Boots & Sabers

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Category: Politics – Wisconsin

Milwaukee’s money pit

by | 1049, 30 Sep 23 | , | 2 Comments

Here is my full column that ran earlier in the week in the Washington County Daily News

Wisconsin’s legislative Republicans have announced a new proposal to fund renovations at American Family Field in an effort to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee for another generation. The plan is a package of $600 million in state, county, and city funding coupled with $100 million from the Brewers. This is the third or fourth such proposal (I have lost count), but all of the proposals make some rather sweeping assumptions that must be challenged before the taxpayers are put on the financial hook for another couple of decades.

 

The first assumption is that having a Major League Baseball team in a particular community is a net benefit to that community. The current funding plan reflects that perceived benefit with proportionally more funding being committed by the entities that stand to benefit the most.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers are a private, for-profit business. They provide entertainment for profit. The Brewers employ local people, attract people from out of state to spend money in Wisconsin, and anchor some economic development. In this respect, they are no different than many other businesses headquartered in the state like a robust manufacturer or technology firm that generates economic benefit — most of which flows into the pockets of business owners and their employees.

 

There is also an intangible benefit to the Brewers being in Wisconsin. A major sports franchise contributes to a community by providing a shared identity and point of pride. It is a unifying force. Measuring this identifiable, but unquantifiable, benefit is difficult. We must acknowledge that there is a significant amount of vanity influencing the debate. Many lawmakers who want the taxpayers to support the Brewers do so because they like supporting the Brewers. They are fans.

 

If we take the first assumption to be true — that the Brewers are a net economic and societal benefit for Milwaukee and Wisconsin — then we must challenge a second assumption. Should the taxpayers subsidize the success of this private business?

 

Politicians are notoriously opaque about deciding when and how taxpayers should fund the success of private enterprises, but it happens all the time.

 

Through tax incremental finance districts, favorable tax incentives, direct subsidies, and other means, taxpayers are constantly supporting private businesses under the auspices of economic development.

 

Such taxpayer support is not necessarily a bad thing, but it should be done with reticence and clear expectations as to the return that the taxpayers might receive for their forced investment in a private enterprise. Too often, politicians are lax in their due diligence and weak in their demands when doling out taxpayer money. Such is the benefit of them spending other people’s money where they can take a victory lap for the spending while never being held accountable if there is no return on the investment.

 

All such investments must be prioritized in the context of all of the other demands on taxpayers. Is fixing AmFam Field more important than funding law enforcement? Road maintenance? Snow removal?

 

Other economic development like technology or manufacturing? Is AmFam Field more important than lowering taxes and reducing the size of government?

 

There is no such thing as a free lunch. In a world of scarce resources, funding AmFam Field means that something else will not make the list.

 

All things considered, having the Brewers in Wisconsin is a net benefit to the state, but it does not rise to the level of justifying hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer support. Moreover, the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, which owns and operated AmFam Field, has done a terrible job managing the facility to be self-sustaining.

 

A quick look at the SWPBPD’s 2022 financial statements shows that they are running chronic losses. The only sources of revenue are $905,000 from rent from the Brewers, $300,000 in license plate revenue from the vanity plates, $4,500 in miscellaneous, and they lost $7.1 million in investments. Add on the $10.5 million in expenses and the District lost $16.4 million. This operating loss was on top of the $9.9 million loss in 2021.

 

2022 was a brutal year for everyone’s investments thanks to Bidenomics, so we can forgive the investment loss. The financials, however, beg some questions. Why did the Brewers pay less than $1 million per year to use the facility in 2022? That is less than $12,000 per home game. Why has the SWPBPD not found other ways to bring in revenue for the facility?

 

Why have they not been renting out the facility for other events to generate more revenue? Why is the SWPBPD not getting a cut of the sponsorship and concessions money? There is a lot of money is flowing through that stadium that is not making it to the taxpayers who own it for use in its maintenance.

 

The SWPBPD did a commendable job paying off the stadium debt early, but they have not done anything in twenty years to build a self-supporting revenue structure once the five-county stadium sales tax ended.

 

They are supporting expenses by spending down the nearly $60 million in reserves that was generated by the now defunct stadium tax. It appears that the plan all along was to come back to the public trough to sustain the stadium’s operations and maintenance.

 

Taxpayers are rightfully dubious about spending more hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for a building that has been terribly managed for the benefit of one private business. Lawmakers should look to sell the facility to a private enterprise that can manage it profitably and end the taxpayers’ obligation for its upkeep. Even if the underlying assets are sold for below market value, the end of taxpayer obligations is a net benefit for taxpayers. If lawmakers cannot find a private buyer willing to make the investment, then we must ask again why taxpayers would.

A few notes on this column. First, I screwed up the acronym. The governing board actually goes by SEWPBPD instead of SWPBPD. I’m not sure that’s an improvement, but there it is.

Also, it turns out that the lease that the Brewers have with the SEWPBPD that was negotiated and put in place by lawmakers before the board was constituted prohibits the board from monetizing the stadium. Essentially, the Brewers have exclusive access and get any proceeds from renting it out, concessions, sponsorships, etc. As the lease is written, the Brewers – NOT the taxpayers – get all of the benefits of owning the stadium without having any of the obligations for its upkeep or improvements.

The taxpayers are getting hosed here. Privatize the stadium and get the taxpayers out of bearing the costs of this wealthy, private entertainment business.

