Category Archives: Local News

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 15, 2009 · 9:06 pm

Recipe for Disaster(s), Or the Wisconsin Democrats’ Fall Agenda

I just read the release and memo on the Democratic agenda for the Fall legislative session. The agenda is a recipe for disasters.

The disaster that matters to most of us in the state is already in progress as school districts cut programs and services while raising property taxes at rates that have not been seen for years (read this report from Kenosha, look at Rhinelander); as municipalities trim essential services, cut investments that would lead to recovery and growth while also raising property taxes and fees (here is the latest from Eau Claire); and counties axe public safety and safety net programs, close nursing homes and like everybody else, raise property taxes and fees (here is a recent report on Dane County). This Fall budget season is bad; the 2010-11 will be worse if there isn’t bolder action from the state.

The disaster that probably matters most to the Democratic leadership will come in the 2010 elections. Their vulnerable members will lose if all they bring back to the voters is window dressing campaign finance reforms and tougher drunk driving laws (this isn’t quite fair, some of the agenda is good — Green Jobs in particular –, but it is not anywhere near sufficient to meet the crises we are facing). Even the Democrats in “safe seats” (like in Madison) may well find themselves surprised by challengers from the left who demand better and bolder action.

I don’t care what their polling says, they need to take their heads out of the sand and look around at what is happening with the schools, with the counties, with the cities and most of all with the families they claim to be “Standing Up” for. They need to look beyond November 2010 and act in the long term interests of our still great state. Mostly they need to recognize that the revenue and budgeting assumptions they have been working from cannot be sustained.

Some realize this. Representative Cory Mason is proposing a jobs program funded by higher taxes on those earning over $1 million annually. A “Save Our Services” campaign has started, seeking to fund essential services via an expanded sales tax base (info on the October 1 Madison rally here). Last night the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education voted unanimously in support of a resolution calling for a sales tax increase dedicated to school funding. This idea is the focus of a “Pennies for Kids” campaign that the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools is in the process of initiating (this is just beginning, stay tuned).

Many of us would like to see even broader changes in our state’s taxation, budgeting and investment policies, but something has to be done to meet the crisis and these are good steps. the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future and Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Catalog of Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin is still the best place to begin thinking about revamping the entire system in order to achieve adequacy, equity and sustainability.

If the Democrats stick with their “do little or nothing” agenda, the crises will grow all around the state and come back to hit them hard in November 2010. When that happens they will have no one to blame but themselves. With power comes responsibility, with failure of effort and accomplishment comes accountability.

One closing observation: There is nothing in the Democratic agenda about Governor Jim Doyle’s “Scramble for the Crumbs”/ Race to the Top package. I hope this indicates that many in the party are too smart to sell what is left of their souls for a lottery ticket in a rigged game where the payoff is one-time funding far below the needs of our schools ($80 million is what I hear).

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under "education finance", Accountability, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, Uncategorized

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 11, 2009 · 10:01 pm

(Updated) MMSD Board of Education Agenda — Lost & Found (and comments)

Update: Board President Arlene Silveira sent me a copy of an amended agenda and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards resolutions are now an action item for the Students Achievement and Performance Monitoring Committee (committee agenda here). The “Weekly Notice” link has also been fixed (over the weekend…that’s impressive).

On the WASB matter, I’ve had lots of talks with Board members in Madison and elsewhere about how to get schools the resources they need. One idea that has some support is adding a dedicated statewide sales tax to the school finance mix. It is clear that the continued shift to property taxes cannot be sustained, that the current sources of state revenues are not sufficient or sustainable and that the resultant program and service cuts in schools around the state are forcing districts to endanger our proud tradition of quality public education for all. A sales tax won’t fix everything, but it will help. Board members (in Madison and elsewhere) have been supportive but the idea may have come together too late to become part of the WASB resolution process this year. We’ll see.

(Original Post, see comments also)

It was a more than little difficult finding the agendas for the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education Committee meetings scheduled for Monday, September 14.

First, it looks like MMSD is again neglecting to send notices to those who subscribed to their “send notices” list. Since no notice had arrived, I began checking the “Weekly Notice of Meetings” link on the Board page periodically. Early on Friday the link gave last week’s notice; at some point it began giving a “page not found error” (pdf of this from 7:45 PM 9/11/09).

I assumed the page was being updated and kept trying. Finally, at about 6:00 PM I realized that there would be no update and started searching. Sure enough, a search for “weekly notice” and September 2009 led me to this page which led me to the agenda linked above.

