State Sup. Evers Delivers State of Education Address

[jalinder]

Today State Superintendent Tony Evers delivered his "State of Education Address" in the Capitol rotunda. 

Here are a few highlights: 

 "Now is the time to move beyond the harsh rhetoric and begin the slow process of rebuilding the trust that was so 

swiftly shattered. And it will take more than words; it will take action. It is not enough to say that we respect 

teachers and value education; our leaders must demonstrate it. We must reinvest in our schools, fix our broken 

system of school funding, and ensure our educators have a seat at the table. That is how we can move forward 

together....

Working families and their children didn’t cause our economic condition, but it has hit them hard. Child poverty in 

Wisconsin is the highest in recent history and is growing at a faster rate than the nation — a fact that is playing out 

in schools and classrooms across our state.   

We cannot watch the American Dream and middle-class opportunities fade away. This cannot be the legacy of our 

generation. Our kids, our grandkids, my grandkids, deserve better.   

To rebuild our economy, to rebuild the American Dream, we need more than just jobs; we need family-supporting 

careers. And investing in public education will help get us there!   

Public education is — as it has always been — our pathway to prosperity, our pathway to a strong middle class. It is 

the great equalizer. ...

How should we pay for schools?:   

 We advanced the first comprehensive school finance reform plan in decades, our Fair Funding for Our 

Future plan. The plan laid the groundwork to prioritize existing resources and created a pathway for 

significant and necessary re-investment in our public schools. I urge our leaders to take this up now."

If you are interested to read the full text, here is the url:

http://dpi.state.wi.us/eis/pdf/dpinr2011_100.pdf