MacIver News Service – Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) are breathing a sigh of relief after Act 10 provisions were put in place this past year and will save over half a billion dollars through fiscal year (FY) 2020 according to an in-depth report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute that was released on Thursday. Read More Milwaukee Public Schools Saved by Act 10, For Now
MacIver News Service – Protesters sang at the Capitol on Wednesday after threats from the police that members of the group would be arrested. After more than 45 minutes of singing, Capitol Police officers used a bullhorn to tell protesters that they would be subject to arrest because they did not get a permit and had more than 20 people. The threat was followed by laughter and jeers from the crowd. Read More NEW VIDEO: Capitol Protesters Laugh at Police Arrest Threats
MacIver News Service – U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) spoke in Milwaukee on Monday as a part of the “Raise Up America” campaign, lead by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 in spite of economists claims that this will hurt low-skilled and young workers. Read More Gwen Moore Misleads Public About Minimum Wage Increases
Despite complete control of the budget process by Republicans, there were real fights over policy and different visions for state government. Now that the smoke has cleared from the state budget, we can survey the political battlefield and see the winners and losers. Read More The Winners and Losers in the 2013-2015 Wisconsin State Budget
Education reform isn’t a new or foreign trend in Wisconsin. The state was a school choice pioneer and one of the first to embrace charter schools in the early 1990s. Though major reform efforts have been on the back burner in recent years, topics like value-added analysis and teacher evaluation have kept education on the front page in the Badger State. Now Act 10 has has helped reform education and cut costs across Wisconsin. Read More From EducationNext: Wisconsin Succeeds in Cutting Costs
Education reform isn’t a new or foreign trend in Wisconsin. The state was a school choice pioneer and one of the first to embrace charter schools in the early 1990s. Though major reform efforts have been on the back burner in recent years, topics like value-added analysis and teacher evaluation have kept education on the front page in the Badger State. Now Act 10 has has helped reform education and cut costs across Wisconsin. Read More From EducationNext: Wisconsin Succeeds in Cutting Costs
Milwaukee students in voucher schools are more likely to graduate from high school, as well as more likely to attend a four-year college. That’s according to one of the most revealing pieces of the review of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, and now it’s been peer reviewed and published in the Policy Studies Journal. Read More Policy Studies Journal Confirms Higher Graduation Rates in Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
MacIver News Service – Milwaukee Public Schools would have spent an additional $105 million in fiscal year 2020 due to rising retirement costs, but the district will save $101 million of that sum thanks to Act 10, according to a new study. The report published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, The Big Squeeze: Retirement Costs and School District Budgets, takes an in depth look at the increasing costs for district’s retirees, including MPS. Read More Act 10 Will Save Milwaukee Public Schools $101 Million in 2020
MacIver News Service – Milwaukee Public Schools would have spent an additional $105 million in fiscal year 2020 due to rising retirement costs, but the district will save $101 million of that sum thanks to Act 10, according to a new study. The report published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, The Big Squeeze: Retirement Costs and School District Budgets, takes an in depth look at the increasing costs for district’s retirees, including MPS. Read More Act 10 Will Save Milwaukee Public Schools $101 Million in 2020
MacIver News Service – After more than 20 hours of debate on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Finance passed their version of Governor Scott Walker’s 2013-2015 state budget. On their final day of debate, JFC increased Walker’s income tax cut to $648 million, modified the school choice expansion to be statewide but capped at 1,000 students, and increased per pupil spending on K-12 public education by $150 each year in the biennium. Read More Legislators React to the Joint Finance Version of the Budget