Progressive Thinking

Sen. Jeff Smith shares his experience as a classroom volunteer and member of the Senate Committee on Education, learning about ways we can support our students in our public schools.

MADISON - Wisconsin’s K-12 schools are the cornerstone of our communities. The education offered at our neighborhood public schools provides the opportunity for our kids to reach their full potential. It’s our responsibility to ensure this opportunity is available for all Wisconsin students—regardless of zip code.

Of course, I knew this long before I was elected to the state legislature. My wife and life partner chose a career as a teacher. When our first child was born she let me know that I’d be responsible for volunteering in our daughter’s classroom when she reached school age. Little did I realize what an impact that would have on my trajectory into politics.

I took that directive to heart and volunteered as much as the school would allow. Gaining an understanding of the needs of our schools, I was an active participant in the passage of an important referendum in the late 1990s.

It also led me to creating a parent advisory committee that still is involved with the Eau Claire School District. My activism in education morphed into engagement in the Wisconsin Parent Teacher Association Board, the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and an appointment on the Governor’s Task Force for Educational Excellence.

You can see how I spent years learning about how Wisconsin’s public schools prepare kids for the future. Over the years, I saw how things were changing with the drastic reforms being made that ultimately were hurting students in Wisconsin’s public schools and impacting property taxpayers.

It’s this experience I bring with me to the Senate Committee on Education. There’s a lot that’s been happening in this committee this legislative session, especially in response to the pandemic.

Unfortunately the bills being rushed through committee do nothing to address the serious challenges facing Wisconsin educators, parents and their children. To make matters worse, these bills carry a hefty price tag for Wisconsin taxpayers.

In early February, legislative Republicans introduced a package of bills that overhaul Wisconsin’s educational standards. Among the bills, one proposal gives more leeway to taxpayer-funded, unaccountable charter schools.

Another bill removes state enrollment caps and family income limits entirely, therefore making the taxpayer-funded School Choice program available to any student. In a report issued last week, this is expected to raise property taxes for Wisconsinites as much as $577 million.

Before the Majority Party even considers moving more money from Wisconsin public schools, they should adopt my proposal, Senate Bill 971 to allow property owners to see just how their property taxes increased from expanding voucher schools.

Now is not the time to be raising costs for Wisconsin families—it’s up to us to invest the $3.8 billion surplus so all kids have access to a high-quality education. In February, Governor Evers announced a plan to invest $750 million of this surplus to improve our schools. This proposal includes initiatives to support student mental health and address achievement gaps in the state.

There’s a lot we can do with this surplus for our schools and families—it’s time for us to get it done.

Another way we can support students and local public schools is by bolstering teacher recruitment and retention. This is an issue affecting school districts all over the state, especially in our rural communities. We must remember those most impacted by the teacher shortage are our students.

In February, I introduced a legislative package with colleagues on the Senate Committee on Education to make sure our students have quality educators. This package includes bonuses for teachers that stay in the same district for more than 5 years, ensures that teachers enjoy the same health benefits as legislators, pays student teachers and sets a minimum starting salary.

The most valuable asset to any school is the people, and this package treats teachers like the professionals they are. We must do better for our kids.

Through all the years, I learned it takes a village of dedicated people to build up our public schools. They are the cornerstone of the success of our society. Learn, get involved and someday you will understand and appreciate the success of public education.

Sen. Smith recaps Governor Evers’ 2022 State of the State Address highlighting the accomplishments from the last year and the governor’s plan to keep our state moving forward.

MADISON - When the opportunity to do what’s right is in front of us, we must grab it because it may not be there for long. This is something we all learn, even if it’s the hard way. It’s painful when we don’t recognize opportunity, we hesitate and it’s gone. That’s when opportunity becomes regret.

Last week, Governor Evers delivered his 2022 State of the State Address, highlighting successes of the last year and future opportunities. If history is any indicator, then the opportunity before the legislature right now is unprecedented.

