Wall of Shame Exposes Cost of School Cuts

State Rep. Spencer Coggs spoke as WAES unveiled its “Wall of Shame” during its rally protesting proposed budget cuts. Photo by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Students and parents took center stage during two days of events surrounding the Joint Finance hearing in Milwaukee on March 31, 2003.

On Sunday, the day before the hearing, 100 WAES members rallied and unveiled an eight-foot wide Wall of Shame, filled with photos of children who will be hurt by budget cuts and postings of the amounts school districts in southeastern Wisconsin could lose if the governor's budget is implemented.

On Monday morning, before the hearing began, WAES joined with WISDOM, the church coalition and WAES partner, for a press conference on the steps of Washington High School.

"Do not squeeze our public schools in an attempt to fix budget problems," Rev. Louis Sibley, pastor of Milwaukee's Mt. Zion Baptist Church, told the press conference. Sibley called on legislators "not to cut a dime out of school budgets," and to "use your imagination" to find revenue for schools.

Supported by honking motorists, WAES members marched up and down N. Sherman Blvd., calling for a an investment in kids and a stop to budget cuts.

In testimony before the Joint Finance Committee, Anika Miller, a senior at Milwaukee's Rufus King High School, demanded to know why class sizes are so large but the state spends money on "bridges that go nowhere." She said poor students are forced to pay fees for courses that are required for graduation.

Helaine Conner, a parent leader from Milwaukee's Silver Spring Elementary, said the school is eliminating art, music, physical education, guidance counselors, and the librarian. "Our children should come first," she told legislators.

Superintendents from Waukesha, Milwaukee, Elmbrook and elsewhere detailed how the budget would hurt their districts. "The elimination of K4 funding would devastate our school district," said Milwaukee's William Andrekopoulos.

Jack Norman, of the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, told the committee they were embarking on "an historic U-turn by abandoning the two-thirds commitment and beginning the process of disinvestment in public education." He reminded legislators there are many options for raising revenues, and that rankings showing Wisconsin as having the third highest tax burden in the country are misleadingly based on a selective use of tax costs.

Sunday's rally attracted TV and print coverage. For Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stories on both the rally and the testimony, see the following links:

"Demonstrators oppose budget cuts for schools"

"Education spending a hot topic"

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