Category Archives: Local News

by | October 25, 2009 · 12:55 pm

Who are they kidding? “State Representatives Strive To Continue Wisconsin’s Legacy of Education”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Video  and story from WSAW (sorry about the advertisement)

There has been a lot of hot air, half truths, spin and misinformation about education funding in the 2009-11 Wisconsin biennial budget, but this story from Wausau takes the prize (for a recent, local entry in this sweepstakes of dishonor, see this column by Madison Rep. Mark Pocan, page 16 of the pdf).  Democratic Rep.  Thomas Nelson and Republican Rep. Jerry Petrowski claim in this report that their parties are constant champions of education who have placed educational excellence on the Fall legislative agenda.

The editing by the reporter may have  skewed things, Nelson and Petrowski may be capable legislators; I really don’t know.  What I do know is that what appeared in this story needs some critical attention.

Time for some fact checking.

So far the only Republican initiative of note is a proposal from Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep.  Brett Davis on “merit pay” for teachers.  Right now the proposal is nothing but a press release.  It is worth noting that previous school reform plans (and here) by Brett Davis never made it past the press release stage.

The announced Democratic Fall agenda is silent on education; Governor Jim Doyle has some ideas, but not much to say about funding these ideas or even the quality of education that Wisconsin has boasted of in the recent past.

Nelson  touts tripling sparsity aid to some rural districts.  What isn’t mentioned is that the resulting $11.18 million for the biennium is a drop in the bucket and doesn’t come near to addressing the unique diseconomies of scale of Wisconsin’s “small but necessary” districts.  Nelson also doesn’t acknowledge that this increase in a categorical aid was accompanied by a much larger decrease in general aids resulting in a substantial  net loss for all (or almost all?) districts receiving sparsity payments (to get the picture compare this list of sparsity distribution estimates with this list of general aid estimates for all districts, or just read this wonderful editorial from Frank Murphy in Florence).  I’m all for an increase in sparsity aid, but that alone does not make for  adequate school funding.

Petrowski is correct when he said “In the last budget that Democrats passed, was a cut for local school districts… and I’m afraid these cuts will affect [property] tax payers.”  What he doesn’t say is that the GOP stance throughout the budget process was to claim taxes and spending were too high and that at no point did the Republicans attempt to increase state education funding.

Enough of the back-and-forth, the real howler is in the closing lines of the story:

But at the end of the day no matter what side of the isle [sic] State Representatives are on..

“Democrats and Republicans in good economic times and tough economic times have always made the consistent decision to fully fund our schools,” says Representative Nelson.

Amazing…after 16 years under our current school finance system, after a Governor’s Task Force, a Special Joint Committee, an independent task force, proposals from Republicans ,  Democrats and advocacy organizations (and here) all agreeing that school finance is broken and needs to be fixed; after a biennial budget that cut state education investments by $535 million, increased the school levy credits — money that never goes near a classroom, but is counted by Wisconsin as “State Aid — by $352,852,200, a 26% increase bringing the total to $1,697,625,200 for the biennium… Nelson asserts a long term bi-partisan consensus for full funding of education.   Who is he kidding?  Who are they all kidding?

For a refreshing (and depressing) dose of  truth see this recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story: “”State aid drops to many school districts” (or just click around in the AMPS archives).

Thomas J. Mertz

1 Comment

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

by | October 21, 2009 · 8:06 am

Headline of the Day — “School budget decreases, tax levy increases”

down-and-up-arrows

Parilament, “Up for the Down Stroke” (click to listen or download)..

This headline from the the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen succinctly captures what is happening all over Wisconsin, including Madison.  This is what the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and the School Finance Network are talking about here.  This is why we need Pennies for Kids to meet the unfolding crisis and why we need comprehensive reform to assure a strong and prosperous future for our state.  This is why you need to get involved.

Here are excerpts from the story on the Waupun Area district:

School budget decreases, tax levy increases

…“It’s a concern Randy [Refsland, district administrator] and I have because next year’s budget might look even tougher,” Zeininger said. “The state of Wisconsin is in bad shape and I think it’s going to take longer than just this year to turn things around.”

