Gov. Scott Walker sets goal of topping nation in high school grads in four years

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker said he wants Wisconsin high school students to graduate at a rate higher than any other state in the nation by the end of his third term should he be re-elected this fall.

Walker, who in an interview late Monday called himself "an education governor," set the goal to coincide with the release of a new television advertisement promoting his most-recent state budget, which gave schools millions more in new funding.

The ad also features a Racine public school teacher touting Walker's signature legislation known as Act 10, which all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public workers, as a way for school boards to spend more money in classrooms.

"I'm an education governor and I want to be an even better education governor going forward," Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We need every one of these young people to graduate and to be ready for the next step.”

The ad comes at a time when Walker's Democratic challengers have made the governor's education record a key criticism.

Democrats were quick to reject Walker's characterization of his record, saying the two-term governor has been a "disaster" for education and that his new ad is attempting to "rewrite history."

Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman TJ Helmstetter cited a significant expansion of the number of private voucher schools since Walker was first elected as evidence. He pointed to an increase in the rate at which voters are supporting property tax increases to pay for school projects while limits on how much revenue districts could raise without voter approval have been held largely flat.

"For the last seven years, Governor Walker has put politics above our public schools," Helmstetter said. "That's why voters are ready for a change. Walker knows he's weak on this issue, and Democrats will continue to hold him accountable."

But Walker pointed out Monday that State Schools Superintendent Tony Evers, one of his Democratic opponents, once praised Walker's most-recent spending plans as a "pro-kid budget" because of its significant increases in spending on schools.

The 2017-'19 state budget included a half-billion-dollar bump in broad state school aid — enough for an extra $200 per student in every school district — and came after previous budget proposals that cut or largely held flat funding for public schools.

"If we didn’t do an ad on education, my critics would say I'm ignoring education," Walker said.

Evers, who has been at odds with Walker over education policies for years, pushed back, saying the governor adopted Evers' education spending approach heading into an election year.

Walker’s budget proposal in 2017 provided about $227 million more in funding than what Evers requested that year, and included Evers' proposal to provide each school district with about a $200-per-student increase in funding. But Walker's delivered it to schools through state funding rather than allowing districts to raise property taxes to get it.

“After slashing and burning public education for three budgets and heading into a tough re-election, Scott Walker adopted my budget, a tidbit that magically won’t make it into his campaign ads," Evers said. "He’s been digging a hole in education for years; now he’s throwing a little dirt in and calling it full."

For Walker to meet his new goal, the state's four-year graduation rate would need to increase by nearly 3 percentage points in four years — from its current level at 88.6% to surpass Iowa's 91.3%.

By comparison, high school graduation rates in Wisconsin have increased by a similar amount over the course of Walker's first two terms, according to Department of Public Instruction data.

Wisconsin's graduation rate is currently tied for ninth place, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The state also is often ranked as having the worst gap in academic achievement between black and white students in the country. Walker said Monday he would invest more in career-focused programs that seek to boost academic achievement among black students.

Walker also said that later this year he would release a set of recommended changes for Milwaukee Public Schools. He said he is still gathering input and hasn't decided whether the changes would address the district's finances or academics — or both — or whether the recommended changes would take place at the district level or be state-imposed.