MTEA Members Join Dialog on Taxes and Education

MTEA members joined the Wisconsin Way public conversation about lowering property taxes while maintaining quality public services. The forum was held in Glendale on Tuesday, November 27.

Participants heard a brief presentation outlining some key trends that will have a significant impact on our economy in the next 20 years. Among them:

• The percentage of senior citizens in Wisconsin will grow from 13% of the population in 2000 to 21% in 2030.
• The number of citizens over 80 years old will grow by two-thirds from 95,000 to 158,000
• Our working population will decrease from 61% of the population in 2000 to 57% in 2030.

This means our state will have access to less revenue as the need for public services increases. For example, if the working population remained at 61% in 2030, our state would have an additional $7.9 billion in taxable income than it would if the projections above prove true.

The facilitator asked for ideas about how we can address this challenge and work together to reverse these trends.

Jeff Johnson, a teacher at South Division and Treasurer of the MTEA spoke about the need to invest our education resources in our public schools, “We have a voucher program that had a $120 million price tag last year. Our dollars would be better spent in the public schools where we can provide the kind of education that will prepare our students for a successful future.”

He noted that schools are cutting programs every year because of shrinking resources.  “Great schools have art, music, and physical education courses. They have extracurricular activities and opportunities for students to experience success in different ways. We can’t think we will have a strong economy if we don’t have strong schools.”

Long-time Safety Assistant in MPS Laura Vernon spoke of the brain drain she is seeing in Milwaukee. “I have three children who graduated from MPS and all have college degrees.  They don’t want to stay in Wisconsin, because they don’t see good career opportunities for themselves here.”  She stressed that we have to pay our young people well if we want them to remain in Wisconsin and help our economy grow. 

Dave Weingrod and Kelly McMahon (in photos) also spoke. They discussed our unjust tax structure that includes loopholes for corporations, the broken school funding formula, and the payoff of investing in early childhood education.

President of the Milwaukee School Board President Peter Blewett was also present and spoke. 

Local residents and educators from other districts also attended. Several speakers supported the call to invest wisely in public services, including public schools.

View the forum in its entirety at WisconsinWay.org.