Milwaukee’s money pit

by | 0721, 26 Sep 23 | | 1 Comment

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

If we take the first assumption to be true — that the Brewers are a net economic and societal benefit for Milwaukee and Wisconsin — then we must challenge a second assumption. Should the taxpayers subsidize the success of this private business?

 

Politicians are notoriously opaque about deciding when and how taxpayers should fund the success of private enterprises, but it happens all the time.

 

Through tax incremental finance districts, favorable tax incentives, direct subsidies, and other means, taxpayers are constantly supporting private businesses under the auspices of economic development.

 

Such taxpayer support is not necessarily a bad thing, but it should be done with reticence and clear expectations as to the return that the taxpayers might receive for their forced investment in a private enterprise. Too often, politicians are lax in their due diligence and weak in their demands when doling out taxpayer money. Such is the benefit of them spending other people’s money where they can take a victory lap for the spending while never being held accountable if there is no return on the investment.

 

All such investments must be prioritized in the context of all of the other demands on taxpayers. Is fixing AmFam Field more important than funding law enforcement? Road maintenance? Snow removal?

 

Other economic development like technology or manufacturing? Is AmFam Field more important than lowering taxes and reducing the size of government?

 

There is no such thing as a free lunch. In a world of scarce resources, funding AmFam Field means that something else will not make the list.

 

All things considered, having the Brewers in Wisconsin is a net benefit to the state, but it does not rise to the level of justifying hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer support. Moreover, the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, which owns and operated AmFam Field, has done a terrible job managing the facility to be self-sustaining.

 

A quick look at the SWPBPD’s 2022 financial statements shows that they are running chronic losses. The only sources of revenue are $905,000 from rent from the Brewers, $300,000 in license plate revenue from the vanity plates, $4,500 in miscellaneous, and they lost $7.1 million in investments. Add on the $10.5 million in expenses and the District lost $16.4 million. This operating loss was on top of the $9.9 million loss in 2021.

 

2022 was a brutal year for everyone’s investments thanks to Bidenomics, so we can forgive the investment loss. The financials, however, beg some questions. Why did the Brewers pay less than $1 million per year to use the facility in 2022? That is less than $12,000 per home game. Why has the SWPBPD not found other ways to bring in revenue for the facility?

 

Why have they not been renting out the facility for other events to generate more revenue? Why is the SWPBPD not getting a cut of the sponsorship and concessions money? There is a lot of money is flowing through that stadium that is not making it to the taxpayers who own it for use in its maintenance.

 

The SWPBPD did a commendable job paying off the stadium debt early, but they have not done anything in twenty years to build a self-supporting revenue structure once the five-county stadium sales tax ended.

 

They are supporting expenses by spending down the nearly $60 million in reserves that was generated by the now defunct stadium tax. It appears that the plan all along was to come back to the public trough to sustain the stadium’s operations and maintenance.

 

Taxpayers are rightfully dubious about spending more hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for a building that has been terribly managed for the benefit of one private business. Lawmakers should look to sell the facility to a private enterprise that can manage it profitably and end the taxpayers’ obligation for its upkeep. Even if the underlying assets are sold for below market value, the end of taxpayer obligations is a net benefit for taxpayers. If lawmakers cannot find a private buyer willing to make the investment, then we must ask again why taxpayers would.

Governor’s office not being run in accordance with societal norms

by | 1558, 15 Sep 23 | | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week.

When I first entered the professional workforce long ago in the previous millennia, I recall the new employee onboarding process. Neatly pressed with my briefcase in hand, faux leather portfolio, and resume printed on crisp premium linen paper, I met with the Human Resources professional to read and physically sign all the paperwork. Included in that paperwork were the sexual harassment policies and the absolute prohibition of romantic or sexual relationships between superiors and subordinates. The existence of such a relationship was grounds for immediate termination.

 

It has been at least that long since such policies have been commonplace in the professional workforce, but Gov. Tony Evers’ office has not yet come into the previous century. His office is still one where bosses are allowed to have sexual and romantic relationships with their subordinates as long as the governor is closely monitoring the situation.

 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the story last week that Evers’ long time Chief of Staff, Maggie Gau, the power behind the throne, has been in a relationship with one of her direct subordinates for years. When confronted with the news, the governor reacted aggressively rejecting the implication that such a situation was inappropriate. He said, “I don’t think it’s anybody’s g****** business” and assured people that, “I monitor their performance on a regular basis.”

 

It was also revealed that the governor’s office does not have a policy prohibiting such relationships and that the governor patently rejects the idea that such a policy is necessary. The governor rejects that such a policy is necessary because it is a small staff of about thirty people and he can personally evaluate each member’s performance to avoid any possibility of inappropriate behavior based on who is having sex with whom.

 

Since the governor has taken personal ownership and responsibility for each member of his staff’s performance, perhaps he can explain the meteoric rise of Gau’s better half. Originally appointed as a deputy in 2019 for $62,000 per year, the employee was promoted to report directly to Gau in 2020 and given a raise to $100,006 per year. This year, that salary was increased to $112,008. That is an 80% increase in pay in just four years when other state employees are barely seeing cost of living increases in their wages.

 

Did Governor Evers conduct a competitive hiring process before signing off on the promotion? Were other candidates considered? What were the selection criteria? What experience or previous performance supported the promotion for that employee more than other employees of similar rank and tenure? If everything is above board, then surely the governor would willingly show the rigor behind his hiring and promotion methodology, no?

