As this issue of the Oconto County Times Herald hits the newsstands along the path around the Falls, the date will be July 1, the start of a new fiscal year and a new era for the school district. Dr. Dean Hess officially takes over as superintendent.
Even so, this observer will be around in July to tie up a few loose ends and to help with the transition.
Although the original plan was to spend Monday and Tuesday of this week as “clean out the office” days, instead I was part of an important press conference in Madison related to the state budget-writing process. I shared the following thoughts:
“Good morning. I am Dave Polashek and proud to say I am the superintendent in the Oconto Falls School District. I stand before you as a 45-year veteran of working in public schools, the last 37 as a school superintendent in Wisconsin. This gives me a perspective which allows me to honestly say I have never seen the lack of support for our public schools in Wisconsin as shown in this budget. I am not alone holding that view as we will hear today.
“As a former American history and government teacher, I often look to the past for guidance about the issues in today’s society. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote, ‘Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree.’
“We can take a number of lessons from that quote. First, the best government cannot rely solely on decisions made by elected officials, but rather on the will of the people. Politics is a participatory sport. In the last few months, we in Wisconsin find ourselves at a place in time in which people have spoken as never before in regard to the education-related provisions in the current budget being considered by our Legislature.
“Time and time again, from every corner of the state, educators, parents, school boards, editorial boards and many others have voiced their concern with the impact this proposed budget would have on our public schools. Not only have there been individual voices around educational concerns in this budget, but there has been collaboration and coalition building to an extent never seen before in Wisconsin. Jefferson would be proud.
“Parents are catching on. They have come to the realization that opportunity for students of every background and ability, who come into our classrooms each day with great hope and expectations, will be diminished if this budget is adopted as proposed. We wrestle with this in the Oconto Falls School District as we understand that not all the teachers who retire or are leaving our district will be replaced due to insufficient funding.
“Jefferson understood that in our society the best government and the overall improved quality of life require that minds be improved. An educated citizenry continues to be critical to achieving that goal. It seems as if the authors of this budget have turned their backs on Jefferson’s idealism and the obligation to provide educational opportunities for students in public schools guaranteed in the Wisconsin Constitution.
“We want to thank those individuals and organizations, some for the first time, who have stepped forward and joined the chorus in response to what appears to be a blatant assault on public schools, the very heart of our communities. Raising voices of concern took courage, but people are catching on that these are not times to sit on the sidelines.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank the legislators who have had the courage to respond to the messages sent by their constituents. It is not too late for other legislators to take to heart that message. School may be out for the summer, but the prospects for the start of a brighter school year this fall and for years to come will depend on the decisions made by a few people in Madison in the next several days. The people hope and trust that their voices have been heard.”
On the last official day as the superintendent of the Oconto Falls School District, it was great to proclaim proudly of that fact under the dome of the Wisconsin state Capitol.”
