Category Archives: finance

by | March 21, 2009 · 10:36 am

WAES School-Funding Reform Update, Week of March 23, 2009

waesgraphic

Table of Contents below.  Click here for the entire update and click on linked items for related stories on AMPS.

For more information, check out the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools web site.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone

by | March 18, 2009 · 8:13 pm

The Axe Is Falling — School Layoffs, Closures and Cuts

Paul Gauguin "The Man with an Axe"

Paul Gauguin "The Man with an Axe"

All over Wisconsin — in districts where referenda failed, in districts where referenda weren’t tried and maybe in some districts where referenda passed — the axe is falling, teachers and programs are being cut and the “New Wisconsin Promise” of  “A Quality Education for Every Child” is sounding more like a cruel joke every day.  As long as Wisconsin’s politicians lack the courage to fix our broken school finance system with the  structural gap between allowed revenues and mandated costs, the annual Spring chopping ritual will continue.

If you know the story already and don’t need the latest details, skip to the bottom for ways to take action and make reform happen.

Appleton, where two referenda failed in February has eliminated 44 teaching positions, the equivalent of 31 full time teachers.  Here is what it will look like in the classrooms according to district financial officer Don Hietpas:

“We’re staffing the high schools this year at 28-to-1 (student-to-teacher ratio). We are staffing the elementary school at one per class than we did last year, so it’s 27-to-1. So the average class size is going up at all levels, except for K-3, which is an area we continue to protect.”

Board President Sharon Fenlon noted an unintended consequence that will have long term implications for districts and the teaching profession:

“It’s very tough,…especially because the layoff is in order of seniority. Many of the people laid-off are quite new to the profession and people we would like to encourage to stay in the profession, and to have to lay them off is very painful.”

Teachers aren’t the only thing on the chopping block in Appleton:

“We’re cutting capital projects, we’re cutting technology, we’re cutting other areas besides classroom teachers, secretaries, para-professionals, administrators, so the reductions will be across the board,” Hietpas said.

Appleton is often held up as the poster district for charter schools in Wisconsin, but all the charters in the world can’t stop the budget cuts when the school funding system is broken.

Eau Claire hasn’t tried a referendum since 2007 and hasn’t passed one since 1999.  After the defeat in 2007 they closed the “Little Red School” and continued with the steady cuts in othe areas.  This year the structural budget gap is about $4.1 million (from a budget of  about $105 million) and things look to be particularly bad.  SAGE has been cut back, athletic directors are gone, salary freezes are being floated and still more cuts will be needed. WEAU News has the list of things being considered:

–10 high school teachers. That would save the district $650,000.

–2 elementary art teachers (while cutting art time from 60 minutes to 45 minutes a week). That would save $124,000.

–15 elementary school support staff or assistants, saving $600,000.
–5 middle school support staff, saving $205,000.
–10 high school support staff, saving $410,000.
–4.5 central office support staff, saving $184,500.

–1.1 library media specialists. That would save $68,700.

–5 custodians, saving $310,000.
–1 senior maintenance position, saving $62,000.

–A vacant staff development/assessment coordinator position, saving $105,200.

Other options to save money include:

–Eliminating custodial overtime on the weekends. It would save the district $35,500, but could mean the cancellation of weekend athletics, music and theatre.

–Reducing elementary art, music, PE, and special ed PE program specialists. That would not cut teacher jobs, but eliminate positions above and beyond their daily duties. It would save the district $39,200.

–Discontinuing Spanish classes in elementary schools because grant funding is no longer available. That would equal a savings of $13,000.

Also on the table is “cutting the number of teams for certain high school sports. ”

As the Board struggles  “”to reduce the programs that have the least impact on the kids,” the head of the local teacher’s union points the finger where it belongs — our state elected officials:

“This problem isn’t going to go away. We’re going to have the same problem next year. We’re going to have it the following year until we really change the way schools are funded in the state of Wisconsin,” says Ron Martin, president of the Eau Claire Association of Educators.

And here from an earlier story:

But Martin says the school district and the school board really aren’t to blame. He says the revenue caps and funding at the state level are the major reason for the budget issues.

“It’s stifling us and in Eau Claire’s situation, it’s killing us.”

Pretty bleak assessment, but absolutely correct.

