Please Contact Your Legislators!

WATG’s Government Action Committee is fully entrenched in the biennial budget process and we are so excited to see what comes next!  We are advocating for    an increase in state funding for gifted education and we are dreaming big!  It is exciting to imagine what it would look like to have gifted funding in every single school district across the state.  Maybe we won’t get all the way there this year, but we can guarantee that we are closer than ever before.  

So, how can you help?  We are so glad that you asked!  First and foremost, contact your legislator!  How?  Here’s the step by step process, right down to what you can say.  To find your state legislators, go to the legislature home page https://legis.wisconsin.gov/; find the section called "Who Are My Legislators?" and enter your HOME address. Your state Senator and Assembly Representative and their contact information will pop up.  

Now you are ready to write; here is some simple verbiage for you to use:

Dear (Senator/Representative)_________,

As the (parent/guardian/grandparent//teacher/neighbor/friend) of gifted children, I would like to request that you please support gifted education in the upcoming budget process.

(You may want to add a personal comment about why this is important here…)

Thank you,

Your name
Your full home address

Yes, it really is that simple to make a difference!   Here are a couple of pro-tips:
  

• Always use your HOME address!  Legislators listen more attentively to their own constituents, and your employer may be located in another district.  
• Use a PERSONAL email, not a work email address. 
• Also, as a general rule of thumb, do not use your work PC for sending political emails or send such communications on “company time.”  Many employers have policies against political activities during work hours.  It is better to be safe than sorry!  Email from home on your own time.  

It is critical that legislators hear from their own constituents on these issues!  Please contact your legislator today!

Additionally, the Joint Finance Commission will be holding live listening sessions on these days: in Whitewater on April 9th, in Rhinelander on April 21st, and in Menomonie on April 22nd.  A statewide virtual hearing will be held on April 28th.  
WATG is committed to having someone give a live, two-minute testimony at every session.  If you are interested in attending and testifying, please contact
pclinkenbeard@watg.org or hroth@watg.org For more information on the Joint finance Committee visit:
​ https://legis.wisconsin.gov/topics/budgetcomments/  

Thank you all for your support as we move closer to funding gifted education in Wisconsin! Together we can make a difference.

Hillary Roth
Government Action Committee