@moneycat,
That is him, but no one person can be blamed or take credit for change. It takes a governor, senate, and house working together. WI has all 3 with the same political affiliation. One of the newest proposals here is to lift all requirements for non-core teachers. Not only would a teaching degree not be required, but not even a high school degree would be needed to teach non-core subjects. This has not been very well received so far, so it probably will not be part of the next budget.
Next up is cuts to secondary education.
It remains to be seen if these reductions will benefit the state in the long run. I can only speak to what I have seen. I FIRED last Monday after spending the last 14 years teaching high school in WI. When I started, very few left the building year to year. The past 2 years, there was over 20% turnover each year. I would estimate that there has been about a 90% turnover in the past 5 years. They got the desired effect of "new blood" at a reduced cost, but we will see if things are better for students.
For ME, the changes prevented OMY syndrome because I no longer enjoyed the working conditions, and finally took the plunge last week Monday. It will hopefully play out to be a win for me and my family. More to come from me in the FIRED thread.
One correction, we didn't vote for this guy. We voted for him 3 times in 4 years. The people are speaking, and saying this is what we want.
As far as the stadium bringing in money, the proposed site has been sitting vacant for well over a decade, in anticipation of this new stadium deal. How much has that cost the city? Will would have been there instead? What will go there if the stadium is a no go? Have these factors been included in the "charts" in the article. I would assume not.
Every now and again, you hear of a project that actually brings in people that otherwise would not have come. The Callatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum appears to be one example. Will a 3rd stadium build within 5 blocks of 2 other stadiums (one built in the 70's, one in the 80's), be the economic jump start we are hearing? Again, time will tell.