The Four Foundations

Have you ever been "ghosted" by one of your elected representatives?  It's awful.  You call or email with a concern and then you get no response.  You try again and still nothing.  I think they are hoping we'll give up after the third time.  This happens to me a lot.  besides the automated "thank you for your submission," I get little to nothing from some of my representatives.  One never answers directly any of my requests or questions.  He does like to send me the occassional email brag letter that gets sent to everyone.  Another simply never responds at all.  

Clearly, these "representitives" have some kind of litmus test to determine to who they will listen or respond to.  The rest of us are left on the outside looking in.

This is unacceptable!  Everyone, regardless of political affiliation, beliefs, background, or income, deserves to be heard by the person elected to represent everyone. 

Anyone who has seen what I've done on Manitowoc City Council, on the MPSD School Board, or any of the other Boards, Committees, and Commissisons that I've served on (more on that here) knows I focus on what best serves all of us.  A Representative doesn't just serve those who voted for him.  He must listen to everyone, and make decisions based upon a knowledge of the wans and needs of everyone in the District.  As a classroom teacher, I saw the many different kinds of households (and the challemges they face) in our community.  I will always support what does the most good for the most people in our District.

All of Us means All of Us.

The State of Wisconsin spends about $50 million a day.  You should be able to understand what we're spendng money on and how much.  I promise to make sure you get an honest break down of what is in the bienial budget and show you what portion of overall spending it is too.  When State dollars are combined with Federal, I'll make sure you know that too.

The State budget is big and complicated, but that doesn't mean we can't do a better job of  showing you what is going on.

Similarly, many of the Bills at the Statehouse are so tangled up in legalese, that it's hard to decipher them.  I'll work to get legislation to have clear, plain introductions so there's no abiguity about what a bill is "supposed to" be doing.  I will also work to build in a check in process to verify that legislation is hitting its target.  You can pass all the laws you want, but you must make sure they are working.  

It's simple.  People who get up everyday and go to work and put in a full day's labor ought to have the full support of their government.  Today, too many laws have been passed that deny workers the right to bargain for fair and respectful treatment and an appropriate wage.  Every hard working Wisconsinite deserves to earn enough money to support their family.  Anything that stands in the way of that is wrong. 

I support creating a plan that will move us out of the ridiculous minimum wage we have now and incrementally move us to a living minimum wage that will have compulsory reviews to prevent going years with out the amount being adjusted to keep up with inflation.  I will also work to ensure everyone has the right to bargain for salary and benefits, individually or collectively. 

It's sad to see how Wisconsin's once  great educational reputation has been tarnished by a series of State actions which are, unquestionably, anti-education.

Let's start with the "voucher' system.  Under an assumption that competition would make all educational institutions better, the State created a system where parents may receive money from their local public school district to send a child to a private school if the families adjusted gross income was at or less than 220% of poverty.  There was a cap set on how many "voucher" student a district could subsidize.  This percentage was to go up 1% every year until a district reached 10% or the 25-26 school year.  Today, that cap is eliminated.  The MPSD has no idea what it will need to tax residents for the coming school year.  The last few years, MPSD has paid the maximum amount (over $6 millon for this last school year).   September may come with a fairly nasty sticker shock for taxpayers.

I have often referred to this as a "hidden tax" because unless someone like me is shouting about it, you may not even know that 20% of your local school tax levy goes to private schools.  And throughout this 'experiment' the quality of education in Wisconsin has continued to decline.  So much for competition making everyone better.  Public funds should go to public schools- as they were intended.

Add to this the State's constant refusal to pay it's fair share of education costs.  Long ago, the State offered a "three-legged stool" model for school financing.  The idea being that the State would pay 2/3 the costs of educating public school students and the local government would be responsible for the remaining 1/3.  Not a bad plan, but every year the State finds reasons why it cannot afford to pay the full 2/3 it initially promised.  School districts then have to tax more than 1/3 because they cannot compel the State to pay what it offered.  That's' two "hidden taxes" for those of you counting.

This system can be fixed.  First the State must commit to using public funds only to support Public Education.  Second, the State must set an amount it will send per pupil.  It is true that costs vary across Wisconsin, but they are generally higher in more affluent areas, therefore the costs borne locally may be higher as well.  Second, the State must address the very expensive costs for special education.  School districts can be overwhelmed by the needs of their students and the staff required to serve them.  I believe the State should cover 100% of the costs for Special edcation services at Public Schools.  I know this can't happen overnight, but we can incrementally improve the financing until we get there.