MADISON, Wis. – Perhaps there’s no point in elected lawmakers trying to get anything accomplished during election years, when partisan posturing clearly comes before public service.

A good example comes from Wisconsin, where a special state Task Force on Urban Education recently released a report about pressing needs facing urban schools, and how the state should respond.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

The task force, chaired by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, recommended that the state pursue numerous strategies, including the following, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

■ Encourage teacher education programs to focus on instructing students how to teach in urban settings, with a focus on reading.

■ Expand student access to mental health care, and investigate whether the law prevents adequate communication between doctors and mental health professionals regarding student mental health.

■ Address truancy.

■ Review state funding for summer school programs.

■ Investigate ways to provide more funding for early childhood education.

Republican legislators reacted to the report by saying that they “hope to boost funding for urban education priorities in the next legislative session, from expanding summer school and early childhood programs to improving access to mental health care for students,” according to the Journal Sentinel.

At least one major urban school district official – Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Darienne Driver – applauded the effort.

“I do believe we are on the right track in terms of moving our students forward, and these policies will help to support that,” Driver told the Journal Sentinel.

But Democratic lawmakers who served on the task force immediate rejected the recommendations – probably because Republicans control both houses of the state legislature, and likely were in the majority on the task force

The ideas came from the other party, so they must immediately be labeled as bad ideas – right?

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

“The report presented today doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the issues facing our urban schools,” Democratic State Rep. Sondy Pope, the vice chair of the task force, told the Journal Sentinel.

So will the Democrats work with Republicans to help them better identify problems and solutions for urban schools?

Nope.

“Pope said the Democratic members would issue their own, separate report soon,” the Journal Sentinel reported.

So intelligent conversation has ended and the political wars have resumed.

When will elected officials rise above their partisanship and work together to find answers?

Probably never in election years. After all, the goal is to win, and to do that you need to make the opposition party appear out of touch and incompetent.

You can’t do that by cooperating with the enemy.