 

But, of course, even if everything has been done with full transparency and fairness, the mere existence of the relationship taints the office. Even the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the most leftist organizations in America, correctly points out the reason that they have a policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates. Their policy states, “… such relationships create an environment charged with potential or perceived conflicts of interest and possible use of academic or supervisory leverage to maintain or promote the relationship. Romantic or sexual relationships that the parties view as consensual may still raise questions of favoritism, as well as of a potential abuse of trust and power.”

 

This is common sense and normal practice everywhere except in Governor Evers’ office. Furthermore, such relationships put the organization at great risk of legal liability. If the relationship goes sour, then the organization can be sued for allowing someone in a position of power to wield it over a romantic interest. Others in the office can sue the organization if they think they have been discriminated against or denied fair treatment based on the relationship. These lawsuits can result in the organization, in this case the State of Wisconsin, paying out millions of dollars in damages to the plaintiffs and their lawyers. In this case, it is just the taxpayers’ money, so we understand why Governor Evers is unbothered by the risk.

 

Governor Evers is running an office in which romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates is allowed at great risk to the taxpayers and at great consternation to others in the office who do not have exclusive access to his chief of staff’s ear in the wee hours of the morning. He has forcefully, and repeatedly, taken personal responsibility to ensure that all employment practices are appropriately followed irrespective of such relationships. It is his burden of proof to show that his office is being run in a professional way within the legal strictures and societal norms the rest of us live by every day.

Wisconsin GOP Begins Constitutional Amendment Process to Slow Tax Increases

by | 0913, 13 Sep 23 | | 0 Comments

Good. More of this, please.

The Assembly also approved along party lines a proposal that would require a two-thirds vote to pass a bill that increases states sales, income or franchise taxes.

 

Republicans who support the bill say a higher threshold would ensure tax increases are carefully considered. They cite 16 states that also require a supermajority to raise taxes.

Governor’s office not being run in accordance with societal norms

by | 0718, 12 Sep 23 | | 2 Comments

Not my favorite headline, but my column is online and in print in the Washington County Daily News today. Here’s a part:

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the story last week that Evers’ long time Chief of Staff, Maggie Gau, the power behind the throne, has been in a relationship with one of her direct subordinates for years. When confronted with the news, the governor reacted aggressively rejecting the implication that such a situation was inappropriate. He said, “I don’t think it’s anybody’s g****** business” and assured people that, “I monitor their performance on a regular basis.”

 

It was also revealed that the governor’s office does not have a policy prohibiting such relationships and that the governor patently rejects the idea that such a policy is necessary. The governor rejects that such a policy is necessary because it is a small staff of about thirty people and he can personally evaluate each member’s performance to avoid any possibility of inappropriate behavior based on who is having sex with whom.

 

Since the governor has taken personal ownership and responsibility for each member of his staff’s performance, perhaps he can explain the meteoric rise of Gau’s better half. Originally appointed as a deputy in 2019 for $62,000 per year, the employee was promoted to report directly to Gau in 2020 and given a raise to $100,006 per year. This year, that salary was increased to $112,008. That is an 80% increase in pay in just four years when other state employees are barely seeing cost of living increases in their wages.

 

Did Governor Evers conduct a competitive hiring process before signing off on the promotion? Were other candidates considered? What were the selection criteria? What experience or previous performance supported the promotion for that employee more than other employees of similar rank and tenure? If everything is above board, then surely the governor would willingly show the rigor behind his hiring and promotion methodology, no?

 

[…]

 

Governor Evers is running an office in which romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates is allowed at great risk to the taxpayers and at great consternation to others in the office who do not have exclusive access to his chief of staff’s ear in the wee hours of the morning. He has forcefully, and repeatedly, taken personal responsibility to ensure that all employment practices are appropriately followed irrespective of such relationships. It is his burden of proof to show that his office is being run in a professional way within the legal strictures and societal norms the rest of us live by every day.

Wisconsin Supreme Court’s leftist majority forfeits court’s authority

by | 1853, 8 Sep 23 | , | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week.

What do we do when high government officials act without regard to the Constitution or law? What do we do when government officials engage in a bloodless insurrection and usurp power that is not theirs? It is happening in the Wisconsin Supreme Court as the new liberal majority has moved swiftly to orchestrate a coup while running roughshod over the state Constitution, the law, and long-established court rules.

 

Even before Janet Protasiewicz was seated, the incoming liberal majority had notified the long-standing and award-winning State Courts Director, Randy Koshnick, that he was fired. The firing violated several internal court rules and simple decency toward a longstanding state employee.

 

Continuing their galumph over court rules and state law, the liberal gang appointed Milwaukee Judge Audrey Skwierawski to replace Koshnick. Not only was it not a competitive hiring process in which persons of color and others candidates were considered, but it violates state law. Wisconsin statute 757.02(2) states, “The judge of any court of record in this state shall be ineligible to hold any office of public trust, except a judicial office, during the term for which he or she was elected or appointed.”

 

Skwierawski claims to be on leave, but the statute is clear that she cannot legally serve as the State Courts Director during the term for which she was elected. The only way she could legally hold the position is if she resigned as a judge, but she has declined to do so.

 

We have quickly learned why the leftist majority rammed Skwierawski into the position. Last week, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler discovered that Skwierawski had been signing reserve judge orders with Justice Ziegler’s name without Ziegler’s knowledge or permission. It is unclear what else Skwierawski may have signed while impersonating the Chief Justice. This alleged identity theft by Skwierawski is a direct usurpation of Ziegler’s power and a violation of her person.

