West Bend Story
West Bend reaches out for help
Something is changing. Folks in school districts all over
Wisconsin now get it — our school-finance system has
resulted in 15 years worth of disastrous cuts to programs
and services and the futures of our children and communities.
What is new is that many of these folks are finding new and
creative ways to “urge” their legislators to pay
attention to the problem, work with their constituents, and
get the job done. When communities all over the state make
the same demands, things will start to happen.
The West
Bend School District, like many, is being forced to cut
educational opportunities for kids because of a school-funding
system that doesn’t work. Superintendent Pat Herdrich
reached out on behalf of her district to 20th
District Senator Glenn Grothman and
58th District Representative Pat Strachota.
Read Herdrich’s letter
to her elected representatives and think about contacting
your own. Also, take a look at a similar effort from the School
District of Greenfield and Superintendent
Conrad Farner's letter.
West Bend considers funding reform, including a lawsuit
Superintendent Pat Herdrich presented the West Bend School
Board with a set of documents, June 21, outlining a legislative
and legal agenda in pursuit of school-funding reform. She
told them that the district is one of those “significantly
negatively impacted” by the present system.
“Clearly, the funding for public schools has bee a
challenge for more than a decade,” Herdrich said in
an e-mail accompanying the documents. “The issue for
us is critical. The current funding system is eroding the
capacity of our district.”
Documents that went to all of Wisconsin’s school districts
and advocacy groups include:
- An
executive summary that talks about critical issues facing
funding reform.
- A legislative
agenda that calls for mandate relief and includes background
on a school funding lawsuit filed in Indiana, including
information about the plaintiff’s attorneys.
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