…“With economics the way they are, I have real sympathy for the tax payers,” Lori Lemmenes, school board president, said. “We also need to look to the future.”

Really, the headline says it all.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, finance, Local News, Pennies for Kids, School Finance, Take Action

by | October 19, 2009 · 3:49 pm

Doyle Races for the Top and One Reaction (and one more, updated)

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle held events around the state today to tout the work being done on the Race to the Top application.  You can read the press release here and reports here and here (more on AMPS in the coming days).

The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools was first out of the blocks with a reaction. WAES notes that this set of proposal comes at a time when districts around the state are raising property taxes and cutting programs.

Governor Jim Doyle has introduced a plan to exempt from revenue limits school districts that meet specific criteria. The plan does recognize the need for change in the funding system, but it fails to address the crisis our schools find themselves in and doesn’t start the fundamental restructuring of our school finance laws that is so badly needed.

“While we appreciate the governor’s efforts to address the problems, the plan just doesn’t get the job done and continues the trend of shifting the responsibility for funding schools onto local property taxpayers,” said Kim Suhr, co-founder of GrassRoots of Waukesha County and a member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES).

“The fact is that the way we fund schools is broken. Wholesale reform of school funding is needed now─reform that benefits both children and their communities.”

First, however, Wisconsin needs to quickly reverse the trend of declining public school aid started in the 2009-11 state budget. In total, 336 school districts lost over $175 million in general aid, a cut of over 15 percent for many communities and 10 percent or more for 181 districts.

“After 15 years of cuts to programs and services under the present funding system, that is unacceptable,” Suhr said. “The best way out of our current economic downturn is to graduate the best trained and educated young people possible from our schools. Decreasing that investment in public education is heading in the wrong direction.”

As a matter of fact, in his announcement today, the Governor had many good arguments for a longer school year, longer school days, and many other suggestions for better educating children. We need to have discussions about the educational merits of those proposals, but in many case such changes will require additional funding.

The WAES statement points to confusing fact that the programs proposed in this scramble for approximately $80 million in one-time federal funds cost money, money that districts do not have because the recent state budget included lower revenue caps, a cut in state funding of $535 million over two years, and increased the school levey credit by $352 million (the levy credit is called “state aid” by Wisconsin, but not a penny goes to schools).  The first step toward educational excellence has to be getting state support to the level it should be.

WAES also has an idea for that, a Penny for Kids dedicated sales tax.

To address the crisis by getting needed revenue back into schools as soon as possible, WAES has proposed “Pennies for Kids,” a plan to increase Wisconsin’s sales tax─one of the lowest in the country─by one-cent. Suhr said that will raise about $850 million a year that could be used to educate children and lower property taxes in every community in the state (2009 Wisconsin Act 28, 2009-11 State Budget; Summary Tables and Charts, July 22, 2009).

A discussion of the Governors proposals could be good for education in Wisconsin.  Whatever reforms are eventually enacted and whatever the result of Wisconsin’s Race to the Top application; if there aren’t provisions for adequate, equitable and sustainable investments, all the good ideas in the world won’t make a bit of difference (see what is happening with SAGE for an example).  A Penny for Kids could make  a big difference.  Pennies add up.

For an AMPS post on an earlier version of the Governor’s proposal, see here.

Update

The School Finance Network has  issued a statement.  SFN also zeroes in on the lack of attention to needed educational investments.

Earlier today, Governor Jim Doyle proposed exempting school districts that meet specific criteria from revenue limits. While the governor’s proposal reflects Wisconsin school districts’ need for greater flexibility, it falls well short of the fundamental restructuring of our school finance laws that is so badly needed.

“While we appreciate the governor’s efforts to address the problems with school funding in this state, his proposal simply papers over holes in the current funding plan and continues the trend of shifting the responsibility for funding schools onto local property tax payers,” said Jill Gaskell, Legislative Liaison, Wisconsin PTA. “Wholesale reform of school funding is needed now – reform that benefits both children and their communities.”

