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(608)266-5780 | State Capitol, Room 307 West, P.O. Box 8953, Madison, WI 53708 | rep.billings@legis.wi.gov
COMMUNITY EVENTS:
La Crosse Storytelling Festival
Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12,
12:00 p.m.
Myrick Park (MAP)
PRIDE in
the Park
Saturday, September 12 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Riverside Park (MAP)
Cameron Park Farmer's
Market
Saturday, September 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Cameron Park
(MAP)
2015 Walk
to End Alzheimer's
Saturday, September 19 at 9:00 a.m.
Myrick Park (MAP)
CONTACT ME:
State Capitol
Room 307 West
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
Phone:
(608) 266-5780
Toll Free:
(888) 534-0095
rep.billings@legis.wi.gov
Friends and Neighbors,
This month the legislature is getting back into gear, with full Assembly debate scheduled for the end of the month. On the heels of debate, a few important issues have come to the forefront of discussion - issues relating to accountability and transparency in government operations.
Democrats in the legislature have continued to advocate for open
government, and are continuing that push by introducing nonpartisan
redistricting procedures and standing behind the necessary operations of
our Government Accountability Board.
Continue reading this week’s newsletter for more information on
legislative news, local events and more important state news.
Best Wishes,
Jill Billings
State Representative
95th Assembly District
COLUMN ON TEACHER SHORTAGE
Last week, I released a column regarding Wisconsin’s struggles in teacher recruitment and retention. The original text of the column is below:
When “A Love Of Teaching,” Isn’t Enough.
Teachers Recount How Value Of Education Slips Away In Wis., Changing
Dynamic Of Schools.
For many La Crosse teachers and students, this week marked the start of
a new school year. For a parent, sending your kids to school for the
first time can be nerve-wracking. You may be wondering: will they make
friends? Will they do well in classes? Will they have good teachers?
With this new year comes a new set of challenges for schools and
educators to overcome.
Last month, I was appointed to the Speaker’s Task Force on Urban
Education – a special group of legislators which is meant to examine
issues facing our urban schools today. While the issues discussed by the
committee ranged from truancy to access to new technologies, one of the
most important issues facing La Crosse and Wisconsin is teacher
recruitment and retention.
As we’ve all seen, there have been massive changes to state educational
policy from the Walker administration. Some moves by the Governor and
Republican legislators – including recent budget cuts, changes to
teacher licensing, and the Act 10 measures of 2011 – have pushed some
educators into early retirement, some out of the field, and deterred
others from becoming educators.
With experienced teachers leaving the field and fewer new educators
applying, districts across Wisconsin have already begun to see a
“teacher shortage.”
The La Crosse Tribune reported that this “teacher shortage” has been
especially hard in La Crosse, with the school district facing
significant trouble recruiting qualified, specialized teachers. Schools
with vacant teaching positions in music, science and mathematics are
finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified applicants.
According to the Wisconsin Budget Project, La Crosse’s teacher shortage
is representative of state trends over the past few years. There are
fewer students applying to become teachers, and teachers in Wisconsin
overall have less experience than in previous years. In the 2014 school
year, only about 4 in 10 Wisconsin school districts had teaching staffs
with on average at least 15 years’ experience – down from 6 in 10 in the
2011 school year. A few years ago, schools that were able to get 150
applications for an open position are now seeing 30 to 50 applications
instead.
Furthermore, because of the state of education in Wisconsin, fewer
students are studying education. For example, Viterbo University of La
Crosse saw a drop in education enrollment from 121 students in the
spring of 2011 to 60 students in the spring of 2015. The University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse saw overall enrollment increase from 2011 to 2014,
but in the same years education saw a 10 percent drop.
Click here to read the rest of the column.
FAMILYCARE/ IRIS HEARING IN LA CROSSE
It was recently announced that the Department of Health Services (DHS) would hold public hearings around the state regarding budget changes to FamilyCare and IRIS programs. Last week, hearing locations were announced to be held in Green Bay and Wausau. This Thursday Madison, Milwaukee and La Crosse were added to the list of hearing locations.
Considering La Crosse’s involvement with the FamilyCare program (it implemented one of the state’s first pilot programs, and has one of the longest-running programs in the state), area legislators requested that DHS hold a public hearing in La Crosse.
To view information on these hearings, visit:
https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/familycareiris2/index.htm.
During budget hearings, many of my constituents registered their
concerns with changes to FamilyCare and IRIS. Changes to the programs in
the budget only made participants’ coverage status even more confusing.
Therefore, legislators felt that holding a public hearing in La Crosse
would serve the dual purpose of educating residents of western Wisconsin
on the changes to FamilyCare and allowing them to voice their opinions
on the new program.
Click here to view the letter.
DEMOCRATS PROPOSE REDISTRICTING REFORM
This week, a group of Democratic legislators
introduced Assembly Bill 328, which would remove redistricting authority
from politicians and assign it to a nonpartisan body.
As you may know, gerrymandering can be used in a state’s redistricting
to unfairly divide districts. Oftentimes gerrymandering can be so severe
that a state legislature will not represent residents’ votes. For
example, in Wisconsin’s 2012 election, Republicans won 60 of 99 seats
even though Democratic candidates received 174,000 more votes.
Nationwide, this problem exists regardless of party. The model Wisconsin
legislators have proposed has been used successfully in Iowa for the
past 30 years.
I am in full support of this bill, which would assign the authority to
draw districts to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau and a
to-be-created Redistricting Advisory Commission. These bodies would draw
district lines based on the state population, and not partisan concerns.
