Hands Off our Schools!
/It was my privilege to be asked to speak at the local Hands Off rally about the potential closure of the Department of Education and the effect it will have on our local public schools. Here is a transcript of the speech I presented at Leicht Park for 1500 very peaceful, respectful demonstrators, led by the inimitable Wanda Truttman Sieber.
I’m a member of the Board of Education for the Green Bay Area Public Schools, and I’ve been asked to explain to you the impact our public school system will experience if the Department of Education is closed. So, let me tell you: I have no idea. But I am smart enough to know that the people who DO know these things are our top level district administrators. So I asked three of them, and they all had the same answer: It’s impossible to know in this time of uncertainty and chaos.
Here are the things we do know:
Most of our federal funding already flows through Madison
IF any of our federal funding continues, it will all flow through Madison.
Our state Department of Public Instruction is already stretched thin. To have to manage all the federal funding of all 421 public school districts, things are going to get slower and less efficient.
But it’s only $1.7 billion, so what could possibly go wrong?
And that’s IF the funding continues.
So what does that mean for Green Bay? $38 million each year. That’s what it means. Let me tell you what we do with that money:
We use McKinney-Vento funding to provide support for nearly 1000 homeless students, ensuring that, if they don’t have a home to sleep in at night, they will, by God, have a home school to attend during the day. And we’ll get them there.
We use Title I funds to ensure that ALL students have an opportunity to thrive and succeed, regardless of the disadvantages their families face. We bring their parents in to help create the solutions. And how many children and families are we talking about? Folks, we have 13 elementary schools in the Green Bay district with so many disadvantaged children that the entire school is designated “Title I eligible.” Thirteen schools that rely on that Title I funding.
Title I also supports neglected and at-risk students. We make sure they have easy access to a school counselor, additional teaching time, and supplemental materials. We want to keep them in school to graduation.
Title II funds support children with achievement gaps. We use that money to provide literacy coaches in the schools for job-embedded professional learning.
Title III funds support our English language learners. Our district welcomes children from all over the world, and we want to educate them. But we need literacy coaches and interventionists to help them develop English language facility.
That’s just a sample of how that $38 million supports our public school system and, ultimately, supports our community. Because we are determined to educate ALL children to be college, career, and community ready, inspired to succeed in a diverse world.
Now, let me tell you what that looks like to a School Board member. Bear in mind that I have no history with the Green Bay Public Schools – I never taught in a Green Bay public school. I was a high school teacher and an Army wife. We moved constantly; I taught in five states and my children each attended one Green Bay public school for one year. And so I came to the school board with my eyes wide open, with no preconceived ideas, no axe to grind. I was ready to observe and learn, and let me tell you what I found: Here in Green Bay, our public schools accept and embrace every single child, no matter his or her disabilities or special needs, no matter the challenges at home, no matter the language or cultural barriers. Our public schools simply find the resources to meet the individual needs of every single child.
If a child needs one paraprofessional adult assigned to him all day long, by his side constantly, then that’s what we provide. I’ve been in a classroom where the number of adults was the same as the number of children – because that’s what those kids need. I’ve watched my neighbors from Afghanistan, children of heroes who fought alongside our troops for a dozen years or more. I’ve seen them get on the bus to their new public school with no English whatsoever and then, at the end of the school year, I’ve watched them get off the bus and pet my dog and speak to me in fluent English. They learned it in school, and learned to take pride in their school and their community. We turn no one away. We never say, “Sorry, we don’t have the resources for you.” We find the resources.
And that $38 million of federal funding each year is very important to make that happen. So, what effect will the destruction of the chainsaw-wielding muskrat be on Green Bay Area Public Schools? Sadly, I have to confess that we don’t know. But we can stand firmly with our public schools, an important part of the foundation of our local democracy. In these uncertain and chaotic times, know that your public school system continues to work every single day for every single child, no questions asked. We’ll get through this together.
And my message to Washington: Donald Trump, you and your pet Doge and Linda McMahon know absolutely nothing about education. Keep your hands off our schools!