Greetings and welcome to the start of the 2021-22 school year. It is with great anticipation and excitement for the new school year that I hope this letter finds you in.
We are eagerly looking forward to getting back to school as we have known it to be, with all the opportunities and events that our students take part in and that our district and communities embrace.
The first newscast I ever delivered on the radio was 18 minutes long, including the commercials. I started reading at 7:37 a.m. after Paul Harvey News and Comment, and I filled the time until the 7:55 a.m. ABC newscast.
Nowadays, a radio newscast runs about three minutes, if the station carries news at all. I remember playing audio clips that ran 30-40 seconds. Today’s sound bites are in the neighborhood of 10.
Wisconsin’s public school system is dependent upon tax dollars. Schools use state and local taxes to pay for services, salaries, transportation, supplies, utilities and more. Schools also don’t solely control how much tax money they receive, or how much they are able to spend. The legislature sets spending limits for schools and determines how much state assistance they get to offset that spending. This authority requires a level of foresight and planning. When things don’t go quite right — for example, when a global pandemic hits — needs change.
This past year, students and their families, schools and educators had to sacrifice so much. The one-time $2.3 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan was meant to help public schools recover. However, the funding was not meant to relieve the state of its responsibility. By law, federal funding will not be received by any legislature that fails to increase education funding by at least $387 million over the next two years.
As we headed into the Independence Day weekend, many families fired up the grill and celebrated with burgers and steaks cooked to sizzling perfection or, in sadder cases, charred to an unrecognizable blackened blob. Whether you’re one of the lucky folks feasting on a grillmaster’s handiwork or instead find yourself chomping on charred protein, will you know where the beef on your plate originated?
Our recently vaccinated family hit the highways and waterways in a major way this last month. Thanks to public investment, we have highways and interstates that cross the entire country, and I can zip off to visit family in Wyoming or Michigan relatively easily. I can make my way down the Mississippi River facilitated by an important lock and dam system that also allows commerce to flow.
As I reflect on my 41 years in education, I am reminded of how crucial it is for all young people to have the supports and resources they need to be successful in school and life.
“Having launched a vaccination site at a few campuses, the system did save the state, and I want to say that publicly. The system saved the state, in its responsibility and its actions.”
We always hear about the so-called War on Christmas, where people feel that they can’t say “Merry Christmas” for fear that you might be considered insensitive to those who celebrate other holidays, such as Hanukkah. If retail workers or others dare to say the all-encompassing “Happy holidays,” it’s seen as an affront to Christians.
When I consider workers needing a living wage in Shawano, I remember my experience applying for work with Shawano County several years ago. I was offered a job at 40 hours per week here, but I chose a similar job in Green Bay working 32 hours per week for the same wages. I was fortunate to have those job offers, but where does that leave Shawano County?
Nowadays, a radio newscast runs about three minutes, if the station carries news at all. I remember playing audio clips that ran 30-40 seconds. Today’s sound bites are in the neighborhood of 10.