I wouldn’t make a big deal of this, except that this is an organization that has not updated their budget page with the state budget bad news from June; an organization with apparently nothing to post on “State and Federal budget issues” at the same time their Board of Education is writing op eds on the topic ; an organization whose “Recently in the News” page is stuck in January of 2009; an organization that has not issued a news release since June (at least according to their web site)…Communication is clearly a problem.

We’ve been hearing about communication problems for years. I have two pieces of advice. First, it is important to begin by getting the little things right. Second, if the people in charge of communications, the web page, public relations and all that are not doing their jobs well, find new people.

Now the obligatory but heartfelt clarification. There are many people at MMSD who have been consistently helpful with my requests for information. I know that if instead of periodically clicking today I had dropped the Board Secretary a note, I would have had the agenda in my in box and the link would have been fixed (instead I assumed an update was in process and took my son to the beach till it was too late to drop that note). I do appreciate the efforts that have been made.

Enough of my trials and tribulations, time for some notes on the agendas. First I want to note three things that are not there.

There is nothing about the budget reconciliation. Looking at the Board calendar, that means the earliest there will be a public discussion of what are major decisions about taxation, budgeting, spending and borrowing will be the October 5 committee meetings (things now go to committee before they go to the Board), or three weeks prior to the final approval of the tax levy and budget. State statues dictate that the budget be presented to the public one month prior to a public budget hearing. That was done in the Spring, but much as changed due to the miserable state budget. I think that an effort to make the local changes in a manner respectful of the spirit of public knowledge and input on the budget is in order (more on the budget revisions here and here). This is another little thing — or given the magnitude of the changes, big thing — in the realm of public engagement that is not being done correctly.

Second, and germane to the state created budget mess, I expected that there would be some discussion of resolutions to be proposed to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. From the discussion at the August 17 meeting I was under the impression that these would be finalized at a public meeting prior to the September 15 deadline. Apparently these are being done outside the public eye, with no formal discussion or vote. Not good.

Last, there is an agenda item for an update on the “class and a half” specials fix, but no documentation. Id hope this isn’t another case like “Ready, Set, Goals” where the good intentions produced no tangible result.

No time to comment on what is on the agendas (maybe on Monday), except to say the item on short term borrowing highlights yet another way that Wisconsin’s school finance system is broken and if the people pushing value added really believe that reports like the one included are adding much of use in policy decisions, they need to stop drinking the Kool Aid (same goes for all the data fetishists in Arne Duncan’s gang).

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Accountability, Arne Duncan, Best Practices, education, Local News, Uncategorized

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 9, 2009 · 3:58 pm

Wisconsin School Referenda in Tough Times

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

by Jackie Woodruff | September 9, 2009 · 12:42 pm

Obama’s Speech and the technology needed to view it

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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Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, education, finance, Local News, National News, School Finance, Uncategorized

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 4, 2009 · 7:08 pm

Right and Wrong — MMSD Board Members on School Finance, State and Local

I had not recently thought about what was said by Madison Metropolitan Board of Education members as they passed their initial budget in May, but the happenings in Washburn brought them to mind and reminded me that the struggle to recognize that investments in education are a state responsibility requiring a state solution isn’t over in Madison.

As we now know the state budget produced multiple financial problems for MMSD (we know this, but you wouldn’t know it by going to the MMSD budget page or the news releases, or the “recently in the news” — they missed this from Board President Arlene Silviera and everything else that has happened since January). As a result, the entire Board of Education has been in one way or another looking to the state for long and short term help.

Back in May, that was not the case. One member got things right; most were too happy with what then seemed like a positive budget to bring up the long term state issues; one got things wrong in an offensive and dangerous manner

Johnny Winston Jr. is the one who got it right.

He revealed the truth, school finance is a state and federal problem and requires at the very least a state solution. Recent developments at the state finance level have moved us further from that solution.

For a variety of reasons (listed below), until the latest state budget Madison had enjoyed relatively painless budgeting in the most recent years. At the same time, the state school funding system remains broken, any of the varied nips and tucks that have been made at the local level have only provided limited relief, they’ve only been partial remediations – and temporary. The real fix has to come at the state level, it must be comprehensive and it must be sustainable.

Lucy Mathiak is the one who got it wrong.

In addition to her misguided championing of local solutions to a state created problem (see here for MMSD’s official and correct position), Mathiak mostly misidentified and wrongly interpreted the main factors that contributed to the recent lack of major harmful budget cuts in Madison.

