If we would fix our schools we must first fix ourselves.

Education needs to begin with prenatal care, safe neighborhoods, and a nurturing community that fosters respect, self-esteem and responsibility. State government determines the economic and social policies that enable local communities to succeed.

The first proposal I have for fixing education is to fix health care. Our present system is inefficient and ineffective and can be remedied without additional cost by expanding BadgerCare to cover complete services for everyone. Without the annual threat of health care costs busting the local school district budget, we can stop the endless program cuts, the QEO and revenue caps, and focus on achieving excellence in education for every student.

The next step in health care is to create neighborhood centers that provide a full array of supportive family services, including health care. The state should create a VISTA program for graduating health care and social services practitioners to satisfy their loans by working in these neighborhood clinics. Using this model the care provided to low-income people would improve dramatically while the costs decline, since it displaces inappropriate and expensive private hospital emergency room care.

If we substitute a progressive income tax for the property tax as the base for state services, including education, we can fully fund pre-school through post-doctorate. We can fund a curriculum inclusive of the things that attract students and stabilize their attendance and achievement -- art, sports and extracurricular activities

I envision DPI as the lead planning agency working regionally with the school boards to develop plans for each region. Some counties may comprise an entire region and other areas may cooperate, similar to the regional planning commissions and the DNR.

One of the significant costs of running school districts is their top-heavy administration, especially the superintendent. Districts should be able to administratively consolidate and reduce the costs of educational planning, training, and collective bargaining.

The optimal way to fund education is to determine the cost per student, including all special needs, nutrition, transportation and special programming. All students, teachers and staff should enjoy a nutritious 30-minute breakfast and lunch. Eating meals together is a good way to build a sense of school community.

Teachers need full-time Ed assistants in each classroom, adequate time for classroom prep, collaborative planning and participation in school district decision-making. All educational staff should be in the same bargaining unit to facilitate fair and simplified negotiations. If we can redirect the energy in our internal conflicts between taxpayers and schools, and districts and their teachers, we can reflect to our students that their education is something the community wants to do and wants to do extremely well.

Teachers are the guardians of our future workforce and community. Beginning in the day care centers we need to pay living wages and maintain productive student-teacher ratios. We need our community health centers and social workers to identify potential educational deficits and other challenges as early as possible to bring necessary support to families and students. Adequate supportive services will reduce social stress and help families make informed decisions for the welfare of their children. This will result in fewer children having children.

We also need to remedy our past failures to serve our children. Society has committed a crime when over half of our prison population is illiterate. We need VISTA volunteers to work in our prisons. We also need new models of protective services so any illiterate brought before a court can be evaluated for educational remediation

A fair and progressive income tax, universal health care, fully funded education, and reduced social stress will result in a prosperous and energized Wisconsin ready to compete with anyone in the world.

Nelson Eisman
EISMAN for WISCONSIN