Waupun is another district that lost referenda votes in February.  Since 1996, eight operating referenda have failed in Waupun.  They’ve gotten used to cuts, but this time in addittion to eliminating 30 positions (30 positions!), it means closing schools.  Nothing divides a district like school closures.  To make matters worse, the schools slated for closure are not in Waupun proper, but in Alto and Fox Lake.  At the March 16, 2009 Board meeting, Fox Lake’s Mayor made a formal request to detach from the district.  The request had not been properly filed, but the Board went on record denying it anyway.  Fox Residents are still exploring options:

Kim Derleth, a member of the Concerned Area Residents for Education (CARE), said the Fox Lake-based organization will hold a special listening session at 6:30 p.m. today (Tuesday) in the Fox Lake Community Center to discuss area residents’ options.

Derleth said the intent of the session is to hear the viewpoints of the public to determine a course of action following Monday night’s “no” vote. One of the options the group has discussed is exploring secession from the Waupun Area School District.

It looks like this controversy won’t go away soon.

In Neneeh they are in the last year of a non recurring referendum and it appears that like Madison last  Novemeber, they asked for less than is needed to meet the structural gaps. In Neneeh’s case, the third year’s over the caps revenue authorization was $1.4 less than the first year’s and $1.2 less than the secon year’s.  It appears they also chose to fund a fiber optic netweork from operating funds.   Through the combination of factors, primary among them a state school fiannce system that is built on annual cuts and doesn’t allow for capital investments without referenda, Neneeh is facing about a $1 million shortfall in an $84.3 million projected budget for 2009-10.

The proposed solution, cut teaching positions:

Under the plan, Neenah would employ the equivalent of 447.5 teachers, compared with 458 teachers this year.

The staffing plan would cut 8.8 positions at the high school and 4.3 positions at the middle schools. It would result in no change at the elementary schools and slight increases in instructional support services (0.2 position) and contingency staffing (0.4 position).

“Staffing plan” may sound better than “cutting teachers,” but whatever the terminology there will be fewer class choices, larger classes (up to 30 students), less individual attention and a decline in educational opportunities.

Merrill and I am sure others have already started their cuts; Janesville and I am sure others are starting to work on theirs.   30 districts are holding referenda in April (the 29 detailed here, plus Salem), some won’t pass.  Sadly, more to come.

Now for the “do something” soapbox boilerplate.  If we don’t put/keep the pressure on, nothing will happen except more cuts, more referendum fights, more kids not getting the education they need and deserve, fewer kids reaching adulthood with the tools to be successful…we all need to get and be active.

Maya Cole’s recent op ed hit the right notes.  Pass it around.  Write your own letters to the editor:

Contact the Governor, your Senators and Representatives.  Make them keep their promises (for more as-yet-unmet promises from Governor Doyle, see here and here).

Don’t forget the April 1, 2009 MMSD “Legislative Informational Community Session” and the April 21 Assembly hearing on the School Finance Network (SFN) plan (details on both, here).

Connect with activists around the state and support real change by joining the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.  Keep up-to-date with SFN by signing on as a School Finance Network supporter.

Talk to your friends, neighbors, co-workers…spread the word.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Accountability, Budget, education, Equity, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone

by | March 17, 2009 · 10:55 pm

Elephant in the Room

elephant-in-the-room

Maya Cole, Madison School Board member, wrote an op-ed for the Cap Times that provided an excellent piece of analysis on the current state of play at the Capital; the tired old dance routine between the governor and the legislature over how to finance our schools. But this budget season, the sound track has been suddenly revved up due to the stimulus money on the horizon.

The predictable talk of paying for education plays to the citizenry. Don’t raise taxes and do more with less — it’s the same old dichotomy. Lately there’s new irony, as suggested by Gov. Jim Doyle, that school boards should go to the table with “more creative ways” to bargain and without the QEO (qualified economic offer).

As Cole rightly pointed out, this “more with less” canard is trotted out in other guises such as a “creative teacher compensation package.” This meme of, “get more creative,” is meant to be compensation for the often referred to “three legged stool” of the Wisconsin school finance system: 2/3 funding from state revenues (1/3 from local and federal sources), the QEO to limit teacher contract costs and the revenue caps to limit local property taxes. She also astutely noted that the current system originated as a short term plan 16 years ago, and asks, when will it be revised?

