Newsmakers: Governor's Budget and Public Schools
To fix a budget deficit, Gov. Scott Walker has recommended a record $1-billion cut in state aid to public schools over the next two years and not allowing school districts to raise property taxes to make up those cuts. In a March 7 Newsmakers, three education leaders discussed how this would force cuts in local programs and larger class sizes, despite Walker’s plan to raise employee contributions for pensions and health insurance. Panelists were Joe Quick, government relations specialist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards; Jamie Benson, president of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and superintendent of the River Valley District, and Don Johnson, superintendent of the Middleton-Cross Plains School District.
