Contact: John Forester, 608‐242‐1370
MADISON — John Forester, executive director for the School Administrators Alliance, released the following statement on the state budget proposal Governor Scott Walker introduced yesterday:
“Budgets are about choices and priorities. For public school administrators, our priority has always been the public school children we serve. For that reason, we are very pleased that Governor Walker, in his state budget plan, has placed a high priority on the educational needs of Wisconsin’s public school children.
“We thank Governor Walker for recognizing that every Wisconsin school district needs at least a $200 per-pupil revenue increase in each year of the biennium to support high-quality educational opportunities for the children they serve.
“We thank Governor Walker for recognizing the unique challenges faced by our rural school districts and prioritizing their unique needs through his budget and rural school initiatives.
“We also thank the governor for taking another important step forward on mental health issues and supporting schools in their efforts to meet the needs of our students with mental health challenges.
“Governor Walker has introduced a number of education policy initiatives that merit serious discussion. We look forward to receiving additional details on these proposals as well as the opportunity to work with the governor and legislators to shape effective policy in these areas.
“This budget proposal is an important step forward in addressing the significant fiscal challenges facing school districts throughout Wisconsin. Clearly, the governor has structured his K-12 education initiatives to support quality and equitable educational opportunities for children throughout Wisconsin. For that, we applaud his efforts.”
The SAA is an alliance of the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators (AWSA), Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO), Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA), Wisconsin Association of School Personnel Administrators (WASPA) and Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS). It advocates on behalf of school leaders in their efforts to strengthen Wisconsin’s national leadership in education to ensure that the state’s children receive the highest-quality education possible.
