Daily Archives: September 9, 2009

by | September 9, 2009 · 3:58 pm

Wisconsin School Referenda in Tough Times

20081008_mpls_levysign_33With most Wisconsin school districts contemplating or committed to sizable local property tax increases for 2009-10 and looking at continued service and program cuts combined with more property tax increases in 2010-11, this is not the best time to be asking the voters to approve a referendum.  Personal budgets are tight, the economy is uncertain and there is a delicate balance between program and service cuts as demonstrations of fiscal responsibility and program and service cuts undermining quality to the extent that it is difficult to garner further support (the “starve the beast” idea).

Yet because the problems caused by the latest state budget were piled on top of 16 years of struggles due to the broken state school finance system, some districts feel they have no choice.  These include ones seeking building projects, ones who feel they cannot endure any more cuts and continue to provide the quality of education they are committed to, and ones that are anticipating the expiration of a non-recurring referendum and the budget gap this will produce.

Although there has been little or no official acknowledgment or discussion, the Madison Metropolitan School District is in this last category.  At the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year, Madison will lose about $5.5 million in revenue authority for ‘maintenance and technology.”   The probable cuts for 2010-11 are bad; without this money they will be more horrific than anything we have experienced lately.  If the district wants to extend this authority, the time to start making their pitch is now.   I hope they do and I hope they get started.

Madison has not begun discussions, but others have.  There are five referenda on the ballot at special elections in October and November 2009 and more being contemplated.

Two of the ones that are set are for building projects.  These are being fast tracked in order to try for the 0% interest ARRA srtimulus bonds.

On November 3, voters in Pewaukee will vote on $24.95 million in debt authorization for classroom construction and other renovations, including a swimming pool (more from the district here and from a pro-referendum community group here).  That same day the Trevor-Wilmont voters will  decide on an $11 million plan to build an addition and renovate (more from the district here).

Pewaukee is also asking for $400,000 in annual recurring authority for general operating purposes for the new facilities.

Wheatland will go back to the voters on October 27, asking for four years of nonrecurring authority in the amount of $300,000 per year.  Nonrecurring authority in this amount expired at the end of the 1008-9 year, so this is in a sense a renewal.

A similar referendum failed last April (here and here).  The language is a great example in truth in marketing:

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Joint School District Number 1, Towns of Wheatland, Brighton, Randall and Salem, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, that the revenues included in the School District budget for the 2009-2010 school year and for three school years thereafter, to and including the 2012-2013 school year be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $300,000 a year, for non-recurring purposes in order to maintain the current educational level of the District and cover shortfalls due to decreased funding.” (italics and bold added).

Sad but true, the shortfalls are bigger than ever and referenda continue to be the only way to fully fund education.

On October 6, 2009 the Whitehall district has a three year non recurring maintenance, technology and infrastructure referendum on the ballot. The amounts are $200,000 for 2009-10, $150,00 for 2010-11 and $100,000 for 2011-12.  Superintendent Mike Beighley explained the thinking behind the referendum:

“When we look at the ability to improve our district with the limited increase in taxes, I think we have an obligation at least to present that to the public as an option,” said Beighley.

All across the state other districts see similar opportunities to “improve,” yet know that refrerenda are difficult and the odds of passage are less than 50%, so they don’t even ask.

Two districts struggling to finalize referenda plans are Wisconsin Dells and Rhinelander.

In the Dells, the possibility of the ARRA 0% bonding makes building an addition for 4 year-old kindergarten an attractive option. The district is holding a community meeting on September 9 and may go for the November 3 date.  They are also considering an operating referendum to make up for part of  the state budget created mess:

[District Administrator Chuck] Whitsell also said the district is facing an $800,000 budget deficit next school year, and because of no raise in the per pupil taxing authority it has been given from the state, the district might ask taxpayers to increase the revenue limits in another referendum question.

I hope they do ask for the operating money and get it.

