Wisconsin public schools: Walker reforms aren’t working! Governor Walker: oh yes they are.

What if you took a survey, and then it didn’t show what you thought it would?

That sucks when that happens. But that’s not what happened to the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators when they surveyed Wisconsin’s 424 school districts. Once they’d ignored the results that didn’t fit their desired narrative, they found exactly what they were looking for.

To wit: Governor Walker’s budget “reforms” suck!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A new survey of the majority of the state’s school districts shows many of them were forced to make staff reductions and increase class sizes as a result of school aid cuts in Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget, according to the state Department of Public Instruction and a school administrators association.

But wait, says Governor Walker: not so fast!

But the governor’s office, briefed Wednesday afternoon on the survey to be announced at a Thursday news conference, says the Walker administration’s reforms are working and points out that the majority of teacher layoffs have been in districts that didn’t adopt the reforms - notably in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Janesville.

In fact, Governor Walker’s office put out a few facts, gleaned from WASDA’s own data, that WASDA itself somehow missed, including:

• The three districts with the most teacher layoffs (Milwaukee, Kenosha, and
  Janesville) didn’t adopt the reforms put in place by Governor Walker

• Milwaukee Kenosha and Janesville school districts account for 67% of teacher
  layoffs for the entire state, but only contain 12.8% of Wisconsin students

• 60% of the districts either have class sizes staying the same or getting smaller

• 74% of districts have the same K-3 class sizes or are decreasing them

• 67% of districts for grades 4-6 are keeping the same class size or decreasing

• 78% of districts are keeping student fees the same or decreasing them

• 91% of districts are keeping sports programs the same or expanding them

• New teacher hires outnumber layoffs and non-renewals by 1,213 positions

• 89% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of
  technology support staff

• 73% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of library
  or media center staff

• 94% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of social
  work staff

• 85% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of
  guidance staff

• 90% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of
  psychology staff

• 90% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of gifted
  and talented staff

• 73% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of special
  education staff

• 84% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of at risk
  program staff

• 84% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of drug
  and alcohol abuse staff

• 96% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount of early
  childhood staff

• 95% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount
  of English-Language Learner programs staff

• 83% of school districts had the same amount or increased the amount
  of Reading Coordination staff.

Now: that doesn’t necessarily mean Governor Walker’s reforms are directly helping. Sure, I’m betting they are, but this doesn’t prove it.

It does prove the sky isn’t falling. In fact, the sky is looking rather secure.

One more thing: the effects of Gov. Walker’s reforms are like NFL first-round draft picks. It’ll take a few years before we really know how they turned out. That, I’ll bet, is why liberals and Democrats are so very anxious to knock him out of office now, and turn the majorities back now, so they can repeal his reforms before they really have a chance to work like they can.

Kudos to the Journal Sentinel, by the way, for prominently featuring Gov. Walker’s rebuttal.