RFArea REA September 2016 Meeting--Great Way to Begin the New Year

Great Kickoff to a New Year

It was great to see old friends and a few new ones at the first meeting of year on September 8, 2016. We gained two new members, Lesley Williams and Dianne Franklin, and hope that some of our new acquaintances will also join.  West Wind's patio was the perfect setting on this beautiful September morning to start the new year.

RFArea REA President Bernie Brohaugh welcomes 

everyone toour first meeting of the year as Patricia 

Hulne, Roger Hulne, and Tony Pedriana listen.

Because we know that local membership in RFArea REA is important in supporting WREA's statewide efforts, our local unit sent out more than 100 letters inviting new members as well as followup postcards to many people.  We were happy to see that some new folks took us up on our invitation.

We will be looking for volunteers for our Membership Committee because there is much to be done to bolster our numbers.  One letter and a postcard are good starts, but the personal touch--a phone call, a personal invitation--is always better.  But such efforts take teamwork.  So, please consider joining the membership team.  Contact Laura Zlogar at laura.w.zlogar@gmail.com.

Mary Foster, Ruth Wood, Margarita Hendrickson,
Evelyn Klein (back turned), and Adrianne Lemberg

We had a great lunch, caught up on summer travels and adventures, met some new friends, and had a great time. We are looking forward to having as many of you as possible at our next meeting.

Jamie Benson--RFSD Superintendent

River Falls School District Superintendent Jamie Benson

River Falls School District Superintendent Jamie Benson, our guest speaker, gave us an update on public education in Wisconsin--the factors that are affecting schools in Wisconsin and in River Falls.

While the primary focus of WREA is protecting the pensions of educators--teachers, principals, administrators, program assistants, bus drivers, and other support staff--we also want to continue to be advocates for public education in our state.  For that reason, we called on Superintendent Benson to give us a sense of the challenges facing the schools in our state.

Funding public education is the major challenge schools across the country face today.  But current policies and legislation coming out of Madison have made it even harder for Wisconsin schools to meet their needs.

50/50 Split:  Local schools in our state depend on 50% of their funding from the state and 50% from local property taxes.  In the past, the state provided 2/3 of that funding.  Obviously, districts with high property values fare much better than poor districts.  The state has provided no increases in per pupil aid for the past three years regardless of increasing costs of special education, the increase in the number of English Language Learners, transportation (a serious problem especially for rural districts), and building maintenance.  Declining enrollments exacerbate this funding problem.

Voucher Program Expansion:  The state legislature has continued to expand the voucher program in Wisconsin, in effect creating two separate taxpayer-funded educational systems.  The 135 private (mostly religious) schools in this program are in southeast Wisconsin, though expansion now includes some in Altoona, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, and elsewhere.

Roger Hulne and Tony Pedriana responding to 

Superintendent Benson

For 2016-17, a voucher for K-8 is $7,323; for grades 9-12, the amount is $7,969, amounts that are subtracted from the public school district's budget.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, "Taxpayer costs for the 2014-15 school year were $7.3 million.  Since the inception and through last school year, payments to private and religious schools in Wisconsin for the statewide voucher program total $10,557,520."

Voucher schools are not required to provide transportation for their students, so public school districts are obligated to transport students to these private schools.  Neither do most of these schools provide services for special needs students.  To obtain taxpayer money, voucher schools need only retain students until the third Friday of the school year.  If they send them back to their public school district, the voucher money does not follow them.

Research has shown that despite claims to the contrary, voucher schools show no significant difference in performance between voucher school students and public school students on standardized tests.  In Racine, public school students outperformed voucher students.  Similar results have been shown in other districts as well.  However, it is difficult to get meaningful comparisons because voucher schools are not held to the same accountability standards as public schools.

RFArea REA Can Help:  Superintendent Benson emphasized that public education needs everyone's support, especially from those who spent their careers in public education in one capacity or another. Our advocacy is important in elections, in grassroots efforts on behalf of public education, in letters to the editor of local newspapers, and in conversations with our neighbors.

A new initiative in the state created to support public education is WPEN, Wisconsin Public Education Network.  A local grassroots group, SERF, Support Education River Falls, has been established in connection with WPEN.  Superintendent Benson encouraged RFArea REA to play a role in this new endeavor.  We will explore how members can become involved if they are interested.

Gorden Hedahl and Tom Possley (back turned) enjoying

 the great weather and informative presentation