Madison West High activists form Students for Wisconsin political action committee to take on Walker; Paul Vallas Visit

Dean Robbins

We've heard pundits and politicians weigh in on Gov. Scott Walker's nearly $1 billion cuts to Wisconsin schools. But what do Walker's policies look like to the people most affected by them -- the kids sitting at their desks with No. 2 pencils and hope for the future?

Now we know. A group of precocious students at Madison's West High School have created a political action committee called Students for Wisconsin and duly registered it with the state's Government Accountability Board. They have an impressive website that lays out issues and goals and encourages visitors to get involved (extra credit for the Lyndon Johnson quote about the vital importance of education).

United Way president Leslie Howard said the talk was initially billed as "a very informal event." But when it learned of the public policy issues that would be raised, Howard said, the charity determined it didn't have time to put the the matter before its board to review, so it backed out.

Howard stressed that the United Way was not taking a position on Vallas' views, pro or con.

"We take very seriously and are extremely judicious on taking a position on any public policy issue related to the issues we're concerned about," Howard said. "We just weren't in a position to go through the process."

T.J. Mertz, a local education blogger and liberal activist, contacted the United Way last week with concerns about the organization's involvement.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 23, 2012 10:11 PM
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