Category Archives: Referenda

by | September 27, 2008 · 9:12 pm

Quotes of the Day – Broken System, Broken Record Edition (#1)

John Hartford, “Dont leave your records in the  sun” (click to listen or download)

Last week, Milwaukee Superintendent William Andrekopoulos strung together the words “State, “Finance,” “Schools,” “System,” and “Broken.” At AMPS, we’ve strung those words together in a variety of ways ourselves or quoted others using these words on more than one occasion.

It thought it might be fun to see who else has said this or similar things about school finance in Wisconsin, who else has given voice to the truth that in Wisconsin, the school finance system is broken.

Here we go, not comprehensive and in no particular order.

We need to do a better job of looking out for taxpayers, and we will. It means making work pay, by encouraging and fostering economic development that pays family-supporting wages and respects the environment. It means ensuring healthy communities, through public health programs and a new, more powerful and consumer-friendly, organization of how we buy prescription drugs and health insurance. It means fixing our broken system of school funding, and making an ironclad guarantee to every Wisconsin child that this state will give you a good start in life a quality education that enables you to succeed in tomorrow’s economy.

Governor Jim Doyle, 2002 victory speech.

The school finance system is broken and needs to be fixed or the quality of public education will suffer significantly.

Cooperative Education Service Agency #3, “Can Wisconsin avoid an educational crisis?” 2007.

Everyone agrees that the school funding system is broken.

Wisdom, “Education Position Paper,” 2007.

Wisconsin’s school-funding system is broken, it needs to be thrown out, and the Legislature needs to come up with a better plan…

Wisconsin PTA, 2007.

First, it’s clear that the school funding system is broken at the state level. I encourage you to join me in calling upon Governor Doyle and our state legislators to fix this broken system that every year forces school boards around the state to cut budgets.

Madison District 12 Alder, Satya Rhodes-Conway, 2007.

Wisconsin’s K-12 education funding system is definitely broken. After 15 years of living under revenue caps and a funding formula that leave school districts with an approximate 1% deficit every year, our schools are increasingly finding themselves having to cut programs and staff. This is especially true in our rural schools where declining enrollment is an issue.

47th Assembly District Candidate, Trish O’Neil, 2008.

The Oshkosh school system isn’t broken; the state funding formula is. I disagree that we have to “fix” our school system because of the budget problems the funding formula creates. Until the state changes the formula, we should ask through an annual referendum to exceed the state budget caps.

Oshkosh Board of Education Member, John Lemberger, 2008.

The current system of funding public education in Wisconsin is broken.

Milwaukee Board of School Directors President, Peter Blewett, 2008.

The school funding system is broken and it was created broken.

Professor Emeritus, Economics,  University of Wisconsin-Platteville, John Simonson.

Partners in WAES believe that Wisconsin’s school-funding system is broken beyond repair and should be linked to the needs of children, giving each of them—no matter where he or she lives—the opportunity to meet rigorous academic goals.

Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools, 2004

School Funding is Broken

  • Mandates, needs and costs continue to grow faster than allowed revenues.
  • Annual service and program cuts of 1-2% over the last 14 years.
  • Over 100 districts in Wisconsin have held referenda in the last year.
  • After 14 years of cutting, essential services are in danger.

Community and Schools Together (CAST), Madison, 2007.

The system is broken. We’ll have to raise taxes.

Superior parent and school board member Kris Kintop, 2003.

We want to be clear that we are painfully aware of the broken system of funding public education in Wisconsin,

Madison Board of Education Member, Lucy Mathiak, 2007.

Wisconsin has conducted several studies on how we can fix the funding of our education system. Isn’t it time that the governor and Legislature start looking at those recommendations and consider other ideas instead of foolishly tinkering with the same old broken system?

Dave Zweifel, the Capital Times, 2007.

The school finance system is broken and needs to be fixed or the quality of public education will suffer significantly.

Dean Isaacson, Platteville School District Administrator, 2008.

Wisconsin is extremely fortunate to have one of the best public education systems in the country. But our school funding system is badly broken, and we are headed in the wrong direction. School districts throughout the state are cutting programs and staff and closing schools. Children have returned to school this fall to find fewer academic choices and larger class sizes.

If we are going to jump-start our economy, we need to find a better way to provide schools with resources to meet the needs of children so we can be assured that we are turning out future workers who can help our state’s businesses thrive.

Dan Burkhalter, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, 2007.

The state school finance system is “broken.

Pete Etter, interim superintendent, Black Hawk School District, 2007.