….It is important to note that revenue limits were brought in as part of the state’s commitment to funding two-thirds of the costs of schools. Over the years, that support has decreased considerably, creating a situation where the cost of schools has been increasingly shouldered by local taxpayers.

“The state continues to pass the school funding buck to local property tax payers,” said Gaskell. “The governor’s plan simply speeds that process up.”

Allowing for greater property tax increases is not only bad in theory, in practice very few districts will be able to take advantage of the offer. With the recent shift in education investments from state aid to local property taxes, more and more districts are already unable to reach their revenue limits. This situation has become so pronounced that Assembly Bill 461 has been introduced to make sure that districts that go under the limit are not punished with lower limits in future years.

SFN closes by pointing to the advantages of their proposals

Instead of piecemeal reform and the continued burdening of taxpayers, a statewide coalition of educational and community-oriented organizations, known as the School Finance Network (SFN), is suggesting that structural reform of school financing should be made now.

The School Finance Network has identified flaws in the current system and its plan bolsters efforts to comply with the Vincent v. Voight court ruling, which requires the state to take into account districts with disproportionate numbers of disabled students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with limited English language skills.

SFN has determined that overall annual increases in allowable funding fail to keep pace with real world costs over which school districts have little to no control, such as utilities and transportation. By crafting proposals to fix these flaws, the SFN proposal will allow school districts around the state to maintain coursework in art, music, foreign language, business, and vocational training, all of which are now being cut, providing children with high quality education for which this state has a proud tradition.

More in the coming days and weeks.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Arne Duncan, Best Practices, Budget, education, finance, Local News, Pennies for Kids, School Finance, Uncategorized

by | October 17, 2009 · 1:10 pm

SAGE on the (Chopping) Block

chp_socratesAs the struggles of underfunded education in Wisconsin continue some of our best programs are being placed in danger.  This is starting to happen with the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) initiative and like so much else will be worse in the 2010-11 district budgets.

SAGE includes four components:

  • class sizes of no more than 15:1 in grades K-3;
  • increased collaboration between schools and their communities;
  • implementation of a rigorous curriculum; and
  • improved professional development and staff-evaluation practices.

All of these are to one degree or another “best practices” backed by research and common sense.

While good, SAGE isn’t perfect.  Only a limited number of SAGE contracts are available, meaning that some districts don’t have access to the program and others like Madison must make hard choices about where to implement SAGE.   SAGE is supposed to be targeted to children in poverty, but there are no direct strictures requiring a certain number or percentage  of students in poverty in the SAGE contracts.  Unlike the more comprehensive poverty aids in the School Finance Network plan, SAGE is limited to only those students in the earliest grades.  On top of all this, SAGE is woefully underfunded, requiring extensive money from district’s general operating budgets for implementation in in all schools but those with the highest poverty levels.

I’ve written about these issues before; recent events have made them more relevant than ever.  SAGE is currently funded by the state at $2,250 per low income student in a SAGE classroom.   If you have nearly 100% poverty this funding covers the cost of the additional class rooms and teachers needed to reach 15-1 ratio; as the poverty percentage goes down, the need for local funding to reduce class size goes up (see some calculations here).  One unfortunate ‘solution” that has been broached is to concentrate students in poverty in certain schools.

Madison has mostly used a percentage over numbers approach, meaning that SAFE contracts have been assigned in a way that serves the schools with the higher percentages of students in poverty, but not the highest numbers of students in poverty.  This is because implementing SAGE in a large scho0l with a middling poverty level is expensive.  I think (I’m not 100% sure) , in part due to this approach the MMSD budget passed in May projected that there would be 100 fewer children in poverty in Madison SAGE classrooms.

The reality is that as general operating budgets get squeezed, the local funds won’t be there, even the promise of the SAGE partial reimbursement will not be enough and districts will abandon the program.  As 2009-10 district budgets are finalized, SAGE is on the chopping block.

A school in Wisconsin Rapids came close to losing SAGE because they couldn’t meet the 15-1 ratio, but the Department of Public Instruction gave a temporary waiver.  The future status is still undecided.

