WEAC Picking Your Pocket While Tugging At Your Heart

by Kerry Thomas

January 11, 2005

Here we all thought the end of the 2004 Presidential election cycle would bring the end of the political propaganda in our media. Just when you thought it might be safe to start actually paying some small modicum of attention to advertising, along comes WEAC with another round of propaganda.

WEAC is a lobbying organization, plain and simple. Although they claim to represent children, education, and teachers, the sad truth is, like any lobbying organization, what they really stand for is their own survival and growth. There's nothing wrong with that. But to hide that goal behind children is nothing less than shameful.

WEAC would have you believe your children face dire consequences if legislation limiting tax increases in Wisconsin is passed. They make such broad claims as "...revenue caps are harming the quality of education...." They base these claims on surveys, not of taxpayers and parents, but of school administrators. Ask Wisconsin's taxpayers if they think revenue caps hurt education.

WEAC itself refutes their own claim about harm to education, usually in the same press release. In one paragraph they say education is being harmed. Yet they also point out "...[Wisconsin's] students score at or near the top of national performance assessments...." Is WEAC another liberal body whose words must be parsed to be understood? I guess it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is.

Another old tactic is to cite budget "cuts" as negatively impacting school districts. A word about bureaucratic budgeting is in order here. Government agency X spent $100,000 on a budget item this year, and has projected that they will spend $120,000 on that same item next year. Comes time to prepare next year's budget, and it ends up that that budget item is set at $115,000 for next year. In bureaucratese, they have a budget cut of $5,000, even though they actually spent $15,000 more. Look at dollar outlays, not projected budget figures.

WEAC makes the statement that "...we know small class sizes improve student learning...." Guess what? So does enforcing discipline in the classroom. Demanding students actually pass exams and master the material presented, rather than bestowing passing grades to help a child's self esteem, will do wonders for the quality of education. And it wouldn't hurt to get back to a concentration on historical facts instead of politically correct opinion, either. When a U.S. history text devotes 2 chapters to the legacy of the Clinton administration, yet barely has a paragraph or two on Lincoln, there's a problem. Yes, it's a problem, not an "issue." An issue is an edition of a publication. Go ask an old English teacher about it.

When WEAC starts throwing statistical figures at you, grab your wallet. They're a lobbying organization out to maintain their membership, just like the NEA. If a local school district feels caps on the levels of taxation they can impose on you are hurting the district, the solution is to present their case to their taxpayers, and vote, through a referendum. If the spending level is justified, and the taxpayers can afford it, the referendum will pass. If not, the school must do like everyone else, and tighten their belt a notch or two.

The referendum is the mechanism which gives the most control to the local taxpayers. It doesn't strip local control; the referendum process is a safeguard on local control. It was included in the 1993 QEO legislation, and it is included in the current Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) legislation, to which WEAC is so vehemently opposed. WEAC's pathetic platitudes about children may sound nice and warm, but those gentle tugs you feel at your heart are really full force yanks on your wallet.