Here is my list, in approximate order of importance:

Tax Incremental Finance District closure windfall (over $5.4 million).
Successful Operating Referendum, ($5 million for 2009-10).
Confused and overzealous fiscal conservatism in the 2007-8 budget (scroll down), resulting in a $4.3 million general fund surplus (added to the Fund Balance). Astute readers will remember that the 2007-8 fiscal year was the year that MMSD was a rough budget season and that schools were almost closed and many harmful cuts were made (in my opinion, the two biggest factors in this surplus were underestimates for state special education funding and local salary savings, see more here).
A new management team. Superintendent Dan Nerad and Asst. Superintendent Erik Kass have brought new eyes to the budgeting process and found some savings and efficiencies. However, as their experiences in Green Bay and Waukesha demonstrate, there are serious limits to what any management team can do to stave off harmful cuts.
Losing students to open enrollment. This made FTE cuts less painful for the 2009-10 budget. The benefits of this are limited and only work when efficiencies of size are present, but because the structural gap in the state finance system is based on per pupil funding, fewer pupils means a smaller gap.

Right and wrong, partial and temporary, these factors are all about played out. The party is over and the bills must be paid.

As Asst. Superintendent Erik Kass said, 2010-11 is looking “ugly,” and I’ll add that this ugliness has nothing to do with mythical local mismanagement (in fact the recent surpluses and the harm caused by the cuts and conflicts that created those surpluses reveal that the very Board members Mathiak praises had pushed the district too far on issues of budgeting and were the ones closest to mismanaging) and the solution will not be found via equally mythical miraculous local administration and governance.

The new state budget has brought back to MMSD the hard choices needed to make the cuts that do the least harm and to find the fiscal strategies that can be sustained. The Title I and IDEA stimulus money will soften the blows, but that is yet another partial and temporary band-aid.

The self-serving myths Mathiak mouthed back in May are dangerous because they make it harder to convince people that school finance reform must be a priority. I’m glad I remembered what she said, because these falsehoods must be countered at every opportunity.

Join the movement for real education funding reform. Check out the School Finance Network; become a member of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.

If you do these things, you will be going a long way towards righting some very significant wrongs.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 4, 2009 · 7:06 pm

Happy Labor Day!

The Labor Day extravaganza starts with a lengthy excerpt from the1886 Platform of the Knights of Labor. It is a good reminder that the sruggle has been going on for a long time.

Preamble

The alarming development and aggressiveness of great capitalists and corporations, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses. It is imperative, if we desire to enjoy the full blessings of life, that a check be placed upon unjust accumulation, and the power for evil of aggregated wealth. This much-desired object can be accomplished only by the united efforts of those who obey the divine injunction, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.”

Therefore we have formed the Order of the Knights of Labor, for the purpose of organizing and directing the power of the industrial masses, not as a political party, for it is more — in it are crystalized sentiments and measures for the benefit of the whole people, but it should be borne in mind, when exercising the right of suffrage, that most of the objects herein set forth can only be obtained through legislation, and that it is the duty of all to assist in nominating and supporting with their votes only such candidates as will pledge their support to these measures, regardless of party. But no one shall, however, be compelled to vote with the majority, and calling upon all who believe in securing the greatest good to the greatest number, to join and assist us.

Declaration of Principles

We declare to the world that our aims are:

1. To make industrial and moral worth, not wealth, the true standard of individual and national greatness.

2. To secure to the worker the full enjoyment of the wealth they create, sufficient leisure in which to develop their intellectual, moral and social faculties; all of the benefits, recreation and pleasures of association; in a word, to enable them to share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization.

Next up is a reminder to attend the South Central Federation of Labor LaborFest, at the Labor Temple (Park and Wingra). Lots of good people, activities for all ages, good food and drink and music from Mel Ford and Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans. You can download a flier here.

While on the topic of reminders, the pending bill requiring that labor history be taught in Wisconsin schools could use your support. Find out more here and also check out the other great things that the Wisconsin Labor History Society has to offer.

Last, that labor classic “I’m Sticking with the Union” as performed by a stellar cast at Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday concert.

Last year’s Labor Day post, with more music and history can be found here.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Blast from the Past, education, Local News, National News, Take Action

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 4, 2009 · 3:32 pm

Sandbagged! Now Teabagged?