Superior is also requesting a waiver.  Without the waiver, the district will have to spend an additional$240,000 to meet the 15-1 ration.   Even if the waiver is granted,  Superintendent Janna Stevens “intends to assemble a group to look closely at SAGE and determine the program’s future in Superior.”  this doesn’t sound too promising.  Business manager Jack Amadio has described the general operating fund as cut “to-the-bone” and projects “another tough year in 2010-11.

“We’ll start looking ahead because we know we’ll have to trim some more out of 2010-11,” Amadio said. “We’ll try to do whatever we can. Maybe we’ll try to limp through for a year, and hopefully in the next biennium, the 2011-13 biennium, there might be a rebound.”

It will take more than hope, it will take action on the part of our elected officials.

Stevens Point has a referendum on the ballot Nov. 3.  If that does not pass, SAGE will be among the items considered for cuts in 2010-11.

I’m guessing SAGE will be targeted for cuts in many more districts in 2010-11.   This is what is happening with class size reduction in California.  California once had a proud public school system, but the anti-tax crowd drowned out common sense, state support kept getting cut and now points of pride are getting scarce.

We can’t let Wisconsin go down this path.  Somebody has to stand up for the good public education does and advocate for full funding.  Recent events and statements indicate that it won’t be our elected officials of either party, so it has to be you and me.  Get involved.

Leave a comment

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

by | October 5, 2009 · 9:00 am

Looking to the Future: The Crystal Ball on 2010-11

alexander_the_mentalist_crystal_seer_poster-p228218383358690222qzz0_400There is much appropriate attention on how Wisconsin school districts are dealing with the decreases in state aid and well below cost-to-continue revenue limit increases in their 2009-10 budgets.    More attention needs to be given to 2010-11.

The state budget came too late for many districts to make extensive cuts in programs and services (although Oshkosh closed two schools and districts around the state have scaled back), instead districts are spending down fund balances, refinancing to shift the costs to the future and raising property taxes to get through the year.

They are also planning for cuts in 2010-11.  Here is a sample of what school district officials from around the state have been saying recently about their budgets in the future.

Next year could be even worse for property taxpayers. The district projects a jump of $192.50 in taxes on a $250,000 home.

“These (numbers) are ugly,” said Kass. “What I try to do is always show what I believe to be the worst-case scenario. We have 12 months to figure out what areas of flexibility we have. We’ve done a lot of stuff this year. The problem is, when you come up with ways to address those concerns, they’re not there every single year. Areas like decreasing our debt service, which we’re able to do through some refinancing – that’s not going to be there in the future.”

Madison Asst. Superintendent Erik Kass, quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Even with the 8% increase, it is anticipated that deep budget cuts of over $1 million will be necessary for the 2010-11 school year.

River Falls Superintendent, Tom Westerhaus.

While the district finalizes the 2009-10 budget, officials are already preparing for foreseen difficulties in the 2010-11 budget, for which stimulus money would not likely be available and which may further be hampered by changes in state law.

HalesCornersNow on the Whitnall School District.

School Board member Dave Szychlinski said it was a tough budget to prepare in light of the recession, especially given many residents’ own financial battles.

“We know that people are struggling, many people in our community have lost their jobs, and yet we have an obligation to prepare our young people for their futures,” he said.

The district was forced to make some tough decisions because of losses in state aid, and officials made about $833,500 in cuts, he said.

Next year will likely bring more cuts, Szychlinski added (emphasis added).

Franklin Board of Education Member Dave Szychlinski quoted in FranklinNow.

Despite last year’s surplus, [Reedsburg School District Business Manager Pat] Ruddy anticipates major deficits in the future if enrollment holds steady — as much as $1.2 million in 2010-11.

Reedsburg School District Business Manager Pat Ruddy quoted in the Reedsburg Times Press.

With the recent repeal of the state’s qualified economic law aimed at limiting teacher salaries and a shortfall in state aid, the district’s budget woes promise to only get worse, [Greenfield Superintendent Conrad] Farner said (emphasis added). School officials say the 15.1 percent drop in state aid was the main reason for the tax levy increase.

Farner and other school officials urged the public to contact their state representatives to voice concern over school funding mechanisms.