Several years hence, the elephant in the room (school finance reform) stands on stage taunting school boards across the state. The Wisconsin Association of School Boards, a member of the coalition of the School Finance Network, has one approach — it’s not in the script this year. We are asked by the governor to accept a watered down plan and continue to be mired in the same old strategies.

What really should keep lawmakers up at night is the dependent nature of these one time (maybe two) short term “fixes,” a “solution” in which Doyle hopes that school districts will remain under the revenue caps while spending federal dollars (TJ Mertz investigated the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s newest numbers here). Cole instead called for a clear departure from the current process of having property owners paying the lion’s share of the costs for schools.

We must be bold and put our spending and revenue practices on the table. Districts across the state have been cutting budgets for over 10 years. Property owners have shouldered the costs to pay for schools. When we add in the confluence of federal mandates (unfunded), demographic shifts, and the dwindling manufacturing in the state, it’s clear we’re in the third act.

Doyle should take his own advice. A budget dependent on one-time federal money for education and transfers to plug holes in budget gaps is shortsighted at best

The Assembly Education Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 21 1:00 PM at Room 413 North in the Capitol to discuss the School Finance Network education funding reform proposal.

Don’t forget too that on Wednesday April 1, 2009, 6:00 PM at Wright Middle School — the Madison School District will be hosting a “Legislative Informational Community Session” to “provide updates on school funding and state budget issues that affect the MMSD” and “discuss and share strategies on how the community can get involved in advocating for our schools.” More information on the MMSD Legislative Agenda can be found here.

Robert Godfrey

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Accountability, AMPS, Budget, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action

by | March 17, 2009 · 12:59 pm

Governor’s Budget Numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released their analysis of the Governor Jim Doyle’s Budget proposal.  The  Department of Public Instruction/Schools section is here.  I haven’t had time yet to go through all of it, but here are a few excerpts and fewer comments.

Using the definition of partial school revenues as it existed prior to the repeal of the two thirds funding commitment and including the proposed federal general aid funding, the administration estimates that state support of partial school revenues would decrease from 65.8% in 2008-09 to between 63.8% and 65.1% in 2009-10 and to between 62.0% and 63.2% in 2010-11. The low end of the ranges identified by DOA assumes school districts levy to the maximum allowed under revenue limits, while the high end of the range assumes that school districts use all of the increase in their federal Title I and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding to reduce their levies. All of these DOA estimates assume the current law revenue limit per pupil adjustment (estimated by DOA to be $277 in 2009-10 and $286 in 2010- 11), the proposed revenue limit modifications, and the state support funding in the bill, which is presented in Table 1 (emphasis added).

Not only is one time revenue being used for ongoing expenses (which may be acceptable in these economic circumstance), but all this revenue is being used to offset state funds.  When combined with the “current law” revenue cap increases estimated at $277 and $286 per member for the two years, this shifts the burden to local property taxpayers in significant ways.

However things go down, the state will move further from the 2/3 support concept and consequently the local property tax portion of school revenues will be increasing at a faster rate than the state portion (unless districts don’t tax to the limit, but that has some bad effects in subsequent years).    I am still confused about the Governor’s and the LFB thoughts on IDEA and Title I, which appear to be at least partially contrary to the “supplement not supplant” provisions. I do know that there is lobbying going on from many quarters to expand the loopholes and allow more of the stimulus money to be used to fund existing, not expanded programs and services.

There are also some positives.  Revenue cap increases are included at past levels, school safety, nurses and transportation are eased; the low revenue ceiling is raised, Special Education isn’t actually cut, SAGE and 4 K are given increases, albeit insufficient ones.  It could be worse.

In other areas across the board 1% reductions are called for.  This will tough to deal with, but Title I and IDEA stimulus money may fill some gaps.  See this chart:

Click on image for pdf of page.

Click on image for pdf of page.

This brings me to the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO).

The Governor has again called for the elimination of the QEO.  With the Democrats in control of both houses, this may well be one of the few educational promises they keep.  I’m philosophically opposed to the QEO, but I’m philosophically opposed to the revenue caps also and to lift the QEO in absence of comprehensive school finance reform is a recipe for disaster.

Comprehensive reform is what we need.  The School Finance Network plan looks like the best shot at making this happen in ways that positive ways.  read the proposal, sign on as a supporter and attend the April 21 hearing.

