60 Mile March for Public Schools to End in Madison Today;

Call to Hold Lawmakers Accountable for Education Votes

Tuesday, June 25, 2019. View this release online here.

Wisconsin Public Education Network executive director Heather DuBois Bourenane issued the following statement today:

“Today we end our sixty-mile journey from Palmyra to Madison at the State Capitol. We have been joined along the way by hundreds of people who share concerns and anger over a budget that once again invests in widening the gaps across our students and schools.

While every town we visit has a unique story, their message has been the same: all of our kids deserve an equal opportunity to thrive and the state is not meeting its obligation to make that possible.

Lawmakers will vote today and tomorrow on a budget that will freeze our kids into the status quo for two more years, or they’ll vote to do the right thing and restore some of the $900 million of critical school aids that were thrown in the garbage by the Joint Finance Committee.

It’s finals week at the State Capitol. We’re ready to issue report cards and hold lawmakers accountable for their education votes.”

The 60-mile March for the Schools Our Students Deserve march starts Monday at Sun Prairie’s Patrick Marsh Middle school with an 8:30 am kickoff with local speakers (including superintendent Dr. Brad Saron and Sun Prairie Mayor Paul Esser), and moves to Madison East High School.

The 12:45 lunch at East is expected to be attended by Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, and features a short rally at 1:15 with speakers Mike Hernandez, Principal of Madison East High School, Madison Metropolitan School District school board member Nicki Vander Meulen, and Madison teacher Mike Jones.

The two-mile final lap to the Capitol is expected to bring many more supporters together, and they will be joined by others waiting at the Capitol for a final rally scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm. The rally will feature remarks from State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski; Jen Cheatham, Madison Superintendent; Anna Moffit, Executive Director – NAMI Dane County; Raaven-Alysa Nash, James Madison Academic Campus, Community Schools Youth Council (Milwaukee); Emilio De Torre, ACLU of Wisconsin; Megan O’Halloran, Milwaukee School Board and Wisconsin Public Education Network’s Heather DuBois Bourenane.

For more information, visit: https://www.wisconsinnetwork.org/blog/march

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