Reformers Deliver Message to
Legislature:
Time to Change the Finance System
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Hundreds of educators,
parents, community members, and students
from around the state rallied for school
funding reform at the state Capitol.
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Hundreds of people from all over the state brought a message
to the Legislature, June 24, 2004: If you care about the future
of Wisconsin's children and communities, it's time to change
the way we fund public education.
A rally at the Capitol marked the end of the Walk
on the Child's Side, a 250-mile, 18-day protest march
from Butternut to Madison. The walk was co-sponsored by Price
County Citizens Who CARE and the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent
Schools.
Despite daylong showers and uncharacteristically cold temperatures,
men and women, young and old, rural and urban, and educators,
parents, and students called for reform from the steps of
the Capitol.
The common thread through the hour-long event was the sense
of urgency in many communities and the need for immediate
help in school districts from Superior to Beloit and from
Menomonie to Green Bay.
Speakers also praised the work of the Governor's
Task Force on Educational Excellence as a starting point
for reform.
Following comments from school administrators, teachers,
clergy, parents, students, and Lieutenant Governor Barbara
Lawton, many soaked and shivering walkers ended their day
visiting with their legislators. They asked the elected officials
to pay attention to the task force recommendations and treat
them as the beginning of the reform process.
Lawmakers were also part of the rally. Standing with the
school-finance reformers on the steps of the Capitol were
Sens. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and
Reps. Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Verona), Gary Sherman (D-Port
Wing), and Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee).
Supporting the group's effort as signers of the Public Education
Act were Sens. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), Chuck Chvala (D-Madison),
Fred Risser (D-Madison), Roger Breske (D-Eland), and Russell
Decker (D-Schofield) and Reps. Johnnie Morris-Tatum (D-Milwaukee),
Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee), and Sherman.
Follow the media coverage of the Walk on the Child's Side:
- ACCESS,
July 7, 2004
- The
Phillips Bee, July 1, 2004
- Wisconsin
State Journal, June 25, 2004
- The
Capital Times, June 25, 2004
- Ashland
Daily Press, June 17, 2004
- The
Phillips Bee, June 17, 2004
- Wisconsin
Rapids Daily Tribune, June 16, 2004
- WSAW-TV
(CBS), Wausau, June 13, 2004
- Park
Falls Herald, June 10, 2004
- Stevens
Point Journal, June 8, 2004
- Ashland
Daily Press, June 8, 2004
- The
Phillips Bee, June 3, 2004
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