I know that this biennial budget could have been much worse for education in Wisconsin and I am grateful that the “death by 1,000 cuts” status quo was not expanded to “death by 2,000 cuts, or 3.000 cuts…”

I also know that there are a multitude of revenue options that have not been proposed (see the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF) and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) Catalog of Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin). Mostly I know that for 15 years education has been eroding in our state because of a broken system that privileges property tax control over education, that “it could of been worse” means little to a student whose educational opportunities are limited by inadequate investments and I know that in two years the stimulus money will be gone and if our state elected officials (they need to earn the term “leaders”) don’t act now to put in place a system of school funding that works for all of Wisconsin’s students things will be much worse than any of us want to imagine.

Thomas J. Mertz

2 Comments

Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, Equity, finance, Local News, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

by | March 14, 2009 · 12:35 pm

Quote of the Day — Promises to Keep

logo_dpw_whiteonblue

From the 2008 Platform of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin:

Education, Labor, and Economics

Quality public education for all is critical to a healthy democracy and economy. Public funding for private schools diverts resources from and adversely impacts public schools. Increased governmental funding and financial aid is essential for all levels of public education. Nobody should be denied a quality education because of a personal lack of financial resources. The benefits of a quality education always outweigh the costs.

We believe that students have the right to receive their education in a safe, respectful, and nurturing environment, free from harassment or discrimination by teachers, staff, parents, or other students. We support fair and equitable funding for all elements of the curriculum, including art, music and physical education. A strong Wisconsin public education system builds a strong Wisconsin.

Wisconsin‘s current educational funding system has failed. The law allowing a limited qualified economic offer has caused diminishing compensation for teachers. Teacher compensation must keep pace with costs of benefits and inflation. Public school teachers must not be taken for granted. They deserve tremendous respect for their work educating our youth under challenging circumstances.

Revenue caps on school districts and other local governments must be eliminated. State or federal governments must fully fund their mandates (emphasis added).

The Democratic Party now controls the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor’s office in Wisconsin.  Time to keep the promises they made in order to gain that control.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Accountability, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, Quote of the Day, School Finance, Take Action

by | March 9, 2009 · 4:06 pm

Stimulus Money: Issues and Confusion

From Critical Exposure, By empowering young people to develop skills as documentary photographers and advocates, we expose citizens and policymakers to the realities of our current two-tiered education system as seen through the eyes of the students who confront those realities each day...works to secure policy changes in order to ensure that all children have access to an excellent, equitable public education, fulfilling this nation's promise of providing all children with an opportunity to succeed. Click on the image to learn more.

From Critical Exposure Click on the image to learn more about this great project teaching students to use photography to document and advocate.

There is a story in the Wisconsin State Journal on the stimulus money and education that covers some of the key issues but also perpetuates  the confusion surrounding how states and schools may and may not use this money.

To be fair, some of this confusion is understandable.  The stimulus package was put together quickly, portions of it are not very clear and much of the education portion reflects contradictory thinking.

However, much of the confusion is inexcusable, especially the omission of any explanation of the structural gap between costs and allowed revenues that is an essential part of the broken “three legged stool” of Wisconsin education funding.  Reporter Mark Pitsch should have read his former colleague Andy Hall’s “Squeezing Schools,” and incorporated some of that material.

Also difficult to understand is the repeated confusion about different aspects of the stimulus school funding and how they relate to the revenue caps.  More below, with clarifications

Before looking at the State Journal article and related issues, I want to make one basic truth clear (and get on my soapbox a little):  The money in the stimulus, for Title I (targeted for schools with high poverty concentrations), IDEA (money for special education) and even the general purpose money flowing through the states only temporarily makes underfunded mandates less underfunded.

The WSJ got this right with their headline: “Stimulus can’t solve schools’ shortfalls.”

School “shortfalls” are structural.  The continued underfunded mandates from the Federal and State governments, in Wisconsin a broken system that requires districts to cut programs and services by between 1% and 2% annually are structural faults.  Structural failures require structural solutions.  Sign on with the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and the School Finance Network to work to fix this in Wisconsin.  Let your Senators and Representative know that educational opportunity should be a civil right and educational mandates need to be fully funded.

The stimulus money creates a “funding cliff.” Once the money is gone — absent Federal and State initiatives to fully fund education — schools are in danger of falling off the cliff.  This would mean massive program cuts and layoffs in a couple of years.  Like a nonrecurring referendum, this sort of education funding is not good policy.

