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Time for
action - Town Hall: Monday, April 24th It's budget season. We've
had agency briefings and public hearings. Now's the time for YOU to bring
your thoughts, questions, and concerns! On Monday,
April 24th at Mill Road Library at 6431 N 76th St, I’ll
be hosting a town hall from 5:30 to 7pm! Governor Walker has punted
the ball on governing with this irresponsible budget. This budget is based on
fake math, and even Republicans aren't rushing to defend it. We need to find
solutions to the crises he ignored, like juvenile corrections, transportation
infrastructure, student loan debt, and redirecting the pipeline from prison
to college. We’ll also be talking about Lincoln Hills and Foster Care
Awareness Month, as well as any concerns you as a constituent bring. Have your voice heard and
stay engaged by attending this town hall! You can RSVP and find more info on
my Facebook event. I hope to see you there!
Remember to stand up and fight back!
A proposal
buried deep in Governor Walker’s budget has been getting a lot of attention
lately. That’s right. Walker
wants to get rid of the minimum requirement for how many hours a student
must spend in school learning every year. Let’s be
clear: this is a ridiculous idea. Walker claims school districts will have
more freedom to innovate or invest in virtual learning, but he doesn’t
acknowledge the long term effects of shortened hours. Wisconsin would be the
first state without any guidelines for how long students must
spend in the classroom. Most states require at least 180 school days, and
Wisconsin currently mandates 1,050 instructional hours for elementary school
students and at least 1,137 for middle and high school students. For
underfunded schools in lower income communities that already have a difficult
time keeping their doors open, this could be a death sentence. When it comes
to education, less is NOT more. We
Wisconsinites have been dealing with Walker’s attacks on public schools for
years. He slashed $782 million from public education funding in 2012 and in
2015 cut $250 million from the UW System. Now Walker is proposing increases
in K-12 spending, but don’t be fooled - Walker is no fan of education! He
knows he’ll have to defend his education cuts during reelection, and thinks
this funding can persuade Wisconsinites that he’s doing good. The truth of
the matter is – he isn’t. Remember that at the end of the day, Walker is more
concerned about his reelection bid than your children’s education. JFC
removes non-fiscal items from budget, including seg fees opt-out Last week,
the Joint Committee on Finance removed 83 items from the budget that were
identified as “non-fiscal,” meaning they were policy items that shouldn’t
have been included in a budget. This is a good thing. These items had no
place in the budget and will now have to be drafted as separate bills and
voted on in the Legislature. One of the most talked about items in this
budget, the ability for UW students to opt out of segregated fees, was taken
out in this revision. This is a
huge win for students. Segregated fees support important organizations and services
like EVOC (End Violence on Campus) and the Black Student Union. Whether
they’re preventing violence or allowing black students to come together and
create community within the campus, these organizations provide vital
provisions. If the segregated fees currently going towards these many student
organizations are cut in any future legislation, our students will be hurt.
But we haven’t won the fight yet. We need to continue to fight against these
attempts to harm our institutions of higher learning.
97% of scientists agree
that global temperatures are rising and that climate change poses a serious
threat to humanity. Let’s be real for a minute – when have 97% of a group of
people agreed on anything? Climate change is a problem that affects
each and every one of us. When sea levels rise, droughts intensify, and
natural disasters become more common, our water and food resources become
endangered. Whether your community is underwater or the farms that feed your
family are dried up, you can guarantee that climate change will affect you. Republicans, meanwhile,
have a different “take” on climate change (that it’s not real). Republicans
have always had a nasty history of promoting big business interests over the
health of our communities, but Trump has taken this to a new low. Trump’s
proposed budget slashes the Environmental Protection Agency’s spending
by 31% and cuts 15,000 jobs from the agency. Thanks to these cuts,
the EPA plans to eliminate two programs aimed at preventing children’s exposure to
leaded paint. Apparently Trump is fine with a few kids getting
lead poisoning so long as he can give the wealthy tax breaks. Trump has also
signed an executive order effectively killing
President Obama’s climate change efforts. But if he doesn’t want his
Mar-a-Lago resort underwater in a few years, Trump should get on board with
combatting climate change. Next Saturday April 22nd
is Earth Day. Earth Day is a day for all of us to remember our responsibility
to our planet and leave it in better condition than we received it. If you’re
wondering how to do your part, next Saturday, April 22nd I’m
hosting a community neighborhood clean-up day! We’ll take on the W.
Hampton Ave. to W. Villard Ave. blocks as well as the N. Green Bay Ave to N.
24th St blocks from 9am to 12pm! When our water, our air, and our soil
are clean and healthy, so are our communities. The planet we leave our great
grandchildren will be our most important legacy. |
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Quote
of the Week: “If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have
a moral obligation to do something about it.” -Representative John Lewis This is an official
government communication from Sen. Lena C. Taylor. If you no longer wish to
receive these emails, click here to send
me an email to unsubscribe. |
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