 

The leftist majority also violated court rules to pass new administrative rules to usurp the Chief Justice’s power. Under court rule III(A), any change to the court schedule agreed upon in the spring requires unanimous approval of all seven elected justices. These rules have been in effect since 1984 and adhered to in times of liberal and conservative majorities. Contrary to that rule, the four leftist justices met alone on August fourth to change the administrative structure of the court.

 

Not only was their meeting unauthorized and invalid, but the rule they “passed” violates the state Constitution. One of the changes was to create a three-justice committee to administer the court. The committee consists of the Chief Justice and two justices elected by the leftist majority. Of course, those two elected committee members are elected by the leftist majority and would effectively usurp all of the power of the Chief Justice.

 

The Wisconsin State Constitution Article VII Section 4(3) states, “The chief justice of the supreme court shall be the administrative head of the judicial system and shall exercise this administrative authority pursuant to procedures adopted by the supreme court.” The Chief Justice’s exclusive authority to administer the Supreme Court is granted by, and protected by, the Constitution. The leftist majority’s administrative committee is a direct violation of the Constitution.

 

It has only been a month and the leftists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has been acting with Marxist disregard for the rule of law in pursuit of overwhelming power that would make Comrade Stalin wince at their brazenness.

 

When a majority of the justices on the state’s high court are so clearly and openly violating the court’s own rules, state law, and the Constitution, they have forfeited their authority and surrendered their power to judge the affairs of the people of Wisconsin. If they do not follow the law and the Constitution, they have no authority to judge whether we do.

Evers’ Party Office

by | 1656, 6 Sep 23 | | 1 Comment

Belling’s take is spot on. I hope they keep digging.

I truly think it’s possible that Evers is so clueless about life that he didn’t know you can’t do these things anymore. For him, maybe it’s still the 1960s. Maybe his office is like the one on “Mad Men” where all the big shots were scoring with their secretaries. But Democrats who know Evers say he’s obviously aware of what contemporary rules are, having been a school superintendent and all. If so, why is Evers enabling his chief of staff’s hookup with a high-ranking underling?

 

Gau is super-powerful. Evers is an often absent and absent-minded governor. Gau runs the governor’s office and is a micromanager. She makes all decisions on everything. Evers is almost a figurehead. Maybe Evers simply delegated the decision on Gau’s link with Cudaback to Gau herself. Maybe Evers is so terrified of losing Gau that he can’t say no to her.

 

What will sure be interesting are Cudaback’s performance reviews should an open records request get them to surface. Or, state paid travel vouchers. Were the taxpayers paying for both to travel on business in which only one was needed? Bice’s report quoted other Evers staffers and Democrats as being uncomfortable with the whole situation and said they were uneasy about criticizing Cudaback because of her special role in Gau’s life.

Wisconsin Supreme Court’s leftist majority forfeits court’s authority

by | 0727, 5 Sep 23 | , | 4 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

What do we do when high government officials act without regard to the Constitution or law? What do we do when government officials engage in a bloodless insurrection and usurp power that is not theirs? It is happening in the Wisconsin Supreme Court as the new liberal majority has moved swiftly to orchestrate a coup while running roughshod over the state Constitution, the law, and long-established court rules.

 

[…]

 

Continuing their galumph over court rules and state law, the liberal gang appointed Milwaukee Judge Audrey Skwierawski to replace Koshnick. Not only was it not a competitive hiring process in which persons of color and others candidates were considered, but it violates state law. Wisconsin statute 757.02(2) states, “The judge of any court of record in this state shall be ineligible to hold any office of public trust, except a judicial office, during the term for which he or she was elected or appointed.”

 

Skwierawski claims to be on leave, but the statute is clear that she cannot legally serve as the State Courts Director during the term for which she was elected. The only way she could legally hold the position is if she resigned as a judge, but she has declined to do so.

 

We have quickly learned why the leftist majority rammed Skwierawski into the position. Last week, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler discovered that Skwierawski had been signing reserve judge orders with Justice Ziegler’s name without Ziegler’s knowledge or permission. It is unclear what else Skwierawski may have signed while impersonating the Chief Justice. This alleged identity theft by Skwierawski is a direct usurpation of Ziegler’s power and a violation of her person.

 

[…]

 

It has only been a month and the leftists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has been acting with Marxist disregard for the rule of law in pursuit of overwhelming power that would make Comrade Stalin wince at their brazenness.

 

When a majority of the justices on the state’s high court are so clearly and openly violating the court’s own rules, state law, and the Constitution, they have forfeited their authority and surrendered their power to judge the affairs of the people of Wisconsin. If they do not follow the law and the Constitution, they have no authority to judge whether we do.

Evers Encourages Sexual Harassment in Workplace

by | 0739, 1 Sep 23 | | 12 Comments

This is sexual harassment training 101. People cannot date – much less live with – people in their direct chain of command. It is poisonous to the workplace and puts the organization at tremendous risk of legal hazard. In this case, it doesn’t even appear that Gau and her partner fell in love while working in the same team. That happens and when it does, it is the responsibility for one of them to quit or transfer. But no. In this case, it looks like Gau brought her lover to her team and gave him/her massive raises. This is clearly unethical and probably illegal.

Evers doesn’t care. He’s the shingles of state government.

Gov. Tony Evers acknowledged that his office doesn’t restrict supervisors from engaging in consensual romantic relationships with the staffers they oversee. Evers, a second-term Democrat, said he keeps a close eye on what is going on in his office, which has some 37 employees.

 

“It’s a small group of people, and I monitor their performance on a regular basis,” Evers said. “One of my jobs as governor is to monitor the performance of my staff, and I believe they are doing a good job.”

