Scott Walker's Attack on Public Schools

GOP-Religious right attack on schools -
Image by Shutterstock.com

Scott Walker's 2011 "unprecedented $900 million cut to school funding, coupled with a scheme to create a state-run system of charter schools" is an attack on professional public teachers, unions, and staff.

Two year later, Wisconsin sees Walker propose "$73 million more for voucher schools, $23 million more for charter schools, and $21 million for special needs students to attend private schools."

Walker took his show on the road in 2011,12, and 13 at right-wing venues such as the American Federation for Children's "School Choice Now: Empowering America's Children" policy summit.

Walker, and the right-wing billionaires and Christian zealots he represents, seek nothing less than the destruction of the public school system, replaced with a tax-payer-financed, Christian-oriented, biblically-centered 'learning network.'

Now (Feb. 13), Walker proposes a nearly $70 billion biennial budget that again hits public schools, municipalities, and anything public, including selling off public assets such as state power plants.

K.C. Boyd has an excellent summary:

One can trace the development of today’s right wing Christian think takes to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Religiously conservative people, motivated by their perceived degradation of society, quietly perfected their skills, all the while grooming their own young adherents, played an effective long-game that continues to win (and corrupt) the hearts and minds of a significant segment of our youth. Indeed, there is no better way to affect the future than by propagandizing the young. In this current post election season, the Biblically driven, often racist, members of society are once again regrouping to fight another day.

With the money of wealth funders like Richard and Betsy DeVos (sister of Blackwater scion Eric Prince and daughter of Elsa and Edgar Prince of the Amway fortune) and the Walton, Koch and Scaife Foundations, simpatico politicians are hard at work bringing Dominionist ideals quietly into the forefront of American education policy. While much of the country argues about budgets, deficits, and guns, a cleverly camouflaged package of School Choice and ”Bible-driven curricula“ make their way up the ladder.

On the surface, School Choice is purportedly about increasing opportunities for inner city and rural youth. The all-important subtext, however, is that School Choice is really about freeing up dollars for Christian-based education. An important arrow that energizes today’s religious quiver is the intentional misuse of language in changing the debate by referring to public schools as “government schools” and public education as a “government school monopoly,” thus instantly and directly speaking to Tea Partiers and Libertarians. ...

Of particular concern is the textbook-like use of scripture to condone homophobia, to slander blacks and Jews, and to deny basic climate and evolutionary science. And Texas is not alone. According to The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools’ website over a half a million students have already taken these courses nationally for credit. Take a half a million public school minds along with those who are already enrolled in religious schools or who are homeschooled, multiply it by a decade and it’s easy to see why it matters. ...

It is critical that Americans recognize not only the intent to privatize our schools but the vast Christian Right agenda behind it. Whether from curricula control and out of order teachers in our public schools, or from the voucherization leading to fundamentalist Christian-based schools, charter schools and Christian homeschooling, a generation of children so educated will graduate from high school ill-equipped to face the realities of a science based world.

Video Breaks of Scott Walker Promise to Negotiate with Unions One Week Before Election

Scott Walker and his gang most of whom are criminally charged
or have reached immunity deals

One week before the election of Scott Walker in November 2010, Walker promised to negotiate with unions, as had been done for decades, and explicitly affirmed collective bargaining, as also had been done for decades.

Video released by the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper shows Walker making the pledge that just months later he broke when he infamously dropped the "bomb" on Wisconsin workers, as stated by Walker himself in an infamous taped phone conversation in which he bragged about halting collective bargaining rights and targeting workers.

Walker's worker-bashing assault presaged his unprecedented, sneak attack on open government and local control.

Jud Lounsbury has the story.

Scott Walker Unveils Policy to Have Protesters Pay Police, Cleanup Costs

Wisconsin Constitution, Article One

Scott Walker turned the Wisconsin capitol into an armed camp when citizens assembled to express widespread political opposition against him and his destructive policies.

Now, Walker says he is instituting a policy to make Wisconsin citizens pay for his palace guard, and all costs to maintain the capitol grounds.

By Luke Johnson

The administration of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) unveiled a policy Thursday to hold protesters in the state Capitol liable for extra police or cleanup, in the aftermath of massive demonstrations earlier this year against anti-union legislation.

Bob Dreps, a lawyer who handles First Amendment cases including work for the Journal Sentinel, noted that the state can put some restrictions on the "time, place and manner" of free speech. But he said it was 'laughable' to define a rally as four or more people. (MJS)

Under the policy, groups of four or more inside state buildings and 100 or more people outside the Capitol must obtain permits at least 72 hours in advance of protests. Groups could be charged $50 per hour per Capitol Police officer, while costs for other law enforcement agencies will vary. The police could also require advance payment and liability insurance or a bond. Cleanup could be charged to organizers.

The policy also makes it clear that spending the night in the Capitol, taping signs to Capitol walls not intended for signs, allowing the sale of food or other items in the Capitol and using sound equipment that would interfere with the building are all not allowed.

Wisconsin protest, Feb. 26, 2011 - Photo: Al Rodgers

The policy is effective immediately. The administration says no one will be denied a permit based on the content of their event.

Edward Fallone, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the policy could be problematic since some groups might not be able to afford the costs. "I'm a little skeptical about charging people to express their First Amendment opinion," he said. "You can't really put a price tag on the First Amendment." ..

Gov. Walker is facing a recall effort. Activists announced earlier this week that they had gathered over 300,000 signatures in 12 days. For a recall, organizers need to collect 540,208 valid signatures by Jan. 17. An election could occur as early as March 27, but will likely be later.