Marklein is hypercritical

Dear Editor,

Scroll Senator Marklein's Facebook feed and you'll see dozens of photos of wide-eyed students grinning up from the rotunda, holding a "Senator Marklein and Representative Novak (or Tranel) welcomes  ____ school" banner.  This shameless self-promotion is hypocritical, particularly when the good Senator consistently votes against adequately funding public schools.  

As Co-Chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, Senator Marklein has listened to hours of public hearings; public school supporters begging for fair funding for their beloved schools, yet he turns his back on our children at the whim of the voucher/choice lobby. He's ok sending our tax dollars across the state for choice/voucher student tuition, despite voucher schools not having the same mandates, accountability, or transparency as public schools; all while 10 of the 13 school districts in his Senate District were forced to referendum in 2024/25. Senator Marklein and his colleagues actually hold the purse strings, yet it's our schools getting blamed for continual referenda.

Now, under his leadership, the JFC seems poised to sneak "decoupling" through during the budgeting process, without a constituent vote, and give private schools a separate tax dollar funding stream off the top of the GPR, while public schools are still forced to beg for crumbs. 

It's more than just posting photos of those cute kids, Senator. Maybe fix the antiquated funding formulas, reimburse their public schools for special education at the same rate as private schools and end the statewide voucher program that siphons resources away from their public schools? 

Kristina Reser-Jaynes

Readstown, WI