 

But a handful of Democrats have spoken to the Journal Sentinel in recent weeks to express their concerns that Maggie Gau, Evers’ powerful chief of staff, is — from all appearances — in a longtime romantic relationship with another senior employee whom she directly supervises.

 

Evers refused to discuss that particular situation on Tuesday during a stop at Greenwood Junior-Senior High School in Clark County.

 

“I don’t think it’s anybody’s goddamn business,” Evers said. “That’s the bottom line.”

 

Sources said the relationship was creating a difficult environment in Evers’ office, especially because they believe no one can raise concerns to Gau about her partner. Asked about this, the governor said, “That’s not accurate. It’s as simple as that. No way.”

 

[…]

 

The statement went on to say that the subordinate was appointed to a deputy’s position at a pay of $62,000 a year in January 2019, a position that did not report directly to Gau but was still under her chain of command. The staffer was promoted by Evers to a top-level position that does report to Gau on Nov. 8, 2020, with an annual salary of $100,006. That pay was boosted to $112,008 per year in January — an 80% pay increase in four years.

Wisconsin Republicans Propose Tax Cut

by | 0659, 30 Aug 23 | | 8 Comments

Yes. Pass it. Evers probably won’t sign it, but Republicans should keep passing spending and tax cuts to keep focus on the fact that Evers refuses to give taxpayers any relief.

Republicans called for tapping the state’s projected $4 billion budget surplus to pay for the tax cut, which would lower the state’s third income tax bracket from 5.3% to 4.4% and exclude the first $150,000 of a couple’s retirement income from taxes. That would apply to people over age 67.

The income tax cut would mean that taxes for income between $27,630 and $304,170 for individuals, and between $36,840 and $405,550 for married couples, would drop from 5.3% to 4.4%. Every joint filer earning between $18,420 and $405,550 would be taxed at the same 4.4% rate.

[…]

The retirement tax cut is a new proposal. It would exempt the first $100,000 from an individual’s retirement income from taxes and the first $150,000 from a couple’s income. Under current law, money withdrawn from an individual retirement account, 401(k) plan or other retirement savings accounts are subject to Wisconsin income tax.

New Houston School Superintendent Pushes Substantive Change

by | 1534, 28 Aug 23 | , | 3 Comments

Doing things the same way will get the same results. Good for him for forcing meaningful changes. I hope he will measure and adjust as needed.

One of Miles’ boldest projects has been a major restructuring of 28 underperforming schools, many of which are located in lower-income neighborhoods. Their teachers must now follow a centrally scripted curriculum, with in-classroom cameras monitoring their performance and pay based largely on standardized test scores.

 

Miles, who developed these ideas as CEO of a charter school network, has said he wants to eventually expand his “New Education System” to 150 of the district’s 274 schools, whose nearly 200,000 students are more than 80% Latino and Black.

 

Miles also has disbanded a team that supported students with autism, although his staff says special education services will continue as part of a restructuring, and filled some vacancies with uncertified teachers.

 

His most criticized change is transforming libraries at dozens of underperforming schools into “team centers” where students will get extra help and where those who misbehave will be disciplined, watching lessons on Zoom rather than disrupting their classrooms.

Another school year begins

by | 1500, 25 Aug 23 | , | 4 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week:

With the beginning of another school year bursting with hope and promise, it is sobering to pause and reflect on just how bad Wisconsin’s schools are. For generations, Wisconsinites have pointed to the educational system as a point of pride. No doubt there was a time when the state’s schools were great and the pride was justified, but it has not been true for decades. We are lying to ourselves.

 

Yes, there are bright spots, but as a whole, Wisconsin’s education system is failing our children on a monumental scale even as we pat ourselves on the backs, increase the funding, and gaslight ourselves about what a good education our children are getting. If the first step to any recovery is admitting that we have a problem, then Wisconsinites must admit that the schools are failing.

 

The truth is in the data. While some bemoan standardized tests, they are a useful tool to provide objective insight into the outcomes that the schools are delivering. They also provide a longitudinal look at performance to measure the impact of changes in policy. While some kids are better than others at tests, the widespread application of tests provides a statistically relevant view of school performance in the job that matters most — are the kids learning? Are the schools teaching kids to read? To write? Do math? Civics? Science? To reason? To think? Are they teaching kids basic facts that form a base of knowledge from which kids can understand and evaluate the world around them? Are the schools teaching kids to concentrate? Study? Sort and prioritize knowledge?

 

For the majority of kids in Wisconsin, the answer is “no.”

 

Wisconsin began administering the Forward Exam in the 2015-2016 school year. The Wisconsin Department of Administration says that, “The Exam is designed to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in order to be college and career ready.” The exam is not testing to see if a kid is a genius. It is merely testing to see if he or she is proficient according to the standards for their grade level.

 

The results are appalling. For the 2020-2021 school year, the most recent data available, a mere 39.2 percent of students between grades three and eight were at least proficient in math. Over 57 percent of students cannot do math at their grade level. For the same age group, only 37 percent of students were at least proficient in language arts. Almost 60 percent are not able to understand language at the appropriate grade level.

 

It does not get better as they get older. In the eleventh grade, over 90 percent of Wisconsin’s students take the ACT exam. On that test for the 2020-2021 school year, only 27 percent of students were at least proficient in math. Only 28.1 percent of students are at least proficient in science. 35 percent of students are at least proficient in English language arts.

 

For every three kids who enter a Wisconsin school this year, only one of them will end the year proficient in math or language.

