MADISON – Today Rep. Sondy Pope (D-Cross Plains) offered the Democratic Weekly Radio Address. The topic this week is the state of education in Wisconsin after five years of Republican mismanagement.

"Time and time again, Republicans have introduced steep cuts, slashed our schools’ high standards and pushed our best current and potential educators out of the state – or out of teaching entirely," Rep. Pope said. "Investing in our schools is the right thing to do for our students, our economy and our communities. In the coming months and years, Democrats will continue to advance an aggressive pro-education agenda to make Wisconsin stronger now and in the future."

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here and a video version can be viewed here or below.

A written transcript of the address is below:

As the ranking Democratic member of the Assembly Education Committee, people frequently tell me one of their top priorities is making sure their kids get a high-quality education. But not only have legislative Republicans not shared that priority, their actions have actually moved us further in the wrong direction.

Instead of making meaningful investments in public schools as Democrats proposed, Republicans voted to divert $800 million in taxpayer funds over the next 10 years to unaccountable private schools, then imposed an additional $5.3 million hit to public schools in the final days of the legislative session. Altogether, Republicans have taken more than $1 billion in state aid from our public schools over the past five years.

Time and time again, Republicans have introduced steep cuts, slashed our schools’ high standards and pushed our best current and potential educators out of the state – or out of teaching entirely. Given this reality, it’s not surprising that so many school districts have been forced to go to referendum to cover basic costs, including more than 50 districts next week alone.

Investing in our schools is the right thing to do for our students, our economy and our communities. In the coming months and years, Democrats will continue to advance an aggressive pro-education agenda to make Wisconsin stronger now and in the future.