The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • March 31, 2017 It's bad enough with all of the liberal indoctrination that is displacing actual edu- cation in Wisconsin public schools. It's bad enough that the conference is at a ritzy hotel in San Francisco. It's bad enough that a stag- gering 13 employees are making the trip at a taxpayer cost of $34,000. It's bad enough that the conference is being put on by the left- wing Carnegie Foundation, home to an enor- mous number of the failed schemes that have polluted public education in this coun- try. And, it's certainly bad enough that the conference is for the purpose of "Creating an Education System that Promotes Social Justice." But the real scandal is who is wasting this whopping amount of money on liberal psy- cho-babble. It is the Menomonee Falls School District, which claims it is broke and is ask- ing voters next week to overspend the state property tax limits by $6.4 million over three years. The Falls district is, in one taxpayer-sup- ported mailer and presentation after anoth- er, telling its community that it has cut oper- ational expenses to the bone and that with- out an operational tax increase that vital programs will be eliminated. Yet the reality is that Menomonee Falls has so much money already that it is providing a junket to 13 employees to a four-star hotel blocks from the bay in San Francisco. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Menomonee Falls School Board for, once and for all, proving my point that school budgets in this state are bloated and that all of the claims about having slashed spending are bald-faced lies. How outrageous is this trip? Let's count the ways in a very abridged list. 1. The subject matter is a disgrace. At a time in which Wisconsin's workforce is fac- ing a crisis of not enough qualified people to fill skilled positions, and when American kids are falling behind those in other nations in math and science skills, Falls officials are sending virtually half the administration building to be tutored on more liberal social engineering. The Carnegie brochure states that attendees will be taught how to "develop strategies for achieving large scale social change" how to use "improvement science to make educational equity a reality." 2. In this era of teleconferencing and web- casting, it is not necessary to send anybody to these kinds of conferences. A good Wi-Fi stream and a big TV work just fine. Of course, that would mean the Falls attendees wouldn't be able, according to the brochure again, to enjoy "dazzling scenery, abundant activities and exquisite food." I guess the food at the Menomonee Falls High school cafeteria isn't exquisite enough. 3. Thirteen? They had to bring 13 employ- ees? The whole party is being led by Superintendent Pat Greco and she's bringing so many of her favored employees that even a math specialist made the cut. But it's in Greco's interest to impress the Carnegie peo- ple with her big entourage. Guess who one of the conference speakers is: Yup, Greco. 4. Only last year, Menomonee Falls voters were conned into passing a massive borrow- ing referendum for capital improvements in the school district. Flush with that cash, the School Board decided to press its luck and go for an operational referendum that allows board to over-tax above the revenue limits imposed during Act 10. To cough away $34,000 only days before that referendum reveals a level of brazen disregard for the middle-class taxpayers that are paying for all of this spending. Somebody laughingly suggested to me that being caught blowing tens of thousands on a San Francisco junket only days before a tax referendum is bad optics. But the Falls School Board doesn't seem to care about how things look. A sane response to being caught with hands in the cookie jar this close to an election would be to cancel the trip, apolo- gize to the voters and claim they never knew the administrators were going on such a binge. Instead, not one School Board member has so much as apologized and as this is writ- ten Greco and the Falls gang are in Frisco on the taxpayer dime — 340,000 dimes to be pre- cise. Greco says the money comes from rev- enue the district gets by training employees of other districts. (I'd love to know which districts are so dumb they need to learn social justice from the lefties in Falls.) That inane explanation doesn't change the fact that if they didn't take trip they could use the $34,000 in the classroom. Menomonee Falls is a weird case all around. The voters are among the most con- servative in the state and produce enormous margins for Republican candidates. But they tend to elect local officials that think and act like Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters. The School Board has been a leftist cabal for years. It was in 2011 that the Falls board raced to pass a new teachers contract pre- serving fat benefits for employees only days before the Legislature passed Act 10. Things have clearly not gotten better. And, those of you next door in Pewaukee gloating over the dummies wasting the money in Falls? Don't laugh too loud. Your district is going, too. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE Sitting on the dock of the bay OPINION Last week's question What do you think of the alternative to Obamacare? Are you better or worse off under the latest plan? Or, the calendar says it's spring, but what says it's actu- ally spring to you? (Answer only one.) On March 1, TV meteorologists announced meteorological spring. I am not convinced. On March 20, the calendar announces astronomical spring. The snow drops bloom, a few robins are back, but I am still not convinced. On a warm night in April, the local Western chorus frogs announce spring with the "Hallelujah" concert they have sung for millennia. Now, I am convinced and add my joyful amen to their song. — Sandy Sue Szanderek Bay View *** This week's question What are your thoughts on the homicide of a Milwaukee city inspector while on the job? Or, what's your forecast for the Milwaukee Brewers this season? (Answer only one.) Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Anonymous responses are no longer accepted by the publication. Call 744- 6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@conleynet.com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy District blows $34,000 on San Francisco junket days before referendum

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