 

Yet, Wisconsin’s schools boast a 90.2 percent graduation rate. Why in the world are we graduating 90 percent of kids when only one in three of them can do math at grade level? How are we looking ourselves in the mirror and telling ourselves that we are equipping our children for the world of tomorrow when we thrust a diploma into their hands despite the fact that over half of them cannot read at an adult level?

 

Wisconsinites should be ashamed and angry that our schools are so abysmal at performing their core duty — educating children. Instead, we shovel more money into the Government Education Complex, celebrate that our kids managed to get a piece of paper, and throw kids into a complex world for which they are debilitatingly unprepared.

 

Our children deserve better, but they will not get better until Wisconsinites stop living in a fantasy and admit that our schools are failing.

Another school year begins

by | 0625, 22 Aug 23 | , | 0 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

With the beginning of another school year bursting with hope and promise, it is sobering to pause and reflect on just how bad Wisconsin’s schools are. For generations, Wisconsinites have pointed to the educational system as a point of pride. No doubt there was a time when the state’s schools were great and the pride was justified, but it has not been true for decades. We are lying to ourselves.

 

Yes, there are bright spots, but as a whole, Wisconsin’s education system is failing our children on a monumental scale even as we pat ourselves on the backs, increase the funding, and gaslight ourselves about what a good education our children are getting. If the first step to any recovery is admitting that we have a problem, then Wisconsinites must admit that the schools are failing.

 

[…]

 

For the 2020-2021 school year, the most recent data available, a mere 39.2 percent of students between grades three and eight were at least proficient in math. Over 57 percent of students cannot do math at their grade level. For the same age group, only 37 percent of students were at least proficient in language arts. Almost 60 percent are not able to understand language at the appropriate grade level.

 

It does not get better as they get older. In the eleventh grade, over 90 percent of Wisconsin’s students take the ACT exam. On that test for the 2020-2021 school year, only 27 percent of students were at least proficient in math. Only 28.1 percent of students are at least proficient in science. 35 percent of students are at least proficient in English language arts.

 

For every three kids who enter a Wisconsin school this year, only one of them will end the year proficient in math or language.

 

Yet, Wisconsin’s schools boast a 90.2 percent graduation rate. Why in the world are we graduating 90 percent of kids when only one in three of them can do math at grade level? How are we looking ourselves in the mirror and telling ourselves that we are equipping our children for the world of tomorrow when we thrust a diploma into their hands despite the fact that over half of them cannot read at an adult level?

Wisconsin is shrinking

by | 0631, 18 Aug 23 | | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week. Verily, if Wisconsin does not stop the bleed of people in their working years, many of the other raucous political debates become somewhat moot.

We are going to return to a topic that this column broached several weeks ago because policymakers in Madison fail to appreciate the severity of what is to come. Wisconsin is losing population. This is happening in a time of national population growth and the negative consequences will be unavoidable. The time to act is now.

 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States added 1.8 million, or 0.6%, people between 2020 and 2022. Over the same period, Wisconsin lost 3,372 people, or 0.06%, of its population. After counting all of the people who moved out of the state and subtracting all of the people who moved into the state, Wisconsin’s population is declining despite the fact that the nation, as a whole, is gaining population.

 

A deeper look into the data reveals an even more dire situation. In the prime working years between 25 and 59 years old, Wisconsin lost nearly 39,000, or 1.5%, of its people. This is the age group that fills jobs, pays the most taxes, and spends the most on things like houses, vehicles, groceries, and the rest that fuels the consumer economy. Even worse, men are leaving the state at a rate faster than women. Given that on average more men participate in the labor force than women, that means that the decline in the available labor force is more pronounced than the overall number suggests.

 

It gets worse. Coming up behind those working adults, Wisconsin’s population is declining even faster. Between the ages of birth and 19 years old, Wisconsin lost almost 41,000, or 2.8%, of its people. That means that there will be fewer people entering the workforce to replace those exiting.

 

The only age group that is increasing in Wisconsin is at the top of the age groups. Wisconsin gained almost 67,000, or a whopping 4.6%, people above the age of 60. This age group tends to be at the end of their working career and are drawing down their consumption as they enjoy their well-earned silver years.

 

All of this is over just a two-year period. As demographics drive destiny, Wisconsin’s destiny is in trouble. As Wisconsin loses its prime labor force, the issue is compounded by the societal shift to a shrinking labor participation rate. Since its peak labor participation rate of 74.7% in December of 1997, more Wisconsinites have been steadily declining to participate in the labor force. As of January 2023, only 64.7% of Wisconsinites were working. There has been a slight uptick in participation in 2023 as people are forced back to work to cope with inflationary prices, but time will tell if that signals the beginning of a trend reversal.

 

If not reversed, the results of Wisconsin’s declining population are inevitable. As businesses struggle to find workers to fill their jobs and produce their goods, they will look to other states to find their workforce. As businesses leave, the population decline will accelerate.

 

Meanwhile, those remaining in Wisconsin will see their taxes continue to increase. Wisconsin’s state and local governments have shown a bipartisan unwillingness to restrain spending and there are fewer and fewer people to tax. Again, the overall numbers mask the severity of the issue. Wisconsin’s progressive income tax and reliance on property taxes means that the tax burden is borne by an even smaller subset of the population. That smaller subset are those leaving the state at the highest rate. As the increasing tax burden concentrates in fewer people, more people will seek relief in other states.

 

Taken to the end of the road, Wisconsin faces economic collapse and government bankruptcy. Fortunately, we are at the beginning of a trend and there is ample time to change direction. That change will take a concerted effort by both parties to change the incentives and disincentives that are driving the trend. Public policy should be focused on easing the burden of government to attract more people to the state while removing the incentives that keep people from participating in the labor force. We must stop punishing people for working hard and raising a family while we reward people for living off of the taxpayers’ misplaced kindness.

