i want to thank uw system president kevin reilly and uw- colleges and uw-extension chancellor ray cross for leading the charge on this exciting idea. part of the long-term strategy to develop our workforce is to continue to transform education in our state. the reforms we enacted over the past two years saved school districts hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed each district to hire based on merit and pay based on performance. we can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms -- and we can pay them to stay there. we finally have a way to recognize our exceptional teachers and reward them for the good work they do with our children. going forward, our educational efforts must be focused on performance. during the past year, state superintendent evers and i put together a diverse group of stakeholders from around wisconsin -- teachers, parents, school board members, taxpayers, business leaders, and others -- to talk about school and school district accountability. after a lengthy process, the first report card evaluating each school in the state was released at the start of

carter, and we're going to have some readings from the book, four short readings, kevin reilly, editor of the ajc, will be reading, cynthia tucker, pulitzer prize winner, i shared that day with her. roast mary mcgee and jim bentley, jack's former colleague. wal have examples of the nelson papers that are knockout at participate l, and i just want to thank all of you and especially our panelists so much. it was just great event and thank you so much for coming. [applause] ..n hour.

i want to thanks uw system president kevin reilly and uw colleges extension chancellor ray cross for leading the charges on this exciting idea. [applause] now part of the long-term strategy to develop our workforce is to continue to transform education in our state. the reforms we enacted over the past two years saved school districts hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed each district to hire based on merit and pay based on performance. we now can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms and we can pay them to stay there. we finally have a way to recognize our exceptional teachers and reward them for the good work they do with our children. [applause] going forward, our educational efforts must be focused on performance. in the past year state superintendent evers and i put together a diverse group of stakeholders from around wisconsin, teachers, parents, school board members, taxpayers, business leaders and others, to talk about school and school district accountability. after a lengthy process the first report card evaluating each school in the state was released at