Category Archives: Local News

by | March 26, 2009 · 2:43 pm

Grass Roots Teacher Devolpment — Let’s Put Classroom Action Research Into Action

Click on image to learn more about this collection of research by MMSD teachers.

Click on image to learn more about this collection of research by MMSD teachers.

Three articles in latest Teacher Magazine Professional Development Sourcebook reminded me of the great and underutilized Madison Metropolitan School District Classroom Action Research work.

One article,  “Putting Teachers in the Driver’s Seat,”  discusses strategies such as  Collaborative Teacher Research,  Critical Friends Groups,  Lesson Study,  Book Clubs,  and the National Board’s “Take One!.”  As the author, professional development coach Anthony Cody,  notes   “There is a great deal of research that shows the most powerful forms of professional development create opportunities for teachers to collaborate and reflect on student learning.”

In the second article, “Grassroots Professional Development,” 2004 Florida Teacher of the Year Dayle Timmons described the multiple forms of collaborative development in use at her Chets Creek Elementary School.  Many of these are similar to those described by Cody.  Reading about Timmons experiences two things stood out.:  First, the very creative use of technology, second, the absolute necessity of sufficient time for collaborative work and planning.

“Teacher-directed professional development” is also a theme of the article “Reinventing Professional Development in Tough Times.”  The article notes that although potentially more effective and less expensive than contracting with outsiders,  internal work isn’t free.   Teachers, whether as leaders or collaborators need release time from the classroom in order to prepare and follow up.

This brings us back to MMSD.  We have an incredibly talented staff, in most schools a climate of professional collaboration thrives, in the classroom action research the basis for great staff development is already in place (take a look yourself, you’ll be impressed).  What is needed is the initiative and funding to put this work to work, to put the action research into action (some of this may be happening, but I can’t find any record and haven’t heard anything).

Fortunately, my reading of the Title 1 guidelines for the stimulus package indicate that this would be an acceptable use of that funding and it also appears to be the kind of project that might be funded via Sec. Arne Duncan’s discretionary “Race to the Top” money.

Wouldn’t it be great to build on MMSD’s strengths these ways?

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Best Practices, education, Local News, National News, Uncategorized

by | March 25, 2009 · 8:23 am

I’m Sorry (and a little bit more)

sorry_diamond_edit

Responding to a comment yesterday I wrote about standardized test scores at Nuestro Mundo, “everyone involved with NMI should be alarmed and ashamed by the performance of poor, Hispanic and ELL students.”  In doing so I fell into the trap of employing shame as an educational tool.

This is a practice that I think is wrong (see here and here) and I apologize for having done this.

I still believe that the scores at Nuestro Mundo are cause for alarm.

Standardized test scores are of limited utility in judging the quality of a school or assessing educational experiences, but they aren’t of no use.  I think of test scores as one tool that can indicate some success or call attention to problems.  Most of the time fair, good or even great test scores don’t tell us much but “proceed with caution,” (because caution is always in order when dealing with kid’s futures).  Sometimes the test scores tell us to slow down and pay attention, look for what is going wrong and for ways to fix it.  I believe that the results of Nuestro Mundo fall into this category.

On a related topic of using educational statistics, see Sherman Dorn’s recent post “Grokking Social Science Statistics” (well worth reading).

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Accountability, Best Practices, education, Gimme Some Truth, Local News

by | March 24, 2009 · 9:50 pm

Kinder Gartening in Madison

104388

The Beach Boys “Vegetables” (click to listen or download)

Jonathan Richman, “My Love is a Flower (Just Beginning to Bloom)” (click to listen or download)

A very nice story by Anita Weier on school and community work to create and maintain gardens at some of Madison’s East Side elementary schools is posted on the Cap Times site.

The kids are taking responsibility, learning about sustainable practices, such as composting and from the story, obviously having fun.

The project has also brought together a variety of people.  Community Groundworks at Troy Garden’s (home base of Madison’s Claire Strader, the new White House Farmer), AmeriCorps, the University of Wisconsin, neighbors, as well as parents, staff and students are working together to make it a success.

Unfortunately, the Madison School Administration appears to be less than enthusiastic.  Doug Pearson, director of building services for the school district raised reasonable, if not insurmountable, issues with expanded composting.