Greenfield School District Superintendent Conrad Farner in GreenfieldNow.

The projection for the 2010-2011 school year includes further reductions of teaching and support positions as the district continues to meet the challenges caused by declining resident enrollment.

MequonNow on the Mequon-Thiensville School District.

[Menomonee Falls School District Director of Business Service Jeffrey] Gross is projecting a $1.6 million deficit in the 2010-11 school and a $2 million deficit the year after that.

Menomonee Falls School District Director of Business Service Jeffrey Gross in MenomoneeFallsNow.

Neenah faces a $2.8 million budget deficit in 2010-11 after its $6 million in referendum money runs out. The shortfall represents about 3 percent of the proposed 2009-10 budget of $84.1 million.

The Northwestern on the Neenah School District.

He [Randy Fredrikson, district administrator for Two Rivers Public Schools] said the district will face similar financial circumstances next year.

“It’s not a one-year ‘we’ll get through’ (situation),” he said. “This is going to be the way it is in school budgets for a while.”

Randy Fredrikson, District Administrator for Two Rivers Public Schools in the Northwestern.

School boards across Wisconsin are developing their budgets for the 2010-11 school year, and the early calculations aren’t looking good for property taxpayers.

Appleton Post Crescent editorial “Blame school tax hikes on state budget.”

Something needs to be done for both the long and short term.  The long term answer is comprehensive school funding reform along the lines proposed by the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES), the School Finance Network and others.

The short term must come first and the answer is the Pennies for Kids dedicated sales tax for education proposal WAES is working on.

The prognostications quoted above are only about the 2010-11 budget; looking  beyond next year, the future of our state and our children are at risk if action is not taken to head off these scenarios.

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, finance, Local News, Pennies for Kids, School Finance, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone

by | October 2, 2009 · 10:55 am

WAES School-Funding Reform Update — “Pennies for Kids”!

waesgraphicFrom the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.  Table of contents below, click here for the a pdf of the full update, click on linked items for related content on AMPS.

I also want to highlight the most important and exciting item:  the “Pennies for Kids” dedicated sales tax campaign.  This is a major initiative to try to get our state lawmakers to enact a new revenue source for investments in education.  Although not the “big fix” comprehensive reform so many of us have been working for, it would provide crucial resources to meet the growing crisis caused by decreased state aid and rising school property taxes, while simultaneously moving Wisconsin closer tor adequate, equitable and sustainable school funding.  Watch for more in the coming weeks and months (Disclosure:  I am on the Board of WAES).

Here is what the WAES update has to say:

As crisis grows, WAES goes after “Pennies for Kids”

The crisis of funding in Wisconsin ’s public schools is so deep and so wide that immediate legislative action is needed to just protect the education our children have now─much less the education they deserve in the future.

To address that crisis, WAES has launched “Pennies for Kids,” a campaign to raise the sales tax one-cent to help fill the gap in public school funding created by the 2009-11 budget and to try to keep the lid on property taxes. At the same time, WAES will continue to work for comprehensive reform, understanding the long-term answer to the problem is a new, sustainable funding system that recognizes the needs of children and the goal of quality education for every student.

If passed, a one-cent increase in the sales tax will raise about $830 million annually. According to the plan being worked out by WAES members, the largest portion of that revenue would be devoted to children in classrooms through increases in categorical aid. Additionally, because it would increase the state’s share of school aid “Pennies for Kids” would slow increases in property taxes expected in the wake of the most recent state budget. To find out more about this new initiative — and to find out how you can get involved — got to http://www.excellentschools.org.

WAES School-funding reform update, week of Sept. 28

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, Contracts, education, finance, Local News, Pennies for Kids, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

Tagged as

by | September 25, 2009 · 4:34 pm

MMSD & MTI Contract “Tentative” Settlement

According to a Madison Teachers Inc. press release and NBC15, a tentative agreement has been reached between the Madison Metropolitan School District and MTI on the July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011 teacher bargaining unit contract.  MTI members will vote on the terms October 15 and the Board of Education is tentatively scheduled to consider the settlement on October 19.

