Have been happily pondering the restoration of service hours at the Milwaukee Public Library and the city’s much-welcome move to twice-monthly collection of recyclables.
Then I think of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed 2011-13 budget and I think, “Oh, never mind.”
Hey, here’s a way to reduce the cost of public services! Don’t provide them to legislative Republicans who vote for this travesty of stripping public workers of their collective bargaining rights. I’m sure that Leah Vukmir would be OK with not having her garbage collected if it helps close the state deficit!
Killed last night by Republicans trying to prove how tough they are.
What a victory! Running over public employees, the Open Meetings law, and general respect for Wisconsin’s government all at once.
This will take years and years and years to repair.
It was a lesson in how not to behave.
Sickening.
There was a big pro-worker crowd at the Wauwatosa Library at last night’s town hall meeting with State Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Republican US Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, apologists for Gov. Scott Walker.
The meeting at the Wauwatosa Public Library ended early. This photo is by Steve Brachman.
Why, oh why, should City of Milwaukee property taxpayers subsidize some rich kid attending a private school in River Hills?
Gov. Scott Walker says he wants to “phase in” a repeal of income limits on students enrolled in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. From his budget:
The Governor recommends the following changes to the income eligibility requirements for the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program for students who did not attend a Choice school in the 2010-11 school year as either a choice or nonchoice pupil as follows: (a) repeal all income eligibility requirements to receive the state-funded tuition payment; (b) prohibit the participating school from charging tuition above the state payment for pupils with family incomes below 325 percent of the federal poverty level; (c) allow participating schools to charge tuition above the amount of the state payment for pupils with family incomes above 325 percent of the federal poverty level; (d) determine family income as it relates to the federal poverty level only at the time of initial application; and (e) require the participating school to cite the amount of the state payment in the letter of acceptance.
Let’s think about this one for a minute. Walker wants to repeal income eligibility criteria for anyone who did not attend a Choice school previously. That’s one helluva “phase.” (Plus, it is hard to believe that students enrolled in Choice schools this year will be ultimately exempted from this particular gravy train. Of course parents of the relatively few kids who wouldn’t qualify for the Choice subsidy will scream bloody murder, and it’s a good bet legislators will listen. )If this particular piece of budget goes through, look for it to be broader than it is.
Walker’s budget also would expand the Choice program to include any qualifying school in Milwaukee County.This is very, very, very bad news for city of Milwaukee property taxpayers. Here is why:
Each Choice student is publicly funded to the tune of $6,442 this school year, a figure Walker proposes in his budget to hold flat.
Of that $6,442, a generous $2,473.73 is deducted from MPS’ state aid. MPS levies property taxes to offset the state aid loss. This school year, city property taxpayers ponied up more than $50 million to pay for the Choice program.
Under Walker’s proposal, very, very, very wealthy kids would be eligible for the Choice program and would be able to go to school in the suburbs. For each of those kids, MPS would lose money from its (greatly reduced, under Walker’s proposal) state aid pot. The district in turn likely will raise property taxes to recover the money now subsidizing rich kids’ private school educations.
Thus, you have it. The school system charged with educating some of the poorest students in the state will be forced to subsidize the suburban private school tuitions of children from very comfortable or wealthy families. The district will be allowed to recover the money from homeowners in one of the poorest large cities in the country.
Meanwhile, kids living in Milwaukee County suburbs — even poor kids — would not be eligible to attend schools in their own communities under the Choice program. Suburban school districts would be spared the financial hit that Milwaukee residents will bear so that rich city kids can be subsidized at suburban private schools.
Huh. Go figure.
Full disclosure: I am an MPS employee. This blog is not controlled by the district administration or the School Board and the opinions expressed here are mine.