Robert Manwaring at the Quick and Ed has a very good discussion of the complexities of deciding what to do with this one time funding. Michele McNeil at the  “Politics K-12” Education Week blog noted the contradictory aspects of education funding in the stimulus:

Interestingly, the guidance goes out of its way to emphasize that this is short-term money, and that districts and states should use it for shorter-term investments, so there isn’t a “funding cliff”. But on the flip side, the guidance makes clear that the stimulus funds’ goals are to help create or maintain jobs. (Those two priorities seem in conflict, since hiring or keeping a teacher is more of a long-term investment.)

The guidance McNeil refers to was released by the Department of Education on March 7.  That is the same day the Pitsch’s State Journal story was published.  However, this time line does not explain the confusion in that story.

In discussing Title I funding, Pitsch writes:

The stimulus addition should allow the district to divert general fund money to other programs.

Both the Title I and IDEA funding continue the “supplement not supplant” policies in place for those programs, meaning that the funding cannot, except under very special cirumstances be used to replace general fund money.  Here is what the Department of Education says about the Title I Part A funds:

Fiscal Issues

  • Maintenance of effort: With prior approval from the secretary of education, a state or LEA may count expenditures of SFSF used for elementary or secondary education as non-federal funds for purposes of determining whether the state or LEA has met the Title I, Part A maintenance of effort requirement. This may reduce the incidence of LEAs failing to maintain fiscal effort and the need to seek a waiver from the Department.
  • Supplement, not supplant: the Department may not waive the Title I, Part A “supplement, not supplant” requirement. Note, however, that in certain circumstances, including cases of severe budget shortfalls, an LEA may be able to establish compliance with the “supplement, not supplant” requirement, even if it uses Title I, Part A funds to pay for allowable costs that were previously paid for with state or local funds. (For additional information, see Title I Fiscal Issues Non-Regulatory Guidance, available at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/fiscalguid.pdf [PDF, 256K].)

On related issues with IDEA, EdWeek’s Christina Samuels, who blogs  at On Special Education wrote

The maintenance of effort provisions that currently exist within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will apply to stimulus funds. That means that you can’t take all of your stimulus money and use that to pay for your current special education programs. There is SOME flexibility in the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA to “supplement, not supplant” provisions, though. If the federal government allocates more money to a district from one year to the next, the district is allowed to take the difference between the two allocations, halve it, and use that figure to reduce their own funding requirements.

So some stimulus Title I  and IDEA money may be used to supplement, possibly allowing general fund money preciously used for Title I purposes (to make up for the underfunding) to be used elsewhere. This is very different than what Pitsch wrote.

Pitsch’s section on Governor Doyle is also full of misinformation and confusion:

Doyle said in an interview that most of the federal stimulus money wouldn’t be subject to state revenue caps for school districts. But he urged them to remain under the caps even as they spend the federal dollars. If they don’t, they’ll face big budget holes in future years and possibly anger homeowners if property taxes go up too much.

“School districts would be very, very well advised to take that money and keep their spending under the revenue caps,” said Doyle (emphasis added).

Doyle appears to be referring to the Title I, IDEA and other special purpose funds, which do not count against revenue caps (he also appears to be telling them to violate or take advantage of the loopholes in the “supplant not supplement” provisions).  However, most of the stimulus money schools will receive comes not from these funds, but from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.  This is the flow through money that Doyle used to supplant state money in his budget.  To the Governor’s credit, he went beyond the 81.8% required by the law to limit property tax increases and district budget cuts to more -or-less the usual, unacceptable levels.

Here is a chart from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards:

Federal Program

2008 Actual Allocation

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (estimated amounts as of 2/19/09)
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

——–

$876,940,096
Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies

$199,030,396

$147,696,280 Individual District Estimates

Education
Technology Grants

$3,443,011

$9,170,493
IDEA, Part B:
Grants to States

$197,853,865

$208,200,108
IDEA, Part B:
Pre-school Grants

$9,322,204

$9,827,791
IDEA, Part C:
Grants for Infants & Families

$6,984,803

$6,999,614

The non revenue cap monies total about $381 million; of the $876 million in flow through, Doyle has called for $291 million to be spent on general aids in 2008-9, $277 million in 2009-10 and $221 million in 2010-11, for a total of $789 million.  $789 million is more than twice $381 million; more than twice as much stimulus money is under the caps than is not.