The base salary increase is 1%, the total package 3.93%.   There appears to be some tinkering and savings, but no major changes in health insurance provisions.   This is about what would have happened if the QEO was still in force.

Provisions to enable 4 year-old kindergarten are included.

The key players — Dan Nerad and John Matthews —  had somewhat different spins:

Superintendent Daniel Nerad said, “I am very pleased that we have reached this tentative agreement after an extensive period of bargaining. We have addressed a significant number of contract language related items. A key example lies in the area of elementary planning time. Of greatest significance to the District is an agreement over language that would allow for the implementation of a four-year-old kindergarten program.” “Also, in working with MTI we have been able to provide a salary increase, in part, as a result of reductions in health care costs. I appreciate working with John Matthews in accomplishing these insurance savings. I look forward to presenting this tentative agreement to the Board of Education in the near future.”

John Matthews said, “But the economic provisions do not adequately reward those who have made the Madison schools among the best in the country. With the State usurping local control as regards to school funding, this is a matter that the State must fix; there is nothing local school boards can do, given the State’s heavy hand. The State must realize that their funding formula for education is inadequate, and that it is causing the dissolution of the great education once available to Wisconsin children. That must be fixed and it is up to the Governor and the Legislators to do it.”

One thing I like about John Matthews is that he always can be counted on to focus attention on growing need for our state government to enact comprehensive school funding reform.  An agitator after my own heart.

As one who follows these things, I have to note that the press release includes MTI and MMSD contact info, but is only posted on the MTI site (not the MMSD, as of 4:30 PM, 9-25-09).

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under "education finance", Budget, Contracts, education, Local News, School Finance

by | September 25, 2009 · 1:33 pm

Evers promises “education for all children”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

posted with vodpod

State Superintendent Tony Evers gave his first “State of Education” speech on September 24, 2009 (full video from WisconsinEye, here).  The DPI press release highlighted an “agenda for all children,” leading with this quote from the speech:

“I pledged to the citizens of Wisconsin that I would work to ensure every child is a graduate. To do this we must: recruit and retain quality educators, invest in innovation, ensure safe and respectful schools, advance common sense and transparent accountability, and work toward fair and sustainable school funding. We must educate children now for jobs that will be the foundation of Wisconsin’s prosperity.”

He hailed accomplishments of the recent past,  spoke of implementing innovative teacher compensation systems, the ongoing work on “common core standards,” the importance of improving education in Milwaukee, new and better assessments  and —  as the news report at the top indicates —  expanded learning opportunities through technology.

Evers recommitted to  his priorities from his inaugural:

• recruit and retain quality educators,

• invest in innovation,

• ensure safe and respectful schools,

• advance common sense and transparent accountability, and

• work toward fair and sustainable school funding.

He also acknowledged that these are difficult times but emphasized:

We must commit now to increase resources to schools and libraries as the economy improves. I repeat. We must commit now to increase resources to schools and libraries as the economy improves.

Looking to the future with hope and working for a better future were major themes, especially in the closing paragraphs.

In the next couple of weeks and months, I will work with many of you to move these dreams to reality.

Expect more to come. This is no time to have an aversion to risk. Life is too short. My parents taught me to leave this world a better place than you found it. We all need to help and provide our ideas. And, we all need to join together for our kids’ education.

This past year has hit many hard. We know that the struggles of families too often hit hardest on those we aim to protect and help flourish: our children. In many cases, our schools and public libraries are the only place of certainty and security for our children.

But in the end, it’s all about the people who serve children. Every day our educators and public librarians are there for our kids. We must value their work; raise the level of public discourse; and provide all we can to support their missions: to educate Wisconsin’s children. These hard-working public servants modestly reach for those small successes that add up over years of schooling to an educated, productive member of our society.

Educators are building Wisconsin’s economic future every day. Educators are tomorrow’s job creators. They don’t expect shout outs, high fives, or tweets.

They do expect and deserve our support and commitment to educating all our students. Let’s work for our kids and their parents, our educators, and for Wisconsin’s future.

Thank you for being here today.

God bless all of our children, their parents, and educators.

