Wisconsin is 'Wild West' of Education, Falls Superintendent Says

Menomonee Falls Superintendent Patricia Greco says Wisconsin legislators are “walking away” from the needs of their schools and communities.

Greco was candid in her criticism of the state budget ‘s impact on education in a commentary she posted on Diane Ravtich’s blog. Ravitch is a professor and historian of education at New York University. Her educational blog received roughly 3.5 million visitors in less than a year, according to her personal biography.

In the lengthy comment, Greco said Wisconsin has become the “Wild West” of educational practice.

“The politics nationally, and within our state, are losing sight of community values, the best interest of local economies, and the future for our state,” Greco wrote.

You can read the rest of Greco’s commentary on Ravitch’s blog post.

Greco and the School Board have openly criticized state lawmakers in recent months as they pieced together the state budget bill in Madison. Expanding voucher system funding remains the primary point of contention from the district. 

State aid to the district has fallen 48 percent since the 2007-08 school year, and the local tax has risen 19 percent.

The voucher expansion would increase funding to voucher and independent charter schools by approximately $2,370 for each of the 96,000 students enrolled. Public school students, roughly 872,000 of them statewide, would receive a $150 per-student increase.

Greco said Falls schools are performing in the top 10 percent of districts in the state, but state funding continues to be diverted from public schools to fund the voucher expansion.

Earlier in June, the School Board was highly critical of local lawmakers. And the district twice sent a letter and met with local representatives to share their concerns about the state budget. The letter was very similar to Greco's comment on Ravitch's blog. 

The Assembly passed the budget bill in a quick vote last week. The vote was taken so quickly, Falls state Assemblyman Rep. Don Pridemore didn’t even cast a vote.

“I was expecting a very healthy debate in the Assembly, both with the Democrats who had over 200 amendments drafted, and with my fellow Republicans,” Pridemore said in a statement. “There were many other areas of the budget that had my support and I was disappointed that the vote occurred so unexpectedly that I wasn’t able to be on record with my vote.”

The state budget bill is currently sitting on Gov. Scott Walker’s desk, and it remains unknown what could be vetoed from the budget. Walker is scheduled to sign the budget Sunday in Pleasant Prairie, according to WISN.com.