Worst state to be a first grader?

[jalinder]

Dear ILMPS Supporter,

My daughter joined thousands of other Wisconsin students as they headed back to their public schools today. She was understandably nervous but I knew that she was going to a caring classroom with a very capable teacher. Our art room is without an art teacher. Our library has no librarian. Our math teacher leader and literacy coach are gone. No gym teacher, no music teacher.  But my daughter's school is one of the lucky ones. Last week we learned that we would be one of 12 schools in Milwaukee getting our SAGE funding restored. I could imagine the relief of parents sending their six-year olds to first grade today knowing that the classroom ratio would be 15 to 1 instead of 30+ to 1. Our school made the SAGE cut because of our high percentage of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch. But there are many schools that did not make the cut, and many children who began school today in unacceptably under-resourced public schools. 

In time for the start of school, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an article today tracking the steep cuts that many states have made to K-12 public education, and the numbers are shocking. If you look at the dollar change per student in school funding (inflation adjusted) from FY 11 to FY 12, Wisconsin leads the pack by decreasing per student spending by $635. More than New York, California and Texas, more than any other state in the nation. This is not the Wisconsin I know. The Wisconsin I know Believes in Public Education. The Wisconsin I know invests in its children. So as we prepare our kids during these early days back to school, as we pack lunches, and help with homework, we must also prepare ourselves, because the fight to save public education has just begun.

Sincerely,

Jasmine Alinder

Public School Parent

www.ilovemypublicschool.com

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3569&emailView=1