The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute

WPRI Poll: Opinions About Public Education are Similar to 20 Years Ago

There are some issues that seemingly never change. Twenty years ago 49% of Wisconsin residents thought they had received a better education in elementary and secondary schools than students today. In 2008, 47% of Wisconsin residents had the same view. Twenty years ago 70% of our residents rated their local schools as excellent or very good. Today, 69% rated their local schools as excellent or good.

Twenty years ago 76% of our residents supported merit pay for teachers; today 77% of our residents support merit pay for teachers. Twenty years ago 58% of our residents thought that discipline in our public schools was too lenient; today 60% hold this view.

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Wisconsin's Minimum Markup Law: Mandated Pain at the Pump
(By Christian Schneider) July 2008 (Vol. 21 No. 6)

Will Healthy Wisconsin Bust the State Budget?
(By George Lightbourn and Christian Schneider) July 2008 (Vol. 21 No. 5)

Moving the Milwaukee Economy Forward
(By George Lightbourn and Sammis White, Ph.D.) June 2008 (Vol. 21 No. 3)

Why Milwaukee Health Costs are High: What to Do About It
(Linda Gorman, Ph.D.) May 2008

Preparing Effective Teachers for the Milwaukee Public Schools: How Good a Job do Wisconsin Schools of Education Do?
(Scott Niederjohn, Ph.D. and Mark Schug, Ph.D.) March 2008 (Vol. 21 No. 1)

The 2007 Wisconsin Citizen Survey
December 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 10)

The Exploding Use of Debt to Finance Government in Wisconsin
(Christian Schneider) November 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 9)

Fixing the Milwaukee Public Schools: The Limits of Parent-Driven Reform
(David Dodenhoff, Ph.D.) October 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 8)

Renewing the University of Wisconsin System: Creating the Capacity to Manage and Compete
(Thomas L. Fletemeyer) July 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 7)

The Achievement Gap in Milwaukee Public Schools
(Sammis White, Ph.D) May 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 6)

The Truth Behind Wisconsin's Oil Company Tax: Why You'll Pay More at the Pump
(George Lightbourn, Christian Schneider, and Benjamin Artz) March 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 5)

The Benefits of Cable Competition in Wisconsin
(Christian Schneider) March 2007 (Vol. 20 No. 4)

Government Retiree Health Benefits: Wisconsin's Ticking Time Bomb
By Christian Schneider

According to local government annual finance reports, 27 local governments in Wisconsin are saddled with a combined $6 billion unfunded liability to pay for “Other Postemployment Benefits” (OPEB). Often times, as part of their employment packages, local governments offer to pay health benefits for retired employees. Until now, local governments paid what they owed on a year-to-year basis. But new accounting rules require local governments to divulge the level of their long-term benefit liability. And in some cases, the local government OPEB liabilities are stunning – in some cases, dwarfing the government’s total annual budget.

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Wisconsin's Third Party Animals
- By Christian Schneider

On the evening of November 5, 2002, the election results began to roll in. A rainy election day had come to wash away the grime from an often-brutal gubernatorial race in Wisconsin, which had seen the candidates refer to each other as “crooked” and “absolutely disreputable.” Incumbent Republican Governor Scott McCallum, who had been in office scarcely two years, faced a strong challenge from long-time Democratic Attorney General Jim Doyle. The race was a crucial turning point for Wisconsin, as it represented the first time in sixteen years iconic Governor Tommy Thompson was not on the ballot.

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The New WEAC
- By George Lightbourn

Fear the Rottweiler. That toughest of junkyard dogs has been bred to protect, trained to attack. He is a vicious mélange of teeth and sinew that needs little reason to attack. It is what he does.

Such is the image built up around WEAC—the Wisconsin Education Association Council – the rough, tough teachers union that has had its way with governors and legislators. To pick a fight with WEAC is to invite a bloody nose.

But, while few people realize it, that image has faded as surely as a sepia photograph. The junkyard dog image of WEAC is a dated caricature from a bygone day. The reality is quite different. The reality is that the WEAC of today bears little likeness to the WEAC of the past.

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