There is much here to like and many ways that we as parents, educators and citizens can help.  It will take the efforts of many

Jackie Woodruff

1 Comment

Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, education, Local News, Uncategorized

by | September 18, 2009 · 4:51 pm

No to the Max: The New Trend in School District Tax Levies?

not to the maxAt a discordant meeting last night, the Kenosha School Meeting approved a 2.17% tax levy increase.*  The maximum levy allowed under the state budget — after the Governor and Legislature slashed  state aid and lowered revenue limits — was 6.03%.

This trend of not taxing to the max deserves lots of attention, but a few words about the discord first.  The Kenosha case is strange, but the state level refusal to take bold action to reform the revenue and budgeting policies for adequacy, sustainability and equity has shifted many of the cuts and the tax increases to local governing authorities making them the focus of misdirected complaints from both the Right and Left (here is an amazing example from the Right — the blogger is an aide to Senator Mary Lazich, accuses the distict officials of dishonesty based on the state created shift to property tax revenues and also has the gall to call the School Meeting “undemocratic” because only people he disagrees with were in attendance). This frustration needs to be directed at the state officials who can actually enact real reforms).

The meeting described in and the comments appended to this news story demonstrate that the state’s shift of a larger share of under-funding education to property taxes has given the anti-tax crowd a new place to vent and perhaps some new adherents.  What is interesting about Kenosha is that unlike in Washburn —  where the teabaggers came out to protest the mil rate is going up 15% —  there is little or no basis for their sentiments.

The 2.17% levy increase is not large, the resulting 7.37 mil rate is not large, in four of the last eight years the mil rate in Kenosha has been reduced and the 2009-10 mil rate is significantly below the 2003-4 rate of 7.72 and far, far smaller than the 1991-2 rate of 9.54 (all figures from the preliminary June budget).

The gap between the 2.17 mil rate approved and the allowed 6.03 and the $3.5 to $5.0 million in additional cuts mandated by this budget are both large and will have a large, negative impact on education in Kenosha.  These cuts have to be sen in the context of a school funding system that has all but mandated annual program and service cuts for the last 16 years (I am not clear what cuts are being contemplated and it appears that some use of the Fund Balance is likely).

The combination of cuts, property tax increases and  under levies is happening all over the state.  In counties, cities and school districts, most of the attention has been on the first two and few realize that many of  their beleaguered local officials are not taxing to the max.  Even fewer are thinking about what this means in the short and long term.  I don’t know how extensive this trend is, but it is worth keeping an eye on.

School districts that I am aware of who will not tax to the max include, Madison, Kenosha, Appleton, Janesville, New Berlin, Whitnall, Oshkosh (I think), Greenfield (if those who attended the School Meeting have their way), Turner,  and I am sure many I’ve missed and more to come (please let me know of other districts in the comments).

In the short term it means more cuts and often lower Fund Balances (which may lead to higher interest rates for borrowing — see Dane County for example).  In the current economy, more cuts will mean trying to do more with less.  That usually can’t be done and certainly cannot be sustained.  It means closing schools and limiting educational opportunities, it means not filling potholes and plowing streets, it means telling the cold, the disabled and the hungry “no,” it means that investments that would form the basis of future prosperity aren’t being made, it means less safe streets, delayed infrastructure, and lowered expectations for the present and the future.  This is what is happening every day at every budget hearing.

I am not clear on the mechanisms for any adjustments that are made to state aid due to levies that are below those anticipated.  I’ve got a couple of queries out and will pass along the wonky details as soon as I am able.

Cuts and lower levies this year will also shape the perceptions of budgets and levies in future years.  Every cut that officials make regretfully, every fiscally based redefinition from essential to discretionary, every abandoned cost of living adjustment, every potential investment to create growth that is passed over…provides ammunition to those who rail against activist government, those who refuse to recognize that government is the mechanism by which a humane society cares for the neediest, an engaged society shapes the present, and a wise society invests in the future.

The precedent of smaller levies will make future levy increases seem larger.  In Madison, the current plan is to split the huge two-year levy increase into two very large levy increases, with the first (this year) being well below the allowed amount (such bad choices, there is no good way to handle this).  This make a certain kind of sense from both a policy and a public relations perspective.  Still I worry about the message, the precedent, the impact and even the public relations.  On the last, part of me says just get the worst of it over with, enact as much as you can this year, take the heat and move on.