 

While politicians bicker in Madison, people are voting with their feet. That trend will not stop until someone chooses to stop it. Stopping it will become increasingly difficult as it gathers momentum. The time to act is now. Small changes now reduce the need for big, painful changes later.

 

West Bend School District Changes Course on Inappropriate Books

by | 0656, 16 Aug 23 | , , | 0 Comments

Or do they?

Wimmer is recommending that “The 57 Bus” by Dashka Slater be removed as a choice book from the eighth-grade English curriculum at Badger Middle School, and that the use of “The 57 Bus” and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, M.D. in the West Bend High Schools curriculum be suspended until the curriculum committee and school board complete their review of the curriculum guidelines and books on the book club choice lists.

 

“The work of our board and their curriculum and policy committees has yet to be finalized,” said Wimmer in a WBSD release. “The books in question will not be used for book club selections until formally reviewed by the curriculum committee and subsequently the full board.”

 

The two books will remain in the West Bend High School Library “until any further board work or action provides direction for removal,” according to a release from the WBSD.

 

Wimmer said the reason for her recommendation to remove “The 57 Bus” from Badger Middle School was due to the book being duplicative in WBSD curriculum, since it was included in both the eighth grade and junior year English book club choice book lists.

 

“Not even looking at content, not even looking at those kinds of pieces, it’s duplicated,” said Wimmer. “It’s a piece in curriculum that’s dually stated, that was not present in the library at Badger, it’s just not necessary as a book club [book].”

Everyone is dancing around the content and trying to litigate on the secondary or tertiary issues. The stated reason by the superintendent is that it is being removed from part of the curriculum because it’s duplicative. Put another way, they push these social issues SO MUCH that they can tolerate backing off a little in this one instance.

Still… it’s a move in the right direction, I guess.

Wisconsin is shrinking

by | 0735, 15 Aug 23 | , , | 2 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a slice:

We are going to return to a topic that this column broached several weeks ago because policymakers in Madison fail to appreciate the severity of what is to come. Wisconsin is losing population. This is happening in a time of national population growth and the negative consequences will be unavoidable. The time to act is now.

 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States added 1.8 million, or 0.6%, people between 2020 and 2022. Over the same period, Wisconsin lost 3,372 people, or 0.06%, of its population. After counting all of the people who moved out of the state and subtracting all of the people who moved into the state, Wisconsin’s population is declining despite the fact that the nation, as a whole, is gaining population.

 

A deeper look into the data reveals an even more dire situation. In the prime working years between 25 and 59 years old, Wisconsin lost nearly 39,000, or 1.5%, of its people. This is the age group that fills jobs, pays the most taxes, and spends the most on things like houses, vehicles, groceries, and the rest that fuels the consumer economy. Even worse, men are leaving the state at a rate faster than women. Given that on average more men participate in the labor force than women, that means that the decline in the available labor force is more pronounced than the overall number suggests.

 

It gets worse. Coming up behind those working adults, Wisconsin’s population is declining even faster. Between the ages of birth and 19 years old, Wisconsin lost almost 41,000, or 2.8%, of its people. That means that there will be fewer people entering the workforce to replace those exiting.

 

The only age group that is increasing in Wisconsin is at the top of the age groups. Wisconsin gained almost 67,000, or a whopping 4.6%, people above the age of 60. This age group tends to be at the end of their working career and are drawing down their consumption as they enjoy their well-earned silver years.

Leftist Justices Begin Rule With Authoritarianism

by | 1300, 6 Aug 23 | , | 0 Comments

The Leftists majority on the Supreme Court is off to a spectacular start.

Stunningly, it took them only about 48 hours to be credibly accused of violating the state Constitution, state law, and Supreme Court rules – TWICE. First, they fired Randy Koschnick, the respected State Courts Director, and wouldn’t tell him or anyone else why. Everyone’s best guess is it’s because he ran against liberal Shirley Abrahamson in 2009. This even earned them criticism from some liberals, like the former MADISON MAYOR (not an easy feat), who accused them of a partisan witch hunt, since Koschnick was a low-profile, effective innovator who didn’t inject politics into the job (and he just got an award!).

 

They appear to have hatched his unexplained and totally out-of-protocol firing before Janet Protasiewicz was even sworn in, didn’t tell the conservatives on the court about it (are we a middle school clique? Paging Lindsay Lohan…), and cut out the chief justice, even though the state Constitution gave HER authority to call administrative conferences. This led the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee Chair, Van Wanggaard, to accuse them of violating the law, their oaths, and the Constitution, all in one day!

 

They are so petty that they didn’t even wait until Thursday for Koschnick to return from out-of-state, ordering a staffer to box up his family photos. He responded by calling them (correctly) a “wrecking ball” in the press.

Remember a couple of things… first, this was predictable, predicted, and utterly preventable. Wisconsin’s voters chose this. Second, there is very little recourse. The Court is a coequal branch of government and can, with limited exception, manage their internal affairs as they see fit. There’s not a helluva lot anyone can do about it – much less when another coequal branch of government, the Executive Branch lorded over by Governor Evers, is cheering them on.

This court will leave a swath of damage through Wisconsin that will last for decades. Indeed, elections have consequences.

UW Sees Dramatic Drop in “non-underrepresented students”

by | 1648, 4 Aug 23 | , , | 20 Comments

Well, that’s an interesting stat.

