Stop wasting our time and our state’s future

MADISON — State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly released the following statement today in anticipation of the Wisconsin State Senate’s final session.

 

“Our schools are in crisis, and our state legislature is trying to score political points. Teachers, district administrators, families – even students themselves – are telling us what they need: sustainable funding and moral support. Instead, their pleas are ignored, and they’re given radical, divisive policies designed to drive a wedge between families and their schools. But it is not just divisive; it is a complete failure of leadership in a moment of crisis.

 

“Our legislature has done nothing for the past year, yet picked this moment to disrespect our schools, our teachers, families, and our taxpayers. That is a nakedly political move that even those in support of these proposals understand. The legislature could have taken action to help schools by spending even a fraction of the historic, taxpayer-funded state surplus. But they did not; worse, they manufactured crises and wasted our time passing dead-end legislation instead of meeting the real needs of our learners. Our state deserves better, and our students, especially, deserve better. Because in the end, our kids are the ones getting hurt, all for an attempt at political gain. What a disrespectful and disingenuous waste of time.”