School finance can be confusing, but misrepresentations of simple facts and omissions of key contexts like those in the Wisconsin State Journal article render what is challenging almost impossible.  How is the public supposed to develop informed opinions when our reporters fail in their duties?  In the coming months, Boards of Education around Wisconsin will face difficult choices regarding the use of the non capped stimulus funds.  The public needs to be part of this process and in order that to happen in any productive way, the media needs to do much better in explaining the issues.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

by | March 9, 2009 · 9:19 am

Legislative Advocacy Action — Save the Dates

2009-041

Wednesday April 1, 2009,  6:00 PM at  Wright Middle School — the Madison Metropolitan School District will be hosting a “Legislative Informational Community Session” to “provide updates on school funding and state budget issues that affect the MMSD” and “discuss and share strategies on how the community can get involved in advocating for our schools.”  For more on the MMSD Legislative Agenda, click on this link.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 1:00 PM at Room 413 North in the Capitol — the Wisconsin Assembly Education Committee will be holding a public hearing on the School Finance Network education funding reform proposal.  It is important that we get a good crowd to demonstrate the importance  school funding reform.

Also, don’t forget the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Advocacy Day at the Capitol on March 18.

Make you voice heard!

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, finance, Local News, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

by | March 6, 2009 · 6:36 pm

“Do It Again?” Another Referendum for Salem

tantsisyixn_22096_lg

The Kinks, “Do It Again” (click to listen or download)

On Thursday, the Salem Board of Education voted to try again for an operating referendum.  Operating referenda for the district failed in June 2008, September 2008 and February of 2009.  The September referendum lost by a fairly large margin, but the June and February votes were 269 to 235 and 654 to 694.

Those working for the referenda must feel like Sisyphus forever rolling the stone up the hill, but never getting to the top, or Tantalus, with sustenance always just out of reach.  Unlike those mythological figures, the school supporters and the children of Salem have done nothing to deserve their cruel fate.

Their decision to go to referenda again indicates that they are unwilling to accept the devastating cuts in store for their schools.  I can’t blame them.

Whether this one passes or not, an inordinate amount of time and energy will have been spent trying to secure adequate funding for the district.  This is time that should have been spent educating the students.  That’s what happens when you live in a state with a broken system for funding education.  Sign on with the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and the School Finance Network to work to fix this.

Back to Salem.  Advocates continue to make a strong case, reminding all that strong schools are essential for healthy communities.

Proponents of the board have said that increase is needed to save programs and staff, to provide opportunities for children, and ultimately to protect property values in the community. If the school system goes into decline, they argue, the whole community will ultimately be affected.

“I’m scared too, we took a huge pay cut in my family. My wife was out of work,” said Scottie Washington. But he believes families will leave the community and home values will decline if programs are cut. “If this referendum doesn’t pass this is going to be a ghost town,” he said.

The ask this time will be for a three-year non recurring referendum at $1.16 million a year.  The vote will be at a special election on April 28.  This looks like the same measure that was voted down in February.

I haven’t seen a new presentation of potential cuts yes, but the ones form the earlier campaign are probably still in play.

clcik on image for pdf

click on image for pdf

There is much more Salem referendum related material here, including the slideshow embedded below.

It should be noted that the major issue in Salem is and has been class size.  Smaller class sizes is one of the “best practices” that almost everyone agrees helps all children learn and almost every agrees is particularly important for children from poor or difficult backgrounds.  When we know what works, we should make sure that the resources are there to do what works.

I admire the tenacity of the Salem Board and wish them the best.  Let’s follow their example at the state level and “get’r done” on school funding reform (again, join WAES, join SFN).

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Local News, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

by | March 3, 2009 · 6:35 pm

WAES School-Funding Reform Update, March 2

waesgraphic

Table of Contents below, click here for the full update.

Update — The hearing on the School Finance Network plan highlighted below is still very important, but it is in the process of being rescheduled.  Watch AMPS for more info.

I want to highlight the first item.  Save the Date –March 24 — this is important.  The School Finance Network plan is a very good plan and enjoys broad support.  Attend the hearing and show the legislature you care about school funding.

Update — The hearing on the School Finance Network plan is still very important, but it is in the process of being rescheduled.  Watch AMPS for more info.