To be continued.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 26, 2008 · 9:36 pm

Broken System, Hard Choices

Lorette Velvette, “Broke the Circle” (click to listen or download)

Some updates on the hard and harmful choices Wisconsin’s broken system of funding schools is forcing on districts much like MMSD.  It looks like raising class sizes and cutting teachers is popular this time around.

Beloit is facing a $3.5 million gap this year.  This is in part due to lower than expected enrollments, but mostly due to the annual structural gaps that are built into our state’s school finance system.  They will have 30 students in a a fifth grade class this year.

All the excitement about charters in Appleton didn’t prevent  the need for $3.2 million in cuts this year.  They’ve been able to keep 25-1 ratios in k-3, but 4-6 are up to 26-1 and grades 7-12 will rise to 27.5-1.

Green Bay just approved their annual budget, it includes $6.5 million in cuts.  The district is saying the cuts were “reduced” to $4.1 million by stricter staffing guidelines that resulted in eliminating 35 FTE teaching positions.  That looks like a harmful budget cut to me, but if they want to spin it that way and the people in Green Bay buy it, I guess it worked.  The people in Madison would know better.  17.6 FTE support positions have also been cut.  They will save about $500,000 by leasing instead of purchasing equipment (an idea Dan Nerad has indicated will be brought to Madison).  $800,000 of programing was transferred to Fund 80.  From the news report. I can’t figure out what else was cut or reallocated.  It does note that the new 4 year-old kindergarten program is “off the books” and funded via the Fund Balance.

Of further relevance to those interested in the Madison November referendum is that in Appleton the projected tax impact on local homeowners will be  4.7% increase and in Green Bay it will go up 3.7%.  The school mil rate and taxes on an individual home will go down this year in Madison.  With a successful referendum, the projected mil rate will increase 1.1% the first year, and decrease significantly the following years.

Taxes and tax rates are going up along with cuts in Appleton and Green Bay.

Things are different in Madison.  We have the opportunity to slow school budget cuts with no long range mil rate increase.  This is because the economy in Madison is strong, life here is good and people want to move or stay here, so the property tax base keeps growing.

Quality schools are a big part of why Madison is strong and good and attractive.  That’s the circle we want to keep intact; invest in education and it pays off in prosperity and happiness.  Let’s not let the broken state school finance system break the circle in Madison.

Vote Yes for Schools! November 4.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 24, 2008 · 8:30 am

Smart, Caring Students, Working for Good

Madison SOS Teen Leaders at the State Capitol

Madison SOS Teen Leaders at the State Capitol (note: SOS is not the group working on the school referendum, but another group working for good in different ways)

Among the items in the MMSD Philosophy of Education is this call for students to be given the tools to engage historical, political and social knowledge to create a “faith in our future:”

To develop faith in our future by understanding and appreciating the history and geography of our nation and our world and their social and political systems.

It doesn’t say anything about working to create that better future, but this story — by Tamara Madsen in the Capital Times on students working on behalf of the Novemember 4 school referendum —  shows that at least some of  our students have grasped the truth that they can and must take active roles in making their community and futures better.

Madison high school students get organized, push referendum

Tamira Madsen
September 23, 2008

Officials at La Follette were forced to drop the Italian language program from the curriculum for the 2008-09 school year, and students had to scramble to restructure their class schedules.

Stroup said elimination of the courses put many seniors like her in a tough situation when thinking ahead to college.

“Their schedules are messed up now because colleges want you to have four years of the same foreign language, and they’ve had to switch to French and Spanish, and it’s thrown things off for them,” Stroup said.

She is part of a group of Madison Metropolitan School District students intent on bolstering community approval for the school referendum so deeper budget cuts won’t have to be made going forward. Leaders of the group hope to have some two dozen students getting out the word about voting “yes” on Nov. 4.

Voters will be asked if they want to let the school district exceed its revenue limits by $5 million during the 2009-10 school year, then by an additional $4 million in each of the following two years. After that, the higher limits would be permanent. The referendum would add $27.50 onto the tax rate of a $250,000 home in the first year, district officials say, but accounting changes would decrease taxes for homeowners in the second and third years.

The district faces an $8.1 million hole in the budget for the 2009-10 school year, $4.4 million for 2010-11 and $4.3 million for 2011-12.

Stroup, a senior and president of La Follette’s Student Athlete Advisory Council, was one of eight students from Madison’s five high schools who met with Superintendent Dan Nerad more than three weeks ago to learn more about the referendum.

