Today is Election Day, but all the action isn’t at the polls. Either the best or worst of Democracy will be on display at the State Capitol today as well.

First, a giant THANK YOU to the hundreds of coalition members who heeded our call and picked up the phone. Senate offices and the switchboard at the Governor’s office rang all day Monday with our message.

Although it had not been reported in the press, we told you that there were efforts to amend the Bipartisan Public Virtual School Rescue Plan to include an arbitrary enrollment cap which would Lock Out new families from pursuing this educational option.

On Monday, press reports affirmed our assertions. As the Capitol was flooded with our calls, the Website WisPolitics issued this report:

Gov. Jim Doyle wants amendments to the virtual school bill that would cap enrollment at current levels until a formal study of the schools is completed to ensure they're meeting educational requirements of other public schools.

The Senate is due to vote on the bill tomorrow. The legislative compromise is an answer to an appeals court decision that threatens to shut virtual schools. The guv's office is working with legislators, but it's unclear who will present the amendment in the Senate tomorrow.

Sen. John Lehman and Rep. Brett Davis worked out the compromise bill now before the Senate after introducing competing versions in the wake of the appeals court decision.

Doyle spokeswoman Jessica Erickson said Doyle wants to study whether the virtual schools are meeting requirements for hours of instruction and are providing adequate contact time between teachers and students.

Then, late in the day, Governor Doyle sent a letter to the authors of the Bipartisan Public Virtual School Rescue Plan which said, in part: the Legislature should cap the enrollment at the existing attendance level, with exceptions only for siblings of students enrolled in these schools and any new student who enrolled during the current open enrollment period.

Today, we’ll go to the Capitol with the hopes of having the Senate pass SB396 without the Lock Out or other amendments, which would alter the compromise and could derail the agreement. The compromise was reached in good faith and should be honored.

While skeptics and a powerful special interest group are against us, we continue our efforts.

For example, thanks to your contributions, we ran this ad in the Wisconsin State Journal Monday.

It is uncertain if and by whom the Lock Out amendment will be offered. But we continue to advocate against it.
Public opinion is with us. Read this great editorial in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

On Tuesday, your Coalition will hold a press conference in the Capitol. We will reiterate our support for SB396, without amendments.

At least 100 of us will then be in Madison watching the Senate session. Kids, parents, teachers…all wearing our famous green shirts, imploring lawmakers to save our schools, not just for us but for other families considering public virtual schooling.

We still hold out hope that despite the teachers’ union influence, the pleas of this Coalition will be heard and we’ll be able to save public virtual schools in Wisconsin.

If you haven’t called the Governor at 608-266-1212 and asked him to support SB396 without amendments, do so today.

Our voice continues to echo throughout the Capitol. There is no need to alter the Bipartisan Public Virtual School Rescue Plan. The skeptics’ concerns (hours of instruction, student/teacher interaction, school finances, academic achievement) were fully vetted during the 16 hours of hearings and ensuing compromise. Every school testified to their instructional model, their scores, their accountability and standards. Parents and teachers are wildly in support of these successful schools. An attempt by the teachers’ union to scuttle this agreement is nothing but raw power politics. It is not what is the in best interest of the students’ education. It’s a blow to bipartisanship, good faith compromise and good government.

Cowardly passage of a Lock Out amendment could happen, we won’t lie to you.

But we have faith in those that reached this celebrated bipartisan agreement that they will abide by their word.

We’ve come a long way. Today is an important day in our journey.

Today is all about the real face of Democracy.

As always, we will keep you posted….