WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — State Superintendent of Schools and Democratic candidate for Governor Tony Evers held a campaign fundraiser in Wausau Friday, during which he questioned the proposed program restructuring at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.
“Education continues to be a real flash-point,” said Evers. “People that I talk to are very concerned about the future of not only public schools but also our University system.” He says while he agrees that it may be time for officials at the Stevens Point campus to reconsider some of their course offerings to meet the need of today’s employers, he does think the cuts are coming in some of the wrong areas. “There has to be some sort of compromise here. Whether its political science, social studies, English, all those courses help young people become good adults. [They teach] creative thinking, collaboration, and creativity.”
What concerns Evers most is the way it seems that the University is devaluing the humanities courses. “I know that’s not their intent, but that is what people believe.” He would like to see more dialog before the final cuts are made. “When we’re up against it because of lack of funds, people can make bad decisions. We have to make sure this isn’t a bad decision.”
He added that the state hasn’t kept up with their share of funding for the entire UW system, which he feels has helped put the schools in this crunch. He says the same has happened to K-12 education as well, which he’s seen firsthand as part of his position as the state Superintendent. “We are nowhere near where we were before and we need to make sure that we have [education] as a top priority.”
He called Governor Walker’s recent increase in sparsity aid payments a “one year flash,” adding that the increase in funding seemed to be “a little bit of an anomaly” in an election year.
Evers added that funding for roads would also be one of his top priorities if elected, citing cases in Northern Wisconsin where some roads are having the pavement stripped out because there’s no funding to main them. He would also like to see the state access federal Medicaid funds to help bring down the cost of health insurance for everyone.
Hear the full conversation with WSAU’s Mike Leischner at the link above.
