To the editor:
The continued destruction of the public school system in Wisconsin needs to stop. The provisions of Act 10 eliminated teacher bargaining powers and effectively silenced their voices. Now reduced to second-class citizenship, these teachers would put their jobs in jeopardy if they made any strong protests in regard to the current reductions in public school budgets.
Similarly, administrative representatives have failed in their efforts to sway the conservative faction of the Legislature to restore the budget cuts to public schools. That puts the pressure on the parents of public school children who must assert their influence either through direct pressure or at the ballot box. These parents need to renew their commitment to children and public schools as being the most important element of their communities.
In another destructive direction, the present conservative Legislature not only cuts taxpayer money from public schools, but also uses this same taxpayer money to subsidize private schools, many of which are religious. The tradition in this state of separating church activities from those of the state has apparently been eroded.
The latest move of this conservative group will certainly turn out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Now they want the position of state superintendent of schools to be an appointed rather than an elected position. In other words, the superintendent would be appointed by the same group that continues to tear down the public school system in Wisconsin.
The direction of these policies of the conservative elements in the state Legislature will only continue to weaken one of the finest public school systems in the nation. The citizens of the great state of Wisconsin need to make their public schools a priority and confront those in the Legislature who are determined to destroy the public school system in Wisconsin.
Denise J. Riley,
Shawano
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