UW System data indicates drastic enrollment drops by “non-underrepresented” students. They’re defined as students who are white, international students, or those with family heritage in Asian countries well-represented in the student body—such as China, Korea, and Japan.

 

Enrollment by those students fell around 20%, from almost 160,000 in the fall of 2010 to just under 130,000 in the fall of 2022.

Well, let’s see… over the last decade or more, the UW system has been actively biasing their enrollment criteria to favor underrepresented students while telling your average white or Asian Wisconsin kid that they are not welcome. UW administrators have carved out “safe spaces” for underrepresented students under the premise that they are needed because white and Asian kids as threats. Is it any wonder that when you spend years telling a group of people that they are terrible bigots because of the color of their skin that they might choose to go elsewhere for an education?

Immoral people act immorally in all things

by | 0703, 4 Aug 23 | , | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week. As I expected, I’ve received several outrage emails (and a few in praise) since it ran by folks in West Bend. Not a single person on either side mentioned the outrageous spending from the district. That’s the apathy that allows the district to increase spending by 40% when they lost 10% of the students. And they will keep increasing spending unless the voters stop them.

The West Bend School District is in the news again for promoting adult material to minors, but that controversy, while important, ignores the elephant in the classroom. Let us first discuss books and appropriate material for minors.

 

The issue in West Bend is that the schools are making available to children several books that discuss, and often evangelize, complex, and often controversial, topics like transgenderism, sex, and sexual intercourse. The books often include graphic descriptions of sexual activity and drawings of the same. While nobody is arguing that such books should be banned, many community members think that such graphic and complex issues are not appropriate for children.

 

The boundaries of age appropriateness waver by culture and temperament, but we have long held that there is a progression by which people are educated on increasingly complex and graphic material as their minds develop. What is appropriate for a 6-year-old is not the same as for a 26-year-old as the 6-year-old’s knowledge and experience has not yet developed to understand and contextualize the same materials. Issues like transgenderism, sex, and sexual intercourse, or for that matter the invisible hand, natural rights, or Mao’s Cultural Revolution, are issues that require a more mature mind to understand.

 

In most contexts, adults allowing access to, much less showing, graphic sexual material to children would rightly be considered deviant or predatory — like a creepy guy showing porn to his 10-year-old neighbor. In West Bend, as in other communities, there is now a passionate group of adults who insist that access and advocacy of such materials for children in school is paramount and any opposition to such is akin to Goebbels burning books before the Berlin Opera House in 1933. Such bombastic parallelism is the mark of a soft mind and softer morals.

 

With a near infinite amount of material to make available to our children, our government schools are obligated to curate content to the values and customs of the majority of their constituents. San Francisco will have a different perspective than West Bend — or so one would think. With the availability of school choice, parents of any economic means can and should be diligent about putting their kids in environments where the other adults are teaching values contrary to their own. If the school will not support parents, then the parents are obligated to take action in the best interests of their children.

 

While sex and books attract the ire of the community in West Bend of late, left unremarked is how the school district continues to spend the community into oblivion with absolutely no restraint or respect for the taxpayers. Let us consider just four important numbers: 6,623. 5,972. $87.5 million. $108.7 million.

 

According to the West Bend School District, in 2018, the district had 6,623 students and spent a total of $87.58 million. In 2023, they had 5,972 students and budgeted spending a total of $108.7 million (final audited numbers of what they actually spent has not yet been published).

 

That is a 10% decrease in students; a 25% increase in total spending; and a whopping nearly 42% increase in spending per pupil in just five years. During the period of a 10% student decline, spending on staff and on facilities increased. There has been no perceptible effort to reduce spending in proportion to the reduction in the number of students they serve.

 

If we are to discuss the immorality permeating the West Bend School District, we must start with the gluttony, hubris, and malice towards the taxpayers that saturates their financials. It is no surprise that where immorality exists, we see it manifest in many ways. Furthermore, given the record increase in state school funding in the state budget, coupled with the state’s dramatic increase in the property tax levy limit, we can expect the school board to continually increase taxing and spending ad infinitum.

 

The West Bend School District is now spending over $18,200 per student per year with no signs of moderating. In return for that extravagant expense and largesse from the taxpayers, the community is insulted and ignored when asking for school employees to demonstrate some decency and respect for the age of the children and the values of their parents. It is detestable but will continue as long as the community tolerates it by electing School Board members who support it.

UW Oshkosh to Layoff Staff

by | 2004, 3 Aug 23 | , | 0 Comments

It’s about time. Enrollment is declining. They should be cutting back staff. Also, as someone who has spent some time on the UWO campus, there is plenty… PLENTY of fat to trim. Note to UWO leadership: if you make small reductions as you go based on actual conditions and future projections, you won’t have to make big reductions all at once.

UW-Oshkosh plans to cut about 200 non-faculty staff and administrators this fall, while furloughing others, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt said Thursday, as the university faces an unprecedented $18 million budget shortfall. The cuts amount to about 20% of university employees.

 

“It is no longer sustainable for us to operate without dramatic reduction in expenses,” Leavitt said in an email to employees.

 

Administrators referred to a “perfect storm” in conditions that have led to budgetary issues: a decline in the number of high school graduates choosing to go to college or university and declining state support for the University of Wisconsin System leading to an over-reliance on tuition revenue.

 

[…]

 

Oshkosh is the third largest of the 13 UW System campuses after Madison and Milwaukee. Its fall 2022 enrollment was 13,714 students, or about 700 fewer than a year before.

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