Less reasonable on the surface is Assistant Superintendent Sue Abplanalp apparent over-concern with the possibility that neglected gardens will detract from appearances.  Unfortunately,  the raised  bin of mud (which once held trees and grass), the bare dirt, the crumbling wall and other unattractive features that greet me at Franklin School each morning as I drop off my son have not inspired the same level of concern.

According to Abplanalp, an expansion of the program will be at least partially dependent on the results of focus groups and may involve “centralization.”  Focus groups. centralization, planning for failure…these are great ways to kill the great grassroots cooperative spirit that is flowering in these gardens.

For more on the Midvale Gardens, see here.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Best Practices, education, Local News

by | March 24, 2009 · 8:51 pm

Strategic Planning “Community Engagement Sessions”

Jasper Johns, "Target With Four Faces" (click on image for more information)

Jasper Johns, "Target With Four Faces" (click on image for more information)

The Strategic Planning Committee set many laudable, if difficult to reach targets and the process of figuring out how to get to these targets has begun.  This includes the first designated opportunities for members of the public to weigh in.

Tomorrow evening (March 25, 2009, 6:00 to 7:30) at the La Follette High School LMC there will be a “Community Engagement Session” on the Madison Metropolitan School District strategic planning.  There will be another session at Memorial High School on April 16.  According to the announcement:  “These two sessions will give attendees an opportunity to receive an overview of the draft strategic plan and to give feedback on it in small groups.”

On the page linked above, there is a video linked where Supt. Nerad says “In the months after these three sessions in January, more members of the community will be involved in developing action plans for each priority area of need.”  I sincerely hope that these sessions are not the extent of the reach beyond the appointed Committee Members.  Supt.  Nerad’s language fits with things that were said prior to the January meetings and indicates that the “Actions Teams” would not necessarily be made up exclusively of those appointed to the initial Strategic Planning Committee.

Thus far this has not been the case.  The Committee members have been meeting as self appointed “Action Teams,”  to “identify actions steps” based on the priorities set by the Committee as a whole and that the public has been welcome at these sessions only as “observers.”  This means that the work has moved into step two before there has been any real attempt at engagement with any not part of the team.

The district did a good, if relatively secretive job in seeking diverse and varied representation on the Strategic Planning Committee.  The sessions scheduled for 3/25 and 4/16 are also good things.   However, if this planning and especially the implementation that will follow are to be successful, much more extensive openness,  inclusion and outreach in all phases of the work would be advisable.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | March 24, 2009 · 12:39 pm

The Axe Keeps Falling — More Cuts and Layoffs, Trying To More With Less

From the Paul Bunyan murals by James S. Watrous at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union. For more information. click the image.

From the Paul Bunyan murals by James S. Watrous at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union. For more information, click the image.

Bo Diddley, “Bo’s a Lumberjack” (click to listen or download)

As noted last week, under Wisconsin’s broken school funding system, Spring is the season for budget cuts  in districts around the state.  The latest places the axe is falling are Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk, Kaukauna, and Oshkosh.

Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk (MHLT) is a K-8 district serving 550 students spread out over 350 square miles.  It is a classic “small but necessary” district in dire need of realistic  sparsity aid as one part of an improved system of funding schools.  Governor Jim Doyle’s budget proposal cuts the already inadequate sparsity aid by 1%.

The Lakeland Times reports that the district voted to lay off two teacher, cut the employment of three others by 20%,  lay off four educational support team members and discontinue funding for outside curriculum integration with the Lakeland Union High School (LUHS).

These were obviously painful decisions.  One board member had this to say about the curriculum integration defunding:

“We’re facing decisions that you well know,” board member Billy Fried said. “We’re negotiating with teachers. We’re making cuts in staff, and it’s really hard to look them in the face and also look our taxpayers in the face when we’re kind of shrinking our own, yet maintain an outside service that a lot of us feel confident they [MHLT current staff] can do a good job.”

The probability of an operating referendum in the near future was part of the decision:

“If I had any thoughts or felt that from the administration that it would be detrimental to the students, I would do nothing [and continue the service] … I think, too, one thing to keep in mind is we are going, we know we have to go to referendum soon, and I think we need to show we’ve done every possible thing before we go to referendum,” [Board Member] Laura Ahonen said.

