Equal High Quality Education is a Must for a Democratic Nation to Thrive

The following is a post written by Rep. Mandy Write from Wisconsin:

Should every child in Wisconsin, regardless of economic status or disability, have access to an excellent education? Do we still believe in the American Dream, that you can work hard and achieve your dream?

I am alarmed like never before about the future of our public schools and what it means for our kids, our communities, and Wisconsin as a whole. As a newly elected State Representative that is the only teacher who has been in a classroom within the past ten years and with three young children attending public schools in my hometown of Wausau, I have a different perspective on how the Wisconsin Legislature interacts with education policy.

The backroom deal developed last week that will be voted on by the Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday is disgusting. Within 2 years we will have 'a voucher in every backpack', which will dismantle our public education system. If you have never gotten involved in advocacy for our schools before, now is the time. Your voice matters. You care about our kids, and people in your community know that.

If you'd like more information on how to advocate for our kids, feel free to follow my Legislative Page, I keep it updated and there are many opportunities for you to be involved in big and small ways. And THANK YOU for all you do for our kids. Working together, we will make the future even better.

https://www.facebook.com/RepMandyWright

Mandy Wright Assembly Representative for the 85th District of Wisconsin Contact info: 608-266-0654; Rep.Wright@legis.wi.gov

My response to Rep. Wright's post:

This is exactly why we left Wisconsin and why we cannot go back. What has been done and is continuing to be done to the state school system there is disgusting. Our daughter will be entering school in a few short years. I refuse to subject her to state schools that are unequal and of low quality. The declining quality of the public schools in Wisconsin is not the fault of the teachers nor the administrators. Their hands are tied, just as mine were when I lived there. The schools are beginning to fail and will continue to decline unless drastic measures are taken to assure a high quality education for all children regardless of race, class or religion. Please, listen to what Rep. Mandy Wright has to say. She knows what she's talking about and as a past teacher with three children in the public schools, she has a vested interest in making sure the right policies are put into place.

S.L. Wallace is the author of the Reliance on Citizens trilogy and Retrospection.