School districts and school finance reform advocates were sandbagged by Governor Jim Doyle and the Democratic controlled Legislature. For years they had said “if you put us in control, fixing school finance will be a priority.’ We helped put them in control, districts built preliminary budgets based on the assumption that even if they wouldn’t enact a fix right away, they also wouldn’t make things worse.

But that is exactly what they did, make things worse.

They did this in many ways. They cut the money targeted to the neediest students and districts via categorical aid. They cut the amount of total revenue available to districts to well below “cost to continue.” They upped the property tax credits, money that never goes near a classroom, and called it more money for education. They saddled school boards and districts with the unwelcome dual tasks of finding new savings and raising property taxes (for more on how this is playing out in Madison, see here and here). Sandbagged.

Now — as districts are finalizing their budgets, setting their tax levies and raising property taxes — the teabagger anti-tax crowd is coming out. So far the only report I’ve seen is from Washburn, but more may well be on the way.

The Ashland Daily Press reports that 80-90 people showed up at the district budget listening session, many came to protest. On August 18th, the Board of Education had passed a preliminary budget with what is being called a 24% tax increase in the local property tax contribution (I did the math and the mil rate will go up about 15%, not small, but not 24% either). Like in Madison, there is a combination of a recent referendum, high property values, and most of all, the miserable state budget. At the time the budget was passed District Superintendent Sue Masterson laid out the choices:

“We are not happy about it, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

… Masterson said cutting back to what would essentially leave “reading, writing and arithmetic” would be damaging to the community. She said that as part of the referendum process, many cuts had already been made and that the district had made as many cuts as they could without cutting the quality of instruction. She said that further cuts could result in dramatically larger class sizes and might require building changes that the district couldn’t afford in any event.

“The only way you cut now is putting 40 kids in a classroom, eliminating programs, which will result in an exodus of new families and existing families from local schools,” she said. “Consumer science programs, music programs, tech ed programs — when you start cutting those kinds of things… well, today’s public education families expect a rounded education,” Masterson said.

This hasn’t changed, but now the voices from the community are louder and more strident. The Daily Press described the message from the September 1, 2009 listening session (let me note that MMSD has scheduled no listening sessions on their budget revisions):

One message came across loud and clear: The amount of the increase is unacceptable — and they expect the school board to go back to the budget and rework it so the increase is much closer to the 9 percent increase approved last November in a referendum allowing the district to exceed revenue caps. The tough economy makes a big tax increase especially difficult, many said.

…”The bottom line is we need to cut, and we need to keep Washburn houses filled with families.”

As is usual with these things, they were less forthcoming when asked for suggestions about what to cut and how to save:

Many at the meeting were unhappy they were being asked for suggestions for cuts when they didn’t have a line-item budget to look at for ideas, and others said the reason they hire an administrator and elect a school board is to make intelligent fiscal decisions on behalf of their constituents. Still, some suggestions were made.

Those included delaying improvements to the bleachers, cutting the food service program, and cutting administration costs by sharing an administrator with other school districts.

It is likely that there are some savings to be had, but after 16 years of struggling with annual cuts due to revenues that have been inadequate by design, the potential savings are minimal.

I have some sympathy with the people who are unhappy with the tax increase. They are correct that too much of the investment in education is coming from property taxes.

I also have much admiration for the Board and administrators who are defending education as a valuable investment and have not yet given in to the anti-tax sentiment (contrast with Madison, where sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the district and the anti-taxers).

The ones I have no use for are the those who say –as one attendee did — they are “sick of hearing the excuse ‘the state did this to us.'”

This is both wrong — the state did do this to them — and counter productive, because it cuts off productive protest directed at the state officials who actually have the power to make things better and electoral action directed to replace the ones who sandbagged us. Getting mad at district officials over this makes no sense.

We’ve heard this sort of thing in Madison before (one sitting Board member still mouths these ridiculous ideas on occasion), but mostly the message that school funding is a state responsibility in need of a state solution has been heard. This needs to happen all around the state. Join the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools to help make that happen.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by Thomas J. Mertz | September 3, 2009 · 1:17 pm

MMSD Budget and the Death of Journalism

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On August 10, 2009 the Madison Metropolitan School District had their first public discussion about how they might address the the multiple fiscal messes handed them by our state budget-makers. AMPS previewed this meeting that day. No professional media saw fit to do likewise. The issues on the table involve tens of millions of dollars and the the future of the children of Madison.

I attended the meeting and can report that there was not a professional journalist in the room.

