School Finance and Education Policy Research
Public education in Wisconsin is a critical element in personal, community and statewide prosperity. Over the past 20 years, public schools have been at the center of significant controversy involving cost, educational achievement, governance and teacher quality. Since IWF’s inception, education-related issues have been at the center of the organization’s research agenda.
School funding has been a priority since 1996 when IWF published an analysis of a Wisconsin policy that revised how state aid to school districts was distributed. Since that time, IWF has published a series of reports on the impact of school budget cuts, problems in the state aid formula and alternative plans for ensuring adequate state aid for schools. Read more...
WAES is driving force in funding reform
Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools
The
Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES),
was established by IWF in 1998 as a coalition
of parents, teachers, students and education
officials responding to public school budget
cuts eroding the quality of education across
the state. Using research from IWF, WAES organizers
traveled statewide to help citizens and education
stakeholders understand how and why the state
school funding system was failing to work in
the best interest of students and communities.
Read more...
Hundreds rally in Madison for school-funding
reform
Walk on Childside rally on June 16th,
2009
Several hundred people showed up in Madison,
Tuesday, to deliver a message to state government
loud and clear: Enough is enough. It’s time to
change Wisconsin’s school-funding system.
People from all over the state came together for the 10th anniversary of the Walk on the Child’s Side, an event first held in June of 1999 to draw attention to the effects of the way the state funds public education. At the time, walkers left Butternut and covered the 240 miles to Madison to build support for funding reform.
Between 300 and 400 school board members, parents, students, and educators walked from the University of Wisconsin Library Mall to the State Street entrance to the Capitol for a brief rally. The highlight of the noon event was the appearance by a handful of legislators that resulted in an ovation from the crowd.
» For more coverage of the Walk on the Child’s Side, click here
» See additional pictures of the Walk on the Child's Side
» Press release after the Walk
News coverage:
» Channel 27, WKOW-TV, Madison coverage
» WEAC website coverage
» Channel 3, WISC-TV, Madison
» Advocating on Madison Public Schools (AMPS)
» WisconsinEye coverage
» Wisconsin Public Radio