The Wisconsin PTA would like to be on record of approving the revisions to Chapter PI 40, relating to the youth options program.  The Wisconsin PTA has always advocated for the health and welfare of all children for 98 years. We believe that opportunities for children to obtain higher education credits from colleges, universities, and technical colleges benefits the child, parents, and institution of higher learning. Students who take this initiative show a commitment in the learning process of higher education. Wisconsin PTA believes in accountability and all parties involved understanding the process with this program. Therefore, we urge all parties vote for these revisions.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS:

SJR27, and its Assembly companion AJR35, were authored by Sen. Roger Breske, Eland, and Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts, Middleton.

SJR 27 calls on the Legislature to change the way Wisconsin funds its public schools by July 1, 2009. As outlined in the resolution, the changes should be along the lines of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) core principles. The resulting comprehensive reform would be something our coalition could support.

Partners in WAES and their friends from around the state delivered an important message to legislators, Nov. 15 - in the strongest way possible: Wisconsin's school-funding system is broken, it needs to be thrown out, and the Legislature needs to come up with a better plan by July 1, 2009. Our very own President-Elect Roxanne Starks spoke eloquently to the Senate Education Committee on the message from the Wisconsin PTA. President Elect Starks testimony was as follows:

"The Wisconsin PTA has been in existence for 99 years. Our role is about advocacy for the health & welfare of all children and youth in Wisconsin. One of our legislative priorities for the 2007-2008 year is school funding. This has been a priority for Wisconsin PTA since the QEO and revenue caps have been in existence. It is the belief of our membership that we must fix the current funding formula for our schools in Wisconsin."

The crisis we are in with funding our schools encompasses not just our urban school districts, but also our rural and suburban school districts. We can no longer ignore the importance of school funding. Funding public schools is the best investment for Wisconsin's economy as well as the future of our communities. The state constitution states that a large part of this investment is the responsibility of the state. The old funding system has to be thrown out and a new system must allow school districts to meet state and federal mandates especially the needs of all children particularly those with special needs.

I'm sure many of you will say that schools need to be more efficient or simply hold a referendum. You might even go so far as to say that there is no more money for schools. The point is our schools have cut to the bare bone and referendums are expensive and yes there is enough money for funding schools. You can't continue to take funds for schools and use it on other programs, spend it on tax rebates, tax exemptions, or even tax breaks.

"Bottom line, the system is broken. As elected officials, it is your job to fix it. Wisconsin PTA is nonpartisan; our membership will be watching all of you carefully with the upcoming November 2008 elections approaching to see exactly what you will do for the children of Wisconsin and their education," said President-Elect Starks

The audience for over six hours of testimony was the Senate Education Committee and the point of the message was support for Senate Joint Resolution 27. Committee chair Sen. John Lehman, Racine, said he expects the resolution to clear both his committee and the Senate. Its fate in the Assembly is uncertain and no committee hearing has been scheduled.