All I can say is “read the article.” If you are like me,
you may have to read it more than once to grasp what this move by Governor
Walker means for public school educators. But no matter what impact it has on educators,
it is actually a rather concerning example of what else is to come under Governor
Walker.
So when you get done reading the
article, keep in mind that this is simply one example and one example only of
the authority being exercised by Governor Walker under the new powers that he gave to
himself. I am talking about early last year when Governor Walker literally
changed state law to give himself more legislative control over administrative
rules. Up until Governor Walker, administrative rules used to implement
state laws where always proposed by state agencies and reviewed by the
Legislature. Governor
Walker changed the process in which
he will now sign off on all of these bills before sending them to the
Legislature.
For anyone out there saying “so what” “what’s the big deal?” Under these new powers, requiring state agencies
to get Governor Walker’s approval before the bill goes to the Legislature is truly
the creation of a new power never had by any governor. The change even authorizes Governor Walker to
have power over state agencies not controlled by the governor.
I know that it sounds like I am getting off point from the article and its
potential impact on educators, but the power itself is the real issue of
concern. Think about state agencies such as the Department of Workforce
Development, the Department of Financial Institutions, or the Department of
Natural Resources, and so on. Each one of those state agencies is led by a
Secretary who is appointed by the governor. Each Agency Secretary in turn is allowed to
appoint one or two people directly under them as under-secretaries, along with
appointing a Division Administrator for each division within their respective
agency.
Keep in mind that almost all of the state agencies are led by Secretaries
who are actually handpicked appointees of the governor, with key administrators
in each agency being handpicked by the handpicked secretary. Each agency is
assigned a key area of responsibility, such as road issues being tasked to the
Department of Transportation (DOT), and so on. Therefore the DOT Secretary is ultimately the
states foremost leader and advisor to the Governor and the Legislature on roadway
matters. But under Governor Walker,
agency leaders are no longer authorized to propose rules that have the force of
state law unless Governor Walker says yes to the rule. That literally means that each and every rule
of this kind coming from any of the state agencies needs to be reviewed and
approved by the governor himself, with him having the ultimate power to single handedly
approve or deny with the stroke of a pen. This is a complete change from
anything that I have ever heard of under any past governor, including Tommy
Thompson.
Where this becomes even more interesting is when Governor Walker applies
his new powers to agency leaders such as State Superintendent of State Public
Schools (Tony Evers) who leads the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The State Superintendent of DPI is not a
political appointee of the governor, that person is actually voted into office
by the public, just as the State District Attorney who heads the Department of
Justice.
When it comes to public education, it is in our state constitution that no
one has greater authority over public schools than the State Superintendent. Yet under Governor Walker with his newly
self-appointed authority, things just do not function that way anymore with
public school issues. There are now two chefs in the kitchen. Personally I question
how this is even legal. Furthermore, I feel as though Governor Walker is taking
away my vote that I cast to help place Superintendent Evers into office.
Again, I encourage you to read the article by the Journal Sentinel, dealing
with cost of living raises for educators.
It really makes you wonder how far Governor Walker and his GOP
legislators are going to go with the use of these new powers. Specifically how far will they go in attacking
public education, especially the educators?
As always, I would enjoy hearing the perspective of others, especially from
fellow Republicans as myself who are not supportive of Governor Walker. Is this
use of his new powers something that you support?
Sincerely,
Gary
New state rule would limit cost-of-living increases
for teachers
Walker aims to increase governor's power,
limit agency rule-making ability
Bill to give governor new power on rules advances
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