Fiscally, school districts that do not levy to the max for two consecutive years lose that authority in the future.  Their future levy limits are based on the lower amounts actually levied.  Madison will avoid this by levying the general fund to the max and cutting the debt service levy (if I understand correctly).  Other district may not have that option, so the underfunding will be compounded in future budgets.

As I’ve said in past posts, the shift to property taxes is wrong and I have sympathy for those are saying “this is too much” and asking local officials to limit their levies.  I also have sympathy for the local officials who are hearing those voices and limiting their levies.  I just want all who are involved to act with an awareness that this is a partial and temporary solution that is harmful in many direct and indirect ways.  I’d also like all those involved to join those of us pushing state officials to take the steps that only they can take to get us out of this destructive cycle.

There is one more thing I’d like and that is to see our State Senators and Members of the Assembly attending the county, city and school budget meetings; hearing the voices that cannot penetrate the closed doors where they cut their secret deals; witnessing the local officials struggle with the hard choices the state officials largely avoided (read Brenda Konkel’s report from one of these meetings: “Raise My Taxes!“); and maybe, just maybe explaining to one and all why they believed their work was something to boast about.  Senator Fred Risser and Representative Mark Pocan, consider this a personal invitation from one of your constituents who has supported you in election after election.

Thomas J. Mertz

*KUSD is one of the districts in Wisconsin that continues the old tradition of the Annual School Meeting handling budget approvals.

Leave a comment

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

by | September 18, 2009 · 3:37 pm

Don’t “Get Lost in the Numbers”

41-1I was cleaning  out old links and came across this wonderful editorial from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram.  It really really does a great job of explaining what is wrong with the “data driven” numbers obsessed educational policy decision-making and providing some perspective.  Here is the whole thing:

Editorial: As school year starts, don’t get numbed by numbers

When observing our educational system through the lens of the media, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers.

We’re not talking about the numbers kids will find in multiplication tables and quadratic equations when they return to classrooms in the Chippewa Valley this week; we mean the kind of numbers that make headlines.

There are the good numbers, such as standardized test scores, which typically show local schools meeting and exceeding state and national averages.

There are bad numbers as well – unfortunately, too many of them: the millions that are perpetually being cut from school budgets because of state aid shortfalls, not to mention the compensation numbers of a certain Eau Claire school district administrator most in the community wish would just go away.

On top of this, there are confusing, ambiguous numbers – those used to calculate allowable increases in teachers’ salary and benefits packages, for instance, or those mysterious ones known as “mill rates” – the kind that drive endless political debates and generate hard feelings among educators, taxpayers and elected officials.

All of these numbers are important, which is why you’ll find them in the pages of this newspaper. However, focusing on the numbers alone can distract our attention from other parts of the educational equation. To put it another way, if we focus only on the ‘rithmatic, we forget about the readin’ and ‘ritin’.

Measuring, tabulating and trying to improve test scores is important to education, but that’s far from the mind of a kindergartner who can’t wait to use his brand new box of crayons on the first day of school.

School budgets and the decisions that shape them are vital too, but so is the pride of an elementary student who has finished her first chapter book, the joy of a middle-schooler tackling a novel, or the excitement of a high school student unfolding Shakespearean sonnets.

Likewise, while it’s necessary to ensure our educators are paid in a way that’s fair to them and the taxpayers, it’s also necessary to acknowledge and support teachers as they inspire young people to learn, work hard and express themselves.

And though community residents deserve honest school administrators and elected school board members, we shouldn’t let the numbers games some people have played undercut our support for the goal of our educational system: producing good citizens capable of improving their own and others’ lives.

The 2009 school year is a brand-new spiral-bound notebook. May the numbers and letters that fill it in the coming months tell a positive story.

– Tom Giffey, editorial page editor

Thomas J. Mertz

Leave a comment

Filed under Arne Duncan, Best Practices, education, Gimme Some Truth, Local News