LETTER: Republicans unfriendly to public education

To the editor:

Public education is the cornerstone of the success of our society. Support for local teachers is very important to the survival of public education.

The Republicans have not been friendly to public education. In February, the Legislature passed bills that do nothing to address the serious challenges facing educators, parents or their children. Evers called a special session to approve the investment of $750 million of the $3.8 billion surplus in our schools. The leaders gaveled in and immediately adjourned, thus ignoring the needs of struggling school districts.

Teachers’ exodus from classrooms began in 2011 when the Walker/Kleefisch administration cut almost $800 million in funding from K-12 education and passed Act 10 — reducing collective bargaining rights, health insurance and sick time from all public sector employees, including teachers.

Gov. Tony Evers has worked hard to increase funding for Wisconsin’s schools. The state’s two-thirds funding commitment has been restored. In his budget, he proposed returning some negotiation ability back to teachers. However, Republicans have not embraced any legislation that would make this possible. Democrats, on the other hand, have introduced a package of eight bills aiming to improve the working conditions and compensation within the profession.

The well-being of our state and the well-being of our public school educators are one and the same. It’s time that we entrust our teachers with the resources that our children, and our communities, need to thrive.

Our neighborhood public schools are the backbone of our communities. In order to improve education in the long term, only vote for candidates who support teachers and believe in improving public education.

Jan Koch, Shawano