Can Republican Lies Continue?
The irony of the latest Koch funded commercial proclaiming that Walkers initiatives have balanced the budget airing at the same time that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau has identified that, in fact, the budget will not be balanced is laughable if it weren't so tragic. Walker subsequently attempting to balance the budget with a significant portion of the mortgage settlement that the Obama administration negotiated with Big Bankers to be used to help homeowners threatened with foreclosure is yet another tragedy for Wisconsin's citizens. Just when you think that the Walker administration has reached the depths of despicable behavior, yet another insult to the citizens is uncovered.
Last evening I was rereading the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators report of November, 2011 and I will share a few quotes from the report. This first quote sums up the issue more than any other statement I've heard or seen this year.
“Much has been made of the unremarkable fact that school districts across the state
balanced their budgets this year. School districts are required to balance their budgets
every year, so the important question is not whether they balanced their budgets, but rather
how that balanced budget was achieved.”
That's right, they have to balance the budget. The ignorance of those who buy Walker's explanations is heartbreaking. There are millions of ways to balance budgets. He chose the most mean spirited way.
Let's look at the executive summary of the report. I know this is from November, but these facts from the Wisconsin School District Administrators appear to have received little coverage and don't have the “legs” they deserve.
Executive Summary (this is direct word for word from the Report)
The following are key points from the analysis: (I have italicized the two key points that especially contradict the conservative narrative.)
. A much greater number of jobs were lost in the K-12 sector than in previous years
of budget cuts.
. The depth and breadth of losses of experienced educators statewide is large. Nine
out of ten students attend a district that had a net loss of staff in one of four stang
areas surveyed.
. Replacement teachers and staff are younger, less experienced, and face higher stu-
dent teacher ratios than the educators they replaced.
. Fewer staff leads to class size increases with nearly six in ten students attending in
a district with increased class sizes in K-12, and four in ten students attending in
a district specifically with increased class sizes in elementary grades.
. Fewer staff leads to cuts in essential support and learning programs with three in
four students attending a district that reduced staff in at least one such program
and one in fi ve attending in a district that reduced more than fi ve such programs.
. Differences between districts that had contracts compared to those without union
contracts were not statistically significant .
. Half of all districts reported that they used one-time federal funds to o ffset even
deeper cuts in funds that will be unavailable next year.
. Two out of three districts reported that they expect to have as deep or even deeper
cuts next year. Only one out of 10 expect to have fewer cuts next year.
Can a Governor lie in the State of the State address? Can big money from outside Wisconsin buy commercials that lie to the people of Wisconsin? But, more importantly, are the citizens of Wisconsin so consumed with the tedium of trying to get by in this tough economy that they don't have the time to discern truth from lies?