Administrators and others did weigh in on the issue.  Principal Rob Way “admit(ted) that it would be a challenge, but one that they could handle successfully.”  Tom Gabert, Lakeland Union High School Board Member said “The major concern with doing it internally, was that past experience has shown that when there is no money on the table, it often gets neglected.”

Combined with the layoffs and this decision means that MHLT staff will be asked to do more with less.  The newspaper simply noted that the layoff notices were given with “much regret.”

Oshkosh is a much larger district (about 10,000 students) and the layoffs are also larger.  Oshkosh has referendum votes scheduled for April 7 on a complicated mix of building. upgrades and maintenance measures.  Although one of the questions asks for operating funds, these are designated for “the costs of small additions and renovations to existing school facilities and equipment acquisition” and would have no impact on the layoffs.

According to the Oshkosh Northwestern, here is what is being done to balance the budget:

The district plans to propose a freeze on administrator salaries and reduce at least one full-time equivalent administrator, said school district Human Resources Director John Sprangers.

The list includes 36 full-time teachers and nine part-time teachers primarily from middle and high school elective courses. Music and special education departments would take the biggest hit, losing six educators each.

Last year, “The district filled a $1.4 million hole in its budget… entirely by cutting non-personnel expenses such as maintenance and department funds.”  These cuts are part of the reason that there is now a maintenance operating referendum on the ballot.  What an insane circle of robbing Peter to pay Paul and then asking for money to pay back Peter while taking back from Paul…This has to end.

WLUK-TV has more on the story:

Note that both larger class sizes and fewer options will result from the cuts.   According to the Northwestern the middle school schedule will be reconfigured  “allowing each teacher to do more,” (I’ll add “with less” because that’s what is happening, and note that the “more” is in terms of classes and students taught and the the reality in terms of quality and learning will likely be that they are doing less).

The Kaukauna layoffs were actually approved on March 9, 2009.  With so many cuts it is hard to keep up.

Kaukauna serves about 4,100 students with a staff of approximately 500 and a budget of about $52 million.  In order to meet the projected $2.9 million shortfall for 2009-10, the Board froze administrator salaries, and laid off over 10% of their teachings staff.  The projections are based on very conservative estimates of future revenue caps, but past experiences with losing students due to open enrollment and underestimates of costs have taught the Board to be conservative.  One Board member noted that the new cuts will probably lead to the loss of more students via open enrollment.

Delayed maintenance projects,  threatening safety are also a factor in the layoffs.

To avoid big cuts last year, Kaukauna closed a school and sold the administrative building.  The layoffs will mean in increase of about two students per class.  Past cuts mean that like the teachers, administrators will be doing more with less:

Board President Jeff McCabe and clerk Cindy Fallona pointed out that because of cuts, administrators have had to tack on more duties without being compensated. Among them are financial officer Bob Schafer, who is overseeing buildings and maintenance, and human resources director Mary Weber, who is serving as Park principal. Randy Hughes, special education and pupil services director, has helped with administrative duties at an elementary school. Eric Brinkmann, Haen principal, tracks student academic performance for the district.

Superintendent LLoyd McCabe correctly identified Wisconsin’s dysfunctional system of educational investment as the source of all these troubles:

McCabe is hoping state lawmakers will tackle the school funding issue to relieve pressure on districts.

“I think that there’s pretty good agreement that state funding has to be revised and the problem that the state has is that they don’t have the money to do anything about it,” he said.

“Wisconsin schools cannot continue to produce students who rank at the very top of the nation with the funding structure that exists today.”

This leads directly to my “join the fight” plea.

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

Use your own experiences to write your own letters to the editor:

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

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

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

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

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | March 22, 2009 · 12:18 am

Madison Memorial Division 1 Hoops Champs — School Sports Pinched by Funding Formula

Jeronne Maymon puts up a rebound shot over Racine Horlick's Jamil Wilson. Joe Koshollek, Milwakee Jounral Sentinel. Click Imgae for more.

Jeronne Maymon puts up a rebound shot over Racine Horlick's Jamil Wilson. Joe Koshollek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Click Image for more.

The Madison Memorial Spartans defeated Racine Horlick 56-41 to win the WIAA Division 1 State boys basketball championship.  Congratulations.

Meanwhile, the Lakeland Times reports “Failing school funding formulas beginning to pinch athletics.  Here is what sports reporter Doug Etten has to say.