In Rhinelander the need is clear, but the path to meeting the need has been continually blocked.  It is one of those districts that has been caught in almost all the faults of the current school funding system.  The district is geographically large, but the economies of scale are small or negative.  Enrollment has declined and incomes are not great, but property values remain relatively high.  Referenda have repeatedly failed.  There have been cuts for 16 years, 150 positions have been lost in the last seven years and more are on the table.

Here in Madison we think we have experienced the failures of the school funding system (and we have to a great extent), but I talk to my friends in Rhinelander and can only shake my head and think how lucky we are to have avoided the full weight of these failures.

Dating back to 2004, 10 operating referenda have been voted down in Rhinelander.  Yet it looks like they will try again.  I am filled with admiration for their perseverance and commitment.

The date hasn’t been set, but the word is  Rhinelander voters will get two questions this time.  One will ask for three years of $1,5 million revenue authority for operations and the other is for $13.7 million in construction bonding to maintain and remodel facilities.

Superintendent Roger Erdahl summed up the situation succinctly:

“It would stop closing buildings, it would stop laying off staff, which are the techniques we currently use to balance our budget.”

Here is what will happen if there is no successful referendum (from NewsoftheNorth.Net):

The following actions would be taken in the year 2010-11, in order of priority:

  • Close and sell South Parking building, requiring a mandatory grade re-configuration, for a savings of $117,000.
  • Close and sell Cassian-Woodboro building, with an accompanying grade re-configuration, for a savings of $120,000.
  • Reduce extra-curricular activities for a savings of $27,800.
  • Reduce custodial staff, for a savings of $472,000.
  • Reduce regular education paraprofessional staff, for a savings of $200,000.
  • Reduce full-time teaching staff by 12.5 by raising class sizes from the current low 20s to low to mid-30s in grades 4-12; or by reducing electives at the middle and high schools; or by doing a combination of larger class sizes and the reduction of electives, for a savings of $1 million.

In the year 2011-12, the following drawdown actions would be taken:

  • Reduce full-time staff, raise class sizes and reduce electives to achieve a savings of $296,000.
  • Decertify the elementary and secondary charter school and absorb these students into the other district school buildings for a savings of $240,000.
  • Reduce high school graduation requirements and move to a six-period day; reduce staff at the middle school and eliminate all professional travel and staff development, for a savings of $160,000.
  • Eliminate all Fund 10 staff development and travel and impose a moratorium on the acquisition of textbooks and instructional materials; eliminate middle school activities and travel; reduce administration staff, for a savings of $320,000.
  • Move 7th and 8th grade to the high school building; with grades 3 – 6 moving to the middle school building to reduce full-time staff, for a savings of $240,000.
  • Close and sell Crescent school building for a savings of $125,000.
  • Moratorium on all maintenance upkeep and repair of buildings, except for emergencies, for a savings of $500,000.

This is the destruction of public education.  This is the inevitable result of what Ruth Page Jones has called the “Going out of Business Plan” that is Wisconsin’s system for investing in education and the future.

Next time the Governor or a Legislator starts gabbing about how “education is a priority we protected in the state budget,” drop them a line and ask about Rhinelander.  Ask them if education has been “strengthened” as their political mouthpiece claims. Ask them what they are going to do to fix the mess they have made and inherited.

And be proactive.  The best way to help the children of Rhinelander and Wisconsin is to work for change via the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES).  Our state needs to look  for ways to fully fund the education of every child in every district, we need to consider a “Cents for Schools” dedicated sales tax, we need to make sure that the money is going where it is needed most, we need to do better.  WAES is the loudest and clearest voice saying these things.  Lend your voice and make the call for reform even louder.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 9, 2009 · 12:42 pm

Obama’s Speech and the technology needed to view it

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Well, President Obama gave his speech to school children yesterday (text here, video here) and although the Republic didn’t collapse, the hysteria has continued.

So much has been said about the speech that I’d rather point out some things about access to the speech and technology in education, including recent actions by the Madison district.

