Contact your legislators

Today, no one in the Legislature — Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, in the Senate or in the Assembly — is willing to step forward and introduce the legislation tp adequately fund our public schools. Here’s where you come in. It’s time to demand change from the people we voted into office.

What can you do?

Tell your story to legislators. Use these talking points below, add your personal story, and make the contact. If you don’t know who represents you or how to contact them, click here.

And, don’t forget to contact the Governor.

What does that contact look like?

• • Write an e-mail or letter
• • Make a phone call (leave a message if necessary)
• • Go to their office in Madison or in the district
• • Attend a district listening session
• • Invite them to your school, PTA meeting, student council session, or other gathering
• • Use your imagination.

What should you say?

• • Above all else, let them know that you will hold them accountable for the promises they make or for doing nothing.
• • For 15 years, the state has failed, for whatever reason, to change a school-funding system that has resulted in a decrease in the quality and quantity of educational opportunities for our children.
• • The present system of funding schools has resulted in laying off educational staff, increasing class sizes, cutting programs and services, staging costly and divisive referenda and increasing property taxes. For additional information, see  effects of revenue controls.
• • The 2009-11 budget, for the first time in history, reduced the amount of aid going to school districts, resulting in even more cuts in programs and services and faster increases in property taxes. Learn more.
• • Most recently, the 2011-13 budget devastated public schools by cutting general aid by $792 million and ratcheting down the ability of school districts to use the local property taxes to make up for the loss of state aid. These lost revenues have hurt schools and children.
• • We are in the midst of a crisis and we need comprehensive, long-term reform for the future. Right now, thought, we need to address the devastating resource cuts of the last two state budgets. We have a patient waiting for a transplant who is meanwhile bleeding to death. We need a lifesaving transfusion ─“A Penny for Kids”─ to keep the patient alive until we are ready to do the transplant of a new funding system.
• • The best way to address this specific crisis—a crisis created by the state—is to increase the state sales tax by one penny and use the resulting resources for classrooms and for property tax relief. Click here for more information about sales tax.