Five days later, WISC-TV broadcast the story that appears at the top of this post. Yesterday morning, the Wisconsin State Journal front page, headline, above-the-fold article was on the MMSD budget and what was presented and discussed at that meeting almost a month ago. I want to note that there is nothing in the WISC-TV report or the State Journal story that was not before the public back at the start of August. I have not seen any other stories on the MMSD budget. Both stories are “competent,” neither was timely and there are some important things that our local media missed. So new(s)?

Because they were not in the room and apparently did not bother to view the video of the meeting, both reporters missed some fairly big news. That evening Asst. Superintendent Erik Kass revealed that for the 2008-9 school year MMSD will likely run a $5 million to $7 million surplus. That’s a lot of money and directly effects the current options before the district. This surplus follows a $4.3 million surplus in 2007-8 (also largely or completely ignored by the media, despite the fact that MMSD almost closed schools that year and did make major cuts that now appear to have been unnecessary). The rebudgeting of teacher and substitute allocations being proposed by the administration is based on these surpluses (there was also some cuts that weren’t called cuts back when the preliminary budget was passed and they appear to have been based on similar rebudgeting).

This sad state of journalism is hardly breaking news. To cite three recent treatments, Robert Godfrey previously posted on the death throws of education reporting; Andy Hall — a great education reporter — saw the handwriting on the wall and moved on; Brenda Konkel has been noting the dearth of good local journalism and how this diminishes the basis for engaged citizenship; and my old friend Bill Wyman gets a lot right in his “Why Newspapers are failing” post. I want to add my voice to these and fill in some of the of the other gaps left by our so-called reporters. Here goes.

If you accept the lowered standards of television news in 2009, the WISC-TV report is actually pretty good. It gets the basic facts right, gives at least minimal context and even includes multiple sources (two to be exact — Supt. Dan Nerad and MTI Union President Steve Pike). I’d like more on the wider context of a broken state finance system, the dilemmas of other districts and maybe some reactions form Governor Doyle and the legislative leaders who thought the choices they made were good policy (hello Mark Pocan, hello Mark Miller…we won’t forget who is responsible for this mess). Even the presentation of the financial information is relatively clear and relatively complete (at least in comparison with the State Journal), something which is not easy to do in a television news report. My biggest complaint on this one is the lack of timeliness

If you don’t know the topic, The State Journal article reads like a competent by-the-book, fill-in-the-blanks, news piece. The problem is that journalists are supposed to know more about their topics than most readers. When they don’t, they miss things that the public should know. Gayle Worland, State Journal, misses some things.

I want to be clear that this is not about Ms Worland’s failings; I understand that the pathetic business model of local reporting doesn’t allow for, value or reward the development of expertise or the kind of digging beyond the quotes from easily accessible sources that real quality journalism is based on. I also want to offer a special tip of the hat to Ms Worland for at least doing the leg work to get Andy Reschovsky’s perspective. In this day and age even a little thing like that shows some professional pride.

One reason the WISC-TV story gets higher marks is that it gives passing mention to an option being floated by the district to refinance debts and use this opportunity to avoid paying $6.69 million in debt service in 2009-10, a development that does not appear in the State Journal.

I have some questions about this idea and how much is being saved in the long term, whether is best to both refinance the debt and pay some or all of the debt service in 2009-10, and perhaps most significantly are we getting a second opinion on this move; because the proposal was designed in consultation with the Robert W. Baird company, who will profit from refinancing and whose current Managing Director of public finance in Wisconsin is David W. Noack, who, in his last job, sold Wisconsin school districts some “dubious securities,” which have since collapsed (there has been no publicly released documentation on the debt refinance proposal yet). Lots of questions, none of which are even hinted at in either news story.

Given the centrality of taxation to both stories (especially the State Journal’s) I have to wonder why neither story saw fit to mention that under MMSD’s current plan the property tax levy will be about $7 million dollars less than is allowed under state law.

Again, this is big news. and the reporters didn’t get it.

Among other things it means that the authority granted by the November, 2008 referendum will not be employed (technically, the referendum authority will likely be used and other authority won’t be used but the dollars and cents come out the same). It also means that for the first time in recent memory (ever?) Madison will not be providing the maximum possible financial effort on behalf of our children. That gives me pause.

