Madison's New Superintendent on Madison, Politics & Distractions

Pat Schneider:

You'll find Jennifer Cheatham, new superintendent of the Madison School District, at the Capitol Wednesday when local education officials talk about how Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget would hurt Dane County schools.

But don't expect her to be spending much time making political statements, Cheatham told me and other staff members of the Cap Times Tuesday. Too much focus on politics would distract her from her work in the Madison schools, she said.

"I think my major role is to work on improving schools in Madison. That's why I was hired and I need to remain focused on that," Cheatham said. "But I do think there are times it is important for me to voice my opinion on behalf of the school district on state issues."

That includes the Walker education budget.

Cheatham is scheduled to be on hand at noon Wednesday when School Board members, superintendents, parents and other advocates from around Dane County talk about the impact of Walker's education proposals in Room 411, the large Senate meeting room.

The Madison School Board has already actively lobbied against the Walker budget, urging local legislators not to support a plan that is "bad for our students, our taxpayers and the future of public education."

Board members say expanding vouchers into Madison, as Walker has proposed, is a particularly bad idea. They note there's no consistent evidence that kids using publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools do better academically, and they say that funding vouchers is likely to raise local property taxes.

It's not just school officials who are weighing in on the highly politicized issue of school vouchers. The Madison City Council passed a resolution last month, sponsored by all 20 members, opposing expansion of vouchers to Madison. The Dane County Board is considering a similar resolution.

Reading has been job one for quite some time, unfortunately.

Right to read lawsuit filed in Michigan.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 11, 2013 3:37 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas