As education increasingly takes center stage in Wisconsin’s race for the governorship, state Superintendent and Democratic nominee Tony Evers gave his 10th annual State of Education address, criticizing the direction of public education under Gov. Scott Walker.
After releasing a budget request that asked for an additional $1.7 billion for K-12 schooling, Evers and Walker have both used the early stages of the budget debate to outline their vision for the state.
“A decade of disinvestment hasn’t magically solved problems, increased student performance, or improved our competitive edge,” Evers said. “Divisive solutions from Washington and Madison haven’t made things better. These policies are failing us.”
The superintendent went on to condemn the frozen state aid to English-learning and special needs students over the last few years, while noting rising costs in these sectors.
Evers also called for a commitment to helping students who are financially insecure at home, as well as claiming the state currently “punishes their parents for being poor.”
But Walker chimed back, arguing as expected that funding boosts from tax hikes are not the answer for a growing Wisconsin economy.
“The governor has been able to make record actual-dollar investments in our priorities without raising taxes, while Evers has laid out plans that would lead to tax increases on hard-working families,” Walker’s campaign said in a statement.
Walker dubbed himself “the education governor” earlier in his campaign, setting up his credentials to square off with the state’s head of schools in November.
But Democrats have been critical of the governor’s claims to education advances, noting that the last budget’s funding boosts came after years of larger cuts.
“It’s not enough to just say that we respect teachers and value education,” Evers said. “We must lead because we know there’s a better way. We know it because that’s the Wisconsin that we hear when we reach outside of this political echo chamber.”