As I indicated in a previous post, I’m glad that my children had the opportunity to view this speech in school with their teachers and their peers as a civics lesson.  However, the circumstances were less-than-ideal.  It was brought to my attention that the teachers who instruct my children will have to huddle their class around a computer unless the school decides to hold an all school assembly to use the one projector the school owns to stream it online and blow the image up to a viewable size.

It is not normally an option for them to view it on television in the classroom as they do not have access to C-Span.  At the last minute they were able to tune in on a major network and watch it on the television in their room.

Nowadays, technology has become so pervasive, so essential, so advanced in society, that that the integration into classroom instruction is imperative.  Our children have grown up with technology as their number one way of getting information.  Technology provides for the important bases of communication – the storage of past data and the instant feedback on present information.  Technology continues to expand its beneficial influence into better communication and interaction between teachers and students from all across the globe, better instructional materials that reach out to more people than ever, and better information transfer at lightning speed, among other things.

The transfer of knowledge in education becomes smoother because technology assists in transmitting it in a faster and clearer way.  Technology allows participants in the two-way learning process to communicate and interact better with a variety of audio-visual tools.  Interactive technology and the sharing of resources and curriculum including new knowledge and processes are necessary to demonstrate complex concepts in a clearer manner to our children.  Sesame Street figured this out 40 years ago when I was a child and I defy you to show me one child in our school system that cannot identify the character Elmo.

Technology can be used in many ways as an integral part of the curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners.  Extensive studies and model schools have shown that educational technology enhances student learning in many cases. Some recent reports have indicated that students who have access to online materials perform better than those who do not. For examples see: Pamela Mendels, “Study Shows Value of Wired Classroom,” “Effectiveness of Technology in Schools, 1990-1994,” (a comprehensive review of over 130 recent academic studies which found that technology can lead to improved performance most notably in math, science, social sciences and language arts),  and  Summary of Current Research and Evaluation Findings on Technology in Education.”  Technology is the answer to all the needs of schools and students, but in 2009 our schools do need to make effective use of the tools available. In the current school funding climate, this is difficult.

MMSD is working to address the gaps of technology in our schools.   This draft Information (Library Media) & Technology Plan was approved by the MMSD Board of Education on June 8th.  The plan reflects the input and ideas from hundreds of staff, students, parents, and business and community partners collected during the 2008-09 school year.   The plan is a road map for what the community believes our priorities should be relative to technology use in our schools.

Input from stakeholders in its development was essential. It is not a static document, but one that is dynamic and subject to change – as technologies do.  One specific objective states we must: “…create a technology advisory leadership team that includes students.”  Some of the key ideas suggested in the technology plan are: an emphasis on professional development when teachers are provided new technology in order to fully maximize its value. A wireless network across all schools.  More use of mobile internet devices like laptops, netbooks, and smart devices like iTouches.  Making the learning management system– Moodle —  much more easily accessible to all teachers and students.  Exploring newer software tools that can save time and expand access like Open Office (as an alternative to Microsoft Office) and cloud computing (like Google Docs).  Enhancing the use of technology as a curricular area and a service learning focus.  Opening the schools as “lighted school houses” with technology as a bridge to the community.

This last is very important because as Madison and other districts move towards increased reliance on electronic communication, the gap between those families with easy access and those without becomes more important. At the same time, the fragile ties between the schools and some of the neediest families will be further strained while the benefits to the most well positioned will increase.

Lots of good ideas.  Some of these are being funded via the ARRA Stimulus IDEA and Title I monies, some from the operating budget and some are on hold till funding can be found.

Let’s hope that the next time the President wants to address the students of this country and encourage them to really take their learning seriously, find out what they’re good at, set goals and take the school year seriously, our classrooms will be a part of the 21st Century educational system.  Teachers and students need to be encouraged to participate in civics lessons in a medium that they have grown up learning in.

Jackie Woodruff

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