America's Rural Schools Are Hurting and Wisconsin Shows Why
This article was published in The Progressive Magazine on January 5, 2018.
Drivers crossing the border into Wisconsin from neighboring states are reminded, thanks to Governor Scott Walker, that the state is “open for business.” But as is the case in much of America, only a relatively few are reaping financial rewards.
Over the last decade in Wisconsin, state agencies, libraries, the public university system, and especially public schools have all taken breathtaking budget hits. A frenzy of Republican-led legislative and fiscal measures to cut government spending includes the highly controversial Act 10 of 2011, which effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers, and made the Badger State the national leader in public sector job loss.