MacIver News Service | June 9, 2015

[Wauwatosa, Wisc…] Senator Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Representative Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) fielded questions about education decisions in the state budget bill at town hall meeting Monday night from a local protest group called SOS (Support Our Schools).

Most questions asked by SOS members displayed a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Joint Committee on Finance agreed to do with education funding in the budget. Vukmir and Kooyenga tried to set the record straight, but were often met by boos when the facts did not line up with SOS’ narrative.

“The SOS group asked us for, and we got a thousand letters, a hundred dollars per kid. And that was when the governor proposed a hundred and fifty dollar cut. We not only restored the hundred and fifty dollar cut, but then we went a hundred dollars above that. So you have our ears, we are listening, and we are trying to strengthen our public schools as well as our overall school system and our students,” Kooyenga explained.

As the meeting wore on, SOS shifted its attacks to the school choice program.

“We’ve listened to you. We’ve gone and done the things you’ve asked us to do, but it’s not enough and you want even more,” Vukmir said at the end of the meeting. About half the room broke out in applause to support her afterwards.