrancescaHongWI & @keldahelenroys - what’s their plan for >30k MKE students?
3) per @cfc_mke polling, choice is a 57% support issue, incl majorities of undecided Dems and independents
👏🏿 this is the way; it’s a “no-brainer” that can benefit ALL students and schools — and per polling both from @DFER_News and separately from us @cfc_mke, it’s got solid bipartisan majority support.
NEW: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Missy Hughes says she’d opt into the Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Education Freedom Tax Credit program, which Dem Gov. Tony Evers refused to do. It would allow people to get a tax credit for donations to WI Scholarship Granting Organizations.
More than half of the country’s 50 largest school districts are poised to or already have made cuts, or are facing a reported deficit. https://t.co/mRBpnbsGUY
"I don't know that this particular vote will be the key issue, but I think we can absolutely bet that property taxes and school funding are going to be high on the agenda for the fall campaign for both parties."
Marquette Law School poll dir Charles Franklin on tax relief poll:
@cfc_mke@WisPolicyForum See also this op-ed from a former MPS superintendent in @journalsentinel, giving the full context on this
MPS is now a 'hostile partner' to successful public schools | Opinion
https://t.co/kZSqvhnWHn
I actually agree for the most part with @MilwaukeeMPS School Board member Chris Fons’ vote — MPS needed to demonstrate fiscal competence, & this budget begins some long-overdue work.
But as a fellow social studies teacher, I’m compelled to address some errors & misinfo 🧵
2) Fons continues to have ideological blinders around PUBLIC charter schools, and school choice more broadly.
On charters: as we @cfc_mke, the @WisPolicyForum, and even MPS admin note, rejecting charters will cost MPS $40M+/yr in revenue
See Key 4: https://t.co/dPyLt81H8g
Thanks to @StorytellerRyan@SpectrumNews1WI for having me on to talk about school funding & why we’re all feeling the property tax pain. WI spends $12.25B(!) on K12 schools - but we @cfc_mke believe there’s a better way to slice the pie.
https://t.co/cxV7zfH41y
I’ve shared our take on @620wtmj with @StephenScaffid1 and @KristinBrey, on @SpectrumNews1WI and in the @journalsentinel — we need a new approach, one that puts ALL our students first, not systems & sectors.
30+ other states have done it - it’s past time for WI to join them.
“This funding system is broken.”
@colleston of City Forward Collective old @StephenScaffid1 and @KristinBrey what lawmakers need to fix in Wisconsin education.
Hear more on Point Taken!
@WisconsinDPI is tilting at windmills with listening groups and “portraits”, they’re missing the mark on implementation of Act 20 & reforms that have driven gains in Southern Surge states.
WI was bottom 5 in reading recovery - and MKE behind 99% of districts. Let’s get focused
And, our polling @cfc_mke has been equally clear: voters in MKE understand the issue, and by an overwhelming margin (66-11 in our most recent poll), they want to see @MilwaukeeMPS close & consolidate schools rather than seek another property tax hike.
This remains unfinished business for @MilwaukeeMPS — the facilities plan was promised to voters before the 2024 30% tax hike referendum passed.
The clarity on MPS’ underutilized schools is welcome — but 2.5 years later, we still don’t even have a firm answer on timeline.
News we didn't get into with MPS last night -- Supt. Cassellius says the district still has no timeline for when it will have a list of recommended schools to close/merge.
"I think it's gonna take a while...just because it took a little longer to get our fiscal health in order"
We’ve been clear @cfc_mke: MPS is spending $60M+/yr that it doesn’t have, to keep open schools that it doesn’t need. It’s bad for students, it’s bad for taxpayers.
We need a plan, and we need to act - kicking the can down the road only runs up the tab.
https://t.co/vhHPBFmmYq