By Pamela Gates and Patti La Cross
On May 27, just six weeks after WISDOM’s Madison Action Day at the state Capitol, members of MOSES and WISDOM joined representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin (one of the organizers), the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI), Northside Rising (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Network, and Planned Parenthood for an energetic day of networking and advocacy. We heard compelling calls to action, met with legislators and/or aides, and joined forces to demand that the Governor not sign the Republican version of the budget – unless several urgent demands are met.
The principle demands: (1) Close the Green Bay Correctional Institution and build NO NEW PRISON; (2) Support special education in Wisconsin’s public schools by providing schools with a 60% reimbursement for special education costs; (3) Expand BadgerCare by accepting Medicaid, which would make it possible for 91,000 more Wisconsinites to receive healthcare coverage.
Other demands urgently expressed by some participants were: (4) Restore the $480 million for childcare costs that the Governor’s original budget included and (5) Reject the rapidly increasing diversion of state funding from public schools to private-school vouchers.
The energy at this event was palpable. It was clear that the participants were deeply invested in the demands they were voicing – demands, in many cases, not for themselves but for other Wisconsin citizens who may be voiceless. We see this event as a blueprint for WISDOM and MOSES in the future: working together with a network of organizations that all have the same general aim of holding our elected officials accountable to the common good, particularly the needs of children and other vulnerable populations in our state – and especially while the federal safety net is collapsing.
Even if you missed this event, you can still do your part! The needs are urgent. Persist! Call and write to elected officials, broaden your communication networks, organize – and keep showing up!