School-funding reform update, week of March 2

  • SFN reform plan subject of March 24 hearing at the Capitol
  • SFN plan continues to be in the news around Wisconsin
  • Evers, Fernandez meet in West Allis at state Superintendent debate
  • 2009-11 state budget appears to be on the fast track
  • WAES doing good work, but needs your financial support
  • Tax cuts cost state billions since mid-1990s, LFB report says
  • Four groups renew memberships in WAES
  • Oneida County Board petitions state for school-funding reform
  • Round-up of funding problems from around Wisconsin
  • Early childhood care and education key to economic development
  • Help WAES correct e-mail update glitch
  • School-funding reform calendar

    • The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide, independent, membership-based organization of educators, school board members, students, parents, community leaders, researchers, citizens, and community activists whose lone goal is the comprehensive reform of Wisconsin’s school-funding system. If you would like more information about the organization — or on becoming part of WAES — contact Tom Beebe at 920-650-0525 or tbeebe@excellentschools.org.

    Thomas J. Mertz

    Leave a comment

    Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, Elections, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

    by | March 1, 2009 · 9:46 pm

    School Funding Action – Florida

    From MYFOX 35, Orlando.

    This weekend thousands of Florida parents, teachers, students, administrators and community members took part in militant “Make Our Schools A Priority” protests against cuts in education.

    The big event was the rally in Orlando reported in the video above (more here), but smaller actions have been held around  the state, some of which included legislators in attendance (examples here and here).

    The economic situation, tax collections, the state budget and local school budgets are all in dire circumstances.  Some of this is detailed on the Channel13, Central Florida web site.  A couple of examples:

    Brevard County:

    MONEY:

    • The district is facing an $80 million reduction next year if the funding picture doesn’t change. Already $101.4 million has been struck from the $1.2 billion budget since July 2007.

    WHAT’S BEEN DONE:

    • Brevard has lost about 1,770 students since October, so some teaching jobs could be eliminated.
    • They’ve already made some cuts to busing, especially summer busing programs.
    • Departments such as facilities have lost about 20 percent of their staff through attrition. This likely will continue.
    • School Board Members slashed their salaries by more than 6 percent.
    • Brevard Federation of Teachers accepted a two-year salary freeze for teachers and service staff.

    WHAT COULD HAPPEN:

    • Superintendent Richard DiPatri is asking all district employees to consider a pay cut.
    • 946 positions – or 9 percent – have been identified to be eliminated if the district needs to trim $80 million from budget.
    • Potential layoffs include 378 teachers and more than 550 staff members, including administrators, bus drivers, office clerks and custodians.
    • Freshman and junior varsity sports could be cut.

    Marion County:

    MONEY:

    • Based on a 16% reduction, funding shortfall totals $44 million.

    WHAT’S BEEN DONE:

    • 2008-2009 School year:
    • Marion School District did not renew contracts with 522 first- and second-year teachers for next year
    • Froze all open positions
    • Implemented 4-day summer work week and consolidated summer program locations
    • Eliminated Truancy Center and district-funded field trips
    • Cut 49 positions from business operations staff

    WHAT COULD HAPPEN:

    • Further reduce district and school staff and support services
    • Reorganize and/or reduce number of schools
    • Reduce salaries for district and 12-month employees
    • More cuts expected in transportation
    The lists go on and on.
    Under these extreme conditions, the gloves have come off.  The tone of the “Make Or Schools A Priority” campaign is fairly confrontational as you can see from this video (one of a series).

    I like the militancy, the mass actions and even the confrontational tone.   I sincerely believe that although things are nowhere near as bad in Wisconsin that after 15 years of annual cuts in educational opportunities we also have a crisis in school funding.   I worry that polite advocacy fails to communicate the reality of that crisis.

    A Saturday, March 21 meeting of the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee will be held at Miller Park.  This would be a great time to turn out some numbers for education and comprehensive education finance reform.

    Back in Florida, the Legislature returns for a budget session on Tuesday facing a $700 million shortfall.  Governor Charlie Crist is scheduled to give his “State of the State” address on that day.

    Hat tip to Sherman Dorn for making me aware of the goings on in Florida.

    For more on school finance in Florida, see the National Access Network state page.

    Thomas J. Mertz

    Leave a comment

    Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, finance, Local News, National News, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone