Wauwatosa School District forming advocacy group to fight state budget cuts

To follow up on a resolution passed last month calling upon lawmakers to increase public education funding the state budget, the Wauwatosa School Board is forming a Legislative Advocacy Committee to pursue this goal.

The school district stands to lose about $900,000 in state funding under Gov. Scott Walker's proposed state budget. Wauwatosa Superintendent Phil Ertl said he hopes the committee takes "quick and aggressive" action to work directly with lawmakers to find ways to increase funding for public education.

The committee will be led by Kristy Casey, school board vice president, who has experience working with lawmakers through her position outside of her school board involvement as the advocacy coordinator for the Wisconsin Coalition for Public Charter Schools. Casey said the committee is open to people from a range of perspectives including teachers, parents, and any interested residents.

"I hope we have a super bi-partisan group," Casey said. "That keeps people on their toes and stretches people's thinking. My approach has been to put politics aside; I want to know what you can do for kids."

In addition to working with lawmakers, Ertl said the committee's work could also include putting together discussions and presentations with experts on public education issues.

Although the first issue for the committee to address will be the state budget, some school board members said they hope the committee continues advocacy work even after the budget is passed.

"There is an urgent need right now for education and action, and I think this will be a great tool to keep this committee together for more of the long-range things," school board president Mary Jo Randall said.

Moving forward, Casey said the committee's agenda would be set in cooperation with the school board, perhaps through resolutions similar to the one on the state budget.

Ertl and Casey, who have both worked with the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, said they hope the committee will work with the alliance and other school districts to find common ground and have a stronger voice on education issues.

"It's super powerful if we learn to speak with one voice and we have a consistent message that we're giving to the legislators," Casey said.

Anyone interested in joining the committee can contact Casey at caseykr@wauwatosa.k12.wi.us.

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