Here we are today with a record-high surplus and an all-time low 2.8% unemployment rate. With the 2021-23 budget, middle-class families received a 15% tax cut, totaling $480 million in tax relief for Wisconsin. What Governor Evers has done to get us through a global pandemic and get our economy back on track is nothing short of a miracle. He’s done the right thing when faced with adversity.

How we even have these historic records after the last two years is a feat in itself. Quite honestly, it isn’t because the legislature has done anything to make that happen. On the contrary, the Republican majority has been on a mission to impede the governor at every turn.

While the legislature sat idle for over 300 days during the pandemic, Governor Evers got to work—and delivered.

Wisconsin has a projected surplus like we’ve never seen. I’ve been paying attention long enough to be able to say the $3.8 billion dollar surplus is unheard of. Any state surplus projection can be rare, but when we have this extraordinary opportunity, it’d be foolhardy to ignore the urgent needs in our state.

On top of this surplus, Governor Evers smartly distributed over $4.5 billion in federal funds to support our local communities. With economic recovery in mind, the governor invested in more than 1,900 non-profits and over 2,300 local governments, college campuses and school districts. Additionally, he targeted more than $1 billion to bolster small businesses, farmers, tourism, lodging and entertainment industries in our state.

During the 2020 construction season, Governor Evers’ Administration kept up with all 375 transportation projects to stay on track to help Wisconsin secure another $105 million from other states. This happened all while the legislature chose to sit on the sideline.

In 2021, after the pandemic exacerbated the need for broadband access, the governor proposed $200 million to close the digital divide in our rural communities in his 2021-23 budget. Despite the Republican-led Joint Finance Committee removing that amount, we still invested $129 million into broadband expansion efforts. Governor Evers also directed another $100 million in federal funds toward broadband expansion.

The question now is whether the legislature will choose opportunity or political gamesmanship. Maybe I should mention that we also have a record $1.7 billion in the ‘rainy day’ fund.

Governor Evers has a plan to reinvest in Wisconsin and it’s the right thing to do. During his State of the State Address he outlined this plan, which starts with putting $150 back into the pockets of each Wisconsinite. A family of four would receive $600 to help address rising costs and gas prices.

Under the governor’s plan, barriers to childcare are reduced by expanding the Child and Dependent Care Credit and creating a new Caregiver Tax Credit. When someone is needed to care for a loved one they’re less likely to be able to participate in the workforce.

Governor Evers’ plan invests $750 million in our schools while holding the line on property taxes. There’s no question that providing opportunity to all kids no matter their zip code is the right thing to do.

While corporate America has been taking advantage of the growing economy by raising prices, we’re sitting on your money that could help right now. The governor’s plan, importantly, still leaves $2 billion untouched.

During his Address to the legislature, Governor Evers added, “indifference in this building is getting expensive.” It’s time to act. The governor called for a special session for the legislature to pass this plan. Will Republican legislators help Governor Evers continue to do the right thing?

MADISON - We need accountability for the crimes against our democracy.

That means accountability for Donald Trump.

And it means accountability for anyone in Wisconsin who were co-conspirators in the coup attempt.

On Wednesday, our legal allies over at Law Forward asked Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to prosecute the Republican false electors. I write about that here:

Law Forward Asks DA Ozanne to Go After False Electors

On the legal beat, I also wrote about the horrendous decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court late last Friday that infringes on our freedom to vote:

Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Horrible Ruling on Drop Boxes and Ballot Delivery Assistance

And on the campaign finance front, we noted that Republican fundraising for legislative races in Wisconsin is far outpacing that of the Democrats:

GOP Lawmakers Had 4x More Cash Than Dems Entering 2022

This is what we do, day in and day out: We track the money, we expose the anti-democracy forces, and we advocate for a broad range of pro-democracy reforms so that everyone can have an equal voice.  

Thanks for supporting us in these efforts.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you’d like to send us a donation, you can do so by clicking here and pay with credit card or PayPal, or the old-fashioned way by sending us a check, made out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and mailed to our office at 203 S. Paterson St. Suite 100, Madison WI 53703. We really appreciate it!

