PODCAST: State of education in the Walker Era: Part Two

Fox Point-Bayside teacher and chief negotiator Mark Conforti speaks out on collective bargaining and the looming fear of a shift toward privatized education.

It was just over one year ago when Gov. Walker’s proposal to cut funding for public education and eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees was met with staunch opposition at the Capitol square in Madison inciting a fiery debate, one that remains at the forefront of political discourse here in the great state of Wisconsin.

Mark Conforti

For part two of our series on education in the Walker Era, I spoke with Fox Point-Bayside teacher Mark Conforti, who is also the chief negotiator for the district. The removal of collective bargaining rights have drastically changed his role as negotiator, and we discussed the challenges he faces in adjusting to the new landscape.

Conforti said his political leanings have usually been more conservative, but that things have changed in recent years, not only due to the changes that were passed a year ago, but the looming fear of further cuts to public education.

“I don’t like the platform and what (Republicans) are standing for,” he said. “They seem to be extremely mean-spirited individuals collectively as a party. They have no regard for what’s right, I think, in terms of education. Quite frankly, I think this whole movement is a way for them to try to privatize education.”

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Click here to listen to the MP3 and download for free:

“Backstage with Mark Metcalf” – Mark Conforti 

[audio:https://urbanmilwaukeedial.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TCDPodcastMarkMetcalfMarkConforti.mp3|titles=”Backstage with Mark Metcalf” – Mark Conforti]

Click here for part one of the series, with Tom Beebe of Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.

“Backstage with Mark Metcalf” is recorded at the ThirdCoast Digest office in the Shops of Grand Avenue.