Though people are once again starting to see the signs of a market in recoup mode after a national credit meltdown, some area school districts are still struggling to make ends meet, and because of that, are passing the bill onto taxpayers.

Or at least trying in the case of many districts that have seen numerous referendums fail and fail miserably as taxpayers are standing up for what they think is a bad formula being handed down by the state.

As budgets are cut and staff members begin seeing their jobs in jeopardy, athletic teams are doing their best to remain untouched.

It is good to see reporters and newspapers recognize the cause of local district problems is at the state level.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | March 21, 2009 · 12:45 pm

Quotes of the Day — Standardized Tests “Insensitive to Instruction”

By Ricardo Levins Morales from the Northland Poster Collective, click on image for more information.

By Ricardo Levins Morales from the Northland Poster Collective, click on image for more information.

Most states’ NCLB tests are, sadly, essentially insensitive to instruction, that is, those tests are unable to detect the impact of improved instruction in a school or district even if such improvement is unarguably present. The chief cause for such instructional insensitivity stems directly from the test-construction procedures employed to create almost all NCLB tests. Those procedures turn out to make scores on NCLB tests more directly related to students’ socioeconomic status than to how well those students have been taught. Instructionally insensitive NCLB tests simply can’t distinguish between effective and ineffective instruction. (Emphasis added)

W. James Popham, UCLA, “AN AUTUMNAL MESSAGE: LET FLY THE AYP PIGEONS.“

These profiles emerge as an artifact of how items are selected. Test developers include in their respective proprietary item pools only those items shown to sort students in the same relative order in terms of their likeliness of getting an item correct. (In other words, ideally for each item in a given area, Student Q should always be more likely to get it right than Student S.) When high-stakes tests are then assembled using only the items that fit with these internal sorting profiles, the tests themselves also end up being remarkably robust in keeping students in the same relative order in terms of their overall scores (Student Q’s overall test score is very likely to be higher than S’s).

Using this approach, test scores will continue to predict other tests scores in ways that will remain remarkably insensitive to the quality of content-specific instruction. And just one of the unintended consequences of this insensitivity to instruction may be that those schools feeling the most pressure to improve test scores will resort to emphasizing test-taking skills, as opposed to meaningful academic content, as a compelling alternative strategy for attaining immediate, if short-lived, results. (Emphases added)

Walter M. Stroup, “What Bernie Madoff Can Teach Us About Accountability in Education.”

I came across this phrase a few times recently and I really think it captures one huge flaw with the reliance of standardized tests.  By design they do not measure learning, instead they sort into a bell (or other) curve.  If all students learn something, no matter how important that something is, it will not be included on a standardized test because it doesn’t sort.

This inescapable truth seems to be lost on President Obama, Sec.  Arne Duncan and all those in Congress, state legislatures and local school districts who keep calling for more money to be spent on testing and data systems.  Although there is potential for better testing I fear that this will only expand the inappropriate uses of the existing testing, testing that for the most part hinders real accountability by this “insensitivity to instruction,” and harms education by wasting time and money on things that don’t help students be successful in anything but taking tests.  Garbage in, garbage out.

For more, see:

Dick Schutz, “Why Standardized Achievement Tests are Sensitive to Socioeconomic Status Rather than Instruction and What to Do About It.”

Deborah Meier, “‘Data Informed,’ Not ‘Data Driven.'”

Diane Ravitch, “President Obama’s Agenda.”

John Thompson, “God Does Not Play Dice.”

And for a local angle:

“Quotes of the Day” June 4, 2008, on the WKCE and Value Added.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under Accountability, Arne Duncan, Best Practices, education, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, National News, nclb, No Child Left Behind, Uncategorized

by | March 21, 2009 · 10:36 am

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

waesgraphic

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

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

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | March 18, 2009 · 8:13 pm

The Axe Is Falling — School Layoffs, Closures and Cuts

Paul Gauguin "The Man with an Axe"

Paul Gauguin "The Man with an Axe"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other options to save money include:

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

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

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

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

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

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

And here from an earlier story:

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

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

Pretty bleak assessment, but absolutely correct.

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

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

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

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

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

The proposed solution, cut teaching positions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | March 17, 2009 · 12:59 pm

Governor’s Budget Numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click on image for pdf of page.

Click on image for pdf of page.

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

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

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

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

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

Thomas J. Mertz

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