I’m guessing that some of the blame for missing this fact should be allotted to incompetent public relations and spin by the district. We’ve been hearing about the “Partnership Plan” ad nauseum but now that there is a real action on the table which will mitigate potential local property taxes and can be expressed in dollars and cents, they miss the opportunity to shine the light where it would be most impressive. You need big screaming headlines: MMSD REFUSES TO TAX TO THE MAX: TAXPAYERS SAVE $7 MILLION. Instead this fact isn’t even part of either story.

A side note: Regular readers will know that I believe a big part of comprehensive school finance reform has to reverse the trend of increased reliance on property taxes, so I have some sympathy with the anti-property tax rhetoric. However, I do think that much of the what we have been hearing since Superintendent Nerad arrived is subtly counter-productive for comprehensive reform. Two big parts of the Partnership Plan were that “Mitigating property taxes is good” and that “We can continue to cut and not harm education.” The anti-property tax message sounds a whole lot like a general anti-tax message unless presented very carefully. When there are cuts in services and allocations we are being told either that there are no cuts or that the cuts will have no impact on the education being offered. This invites people to say “keep on cutting” and to forget that there have been cuts for 16 years. Nerad has made a good case for supporting education and comprehensive reform in other contexts, but the result of these mixed messages is cognitive dissonance.

Back to the State Journal story for two last, quick items. First, other than the Reschovsky quote, there is little in the way of context or the state finance system or even the local context of 16 years of cuts. Last, the quote from Erik Kass on the 2010-11 budget near the end is true and needs to be heard:

“These (numbers) are ugly.”

Local news sources have an essential role into play in keeping local institutions and government vital and honest. To fulfill this role requires that reporters develop expertise and have the time and space to cover stories in some depth. If the reporters don’t tell the public what is going on, most people won’t bother to seek out the information themselves and will consequently neglect opportunities for involvement and vote from ignorance. This is what is happening in Madison.

I read school related news from around the state and in the local weeklies and I find a much higher level of coverage of local news than we see in Madison. These papers serve their communities.

As Bill Wyman notes in the essay linked above, one reason that newspapers are failing financially is that they aren’t providing news. So, as the Wisconsin State Journal and Capital Times parent company touts their revamped (and ugly and hard to navigate) madison.com, perhaps offering timely and well-informed stories about local matters could be given some consideration too.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by Jackie Woodruff | September 2, 2009 · 3:45 pm

Speechifying on Education

On Tuesday , September 8th, at 12:00 PM (EDT) the President will talk directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed. The President’s message will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov/live, and broadcast live on C-Span.

In the Sept. 8 speech, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in a letter to principals, said Obama will challenge students to work hard and take responsibility for their learning.

“He (President Obama) will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens,” Duncan said in a press release.

The Education Department is encouraging teachers to create lesson plans around the speech, using materials provided on the department website. And to foster student involvement, the U.S. Department of Education is launching the “I Am What I Learn” video contest. On September 8th, students will be invited to respond to the president’s challenge by creating videos, up to two minutes in length, describing the steps they will take to improve their education and the role education will play in fulfilling their dreams.

The Education Department is inviting all students, ages 13 and older, to create and upload their videos to YouTube by October 8. Submissions can be in the form of video blogs, public service announcements (PSAs), music videos, or documentaries. Students are encouraged to have fun and be creative with this project. The general public will then vote on their favorites which will determine the top 20 finalists. These 20 videos will be reviewed by a panel of judges, including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The panel will choose three winners, each of whom will receive a $1,000 cash prize. Starting this Friday, you can visit www.ed.gov/iamwhatilearn to find out more.

However, in a short file report today on Madison.com, an issue has been raised by some concerning President Obama’s speech.

The speech on the importance of education has raised concerns among some parents who view it as nothing more than political advertising within public schools.

Officials with both the Green Bay and Madison school districts say they’ve heard from a handful of parents with questions about whether the video will be shown next week. A spokesman for Republican state Rep. Steve Nass from Whitewater says their office has also fielded calls from concerned parents.

Madison schools is working on guidelines about how to handle the speech.

Some conservative talk show hosts are already suggesting that parents keep their children home from school to protest the speech.

President Obama is a powerful role model for many youth today. I applaud his efforts to encourage students to work hard at school as way to achieve their dreams. This sends a needed message to our youth that hard work and perseverance pays off and that education is a priority in our culture. I for one am glad that my children will be watching this video and I look forward to the discussion that we will have about it over the kitchen table Tuesday. In my day, the saying was “Knowledge is Power.” I applaud President Obama for again reminding our nation of the power of knowledge.

Jackie Woodruff