Sen. Jeff Smith writes about the city’s history and shares his experience growing up, owning a business and raising a family in Eau Claire.

EAU CLAIRE, WI - History always fascinates me. I grew up on the north side of Eau Claire and was surrounded by history. This year, the City of Eau Claire is celebrating its 150^th birthday, which got me thinking about my upbringing in Eau Claire—how my life has been shaped so much by the history and culture of the area.

My family’s story in Eau Claire began before I was even born. My parents moved from Superior to Eau Claire so my father could start a small, family business—one that I’d later take over. Although the area was new to my parents, they recognized the opportunity that Eau Claire presented.

When I was growing up, I used to walk the train tracks behind my family’s house to get to McDonough City Park where I played in the summer and skated in the winter. It was through a city program at the park when I first began to learn of Eau Claire’s history.

The history of west-central Wisconsin can be traced back centuries. The Dakota and Ojibwe Nations lived in this area long before white settlers appeared. We cannot study the history of our nation, state and region without acknowledging who was here before us.

The confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers was strategic for commerce and travel in the early days of developing western Wisconsin. While there’s much written about the early French explorers and fur traders that came through the area, it was an English traveler named Jonathan Carver who first wrote of the area in 1767.

It wasn’t until the 1850s when more families called the area home. A sawmill was established around this time, which was the catalyst for a flourishing logging industry that resulted in the incorporation of a city in 1872 that we know as Eau Claire.

Behind our house were railroad tracks that had been used to transport the products from the logging industry so many years before. Below the tracks is Dells Pond where logging companies floated their product before milling them into the lumber that built much of the Midwest. There are remnants of logs to this day that sunk into the waters of Dells Pond.

By the 1890s there were seventy-five sawmills and factories in Eau Claire. It’s how we became known as Sawdust City. Visitors can still learn about the logging era around Eau Claire in the Paul Bunyan Camp and museum located in Carson Park.

By the early 20^th Century, logging was dying out. By then, though, other industries found Eau Claire. In 1916 a college was founded that was to become UW-Eau Claire. In 1917 a fellow named Raymond Gillette started a rubber factory and began producing tires for the burgeoning automobile industry.

I got around Eau Claire during the summers on my bike. In the 1960s Birch Street was a main thoroughfare for traffic to reach highway 53. It wasn’t safe to ride a bike on Birch Street to reach downtown, so the route I took from my home on Starr Avenue was Galloway Street, which took me past the tire factory. The factory, Uniroyal, closed in 1992 but I can clearly still recall the smell of rubber from the factory.

The neighborhood I lived in and across the river on the east hill consisted of many of the 2,000 workers in that factory. Eau Claire really was a factory town much of the 20^th Century with good union jobs supplied by the tire factory, the paper mill and Presto.

Eau Claire has changed a lot since I was a kid, but one thing still rings true: we have deep pride in our community. We’re a city of hard workers and a community that looks out for one another. Our city has grown over the years, becoming more diverse and cultivating a reputation in the arts.

I grew up, owned a small business and raised a family in Eau Claire. I’m proud to represent Eau Claire and all of my friends and neighbors as a legislator today.

Here’s to reflecting on our city’s past and looking forward to the many years ahead!

On Monday, I testified before Senator Kathy Bernier’s Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform, and Ethics about a bunch of anti-voter bills that I go into here:

A Barrage of Bad Election Bills

And yesterday, my colleague Iuscely Flores wrote about some important pro-voter bills:

Unlock The Vote to Eradicate Ages Old Jim Crow Legislation

So I’m hoping you’ll contact your legislators and urge them to support the good bills to Unlock the Vote and oppose the barrage of bad ones.

And also, please urge Gov. Evers to veto any anti-voter bills that land on his desk.

Go here for information on how to contact your legislator or the Governor.

Thanks for defending our freedom to vote!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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