Stroup said she came away with a greater understanding of many issues, including the fact that the money being asked for by the district will be used just to continue current programs.

Nerad has already laid out a plan for program and service cuts in the 2009-2010 budget if voters do not pass the referendum. Those include increasing class sizes at elementary and high schools, trimming services for at-risk students, reducing high school support staff, decreasing special education staffing and eliminating some maintenance projects.

Even if the referendum does pass, the $5 million the district would get the first year still would not cover the $8.1 million gap and would force some budget trimming.

“I really want people to understand that this referendum is just to get by; it’s just to help sustain,” Stroup said. “If the referendum doesn’t pass, there’s going to have to be a lot of cuts.

“People think these cuts are insignificant, but they can affect students greatly. The highlight of a student’s day could be going to chess club or forensics, but cutting one of these programs could devastate them.”

The meeting with Nerad was organized by Natalia Thompson, a West High School senior who runs Madison SOS (Speak Out, Sister!), a nonprofit group that seeks to engage high school girls in grassroots activism.

Although she’s not old enough to vote, Thompson, 17, was one of two West students who took time earlier this month to make a public appearance at a Madison School Board meeting to explain why she is in favor of the referendum.

When school started this month, Thompson was disappointed that the writing lab at West was closed due to staff cuts. A federal grant will lead to its reopening in the near future, but other programs are under pressure as well, like West’s Fine Arts Week. The annual event, which takes place in May and has art, drama and dance elements, will not include one-act performances this year because of staff cuts.

Getting the chance to sit down with Nerad and learn more about school finance issues influenced Thompson to act.

“I do really see this as sort of one of the biggest social justice and political issues facing my generation — access to affordable, quality education — and I am seeing through my work in the community how important the schools are,” Thompson said.

She will work with the pro-referendum group Community and Schools Together leading up to the election by writing campaign literature, opinion pieces for news outlets and handing out literature in neighborhoods. She hopes at least 20 to 30 students will join her.

In an effort to collect even more student support, she also created a Facebook page titled “High School Students for the Referendum” that has 60 members.

To do her part, Stroup plans on handing out campaign literature and working on a short speech to give during announcements at La Follette.

Thompson said she’s been pleased with student responses to assist in getting the word out.

“With every student I’ve talked to about it, as soon as I explain what this is — what’s going on, why we need students to get involved — there’s no question it’s something they want to support,” Thompson said. “We’ve been faced with budget cuts since we’ve been in kindergarten.”

Since a state-imposed revenue formula was implemented in 1993 to control property taxes, the school district’s overall budgets have continued to rise due to annual increases in salaries and fixed costs like transportation, but it has had to cut $60 million worth of programs, staffing and services.

District officials are planning sessions at the five area high schools to offer information on the referendum, though they cannot collaborate directly with any advocacy efforts.

Nerad, though, said he will continue to cultivate lines of communication with students by becoming actively involved in the Student Senate and scheduling lunches at schools to establish dialogue.

“I believe we have a mission-based responsibility to ensure that we’re developing in students the skills of civic responsibility, and how to engage around important civic and social issues,” Nerad said. “I believe that part of my role and our role is that we have to model that by ensuring students do have a voice on issues that affect them.”

He said student engagement has always been one of his priorities in his job as superintendent, and he’s been pleased to see students’ interest in the referendum issue. “I think it’s very heartening to see, and it’s less about them and more about students that will follow them.”

tmadsen@madison.com

On a personal note, I’ve had the pleasure of working a little with Natalia and others and I want to tell them what a pleasure it has been and how much their contributions are valued.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 22, 2008 · 7:45 am

Mad City GRUMPS Are Back

There are lots of good new things on the Mad City GRUMPS (Grandparents United for Madison Public Schools) web site.

Here is their “mission statement”

Let’s Pass the November 4th Referendum!!

We are Grandparents United for the Madison Public Schools

We treasure the high quality of public education that Madison has provided our children and their children.

We want to continue to attract people of every educational and income level to Madison on the basis of the quality of our public schools.

We worry that our generation and those that follow have become more fearful of escalating property taxes than the prospect that children may be shortchanged in their learning opportunities.We ARE grumpy, ESPECIALLY when we worry about the eroding resources for public education for our grandchildren and all Madison children.

The site features a brief description of the November 4 referendum, information on school taxes since 1994, frequently asked questions, data on student achievement, and an invitation to help GRUMPS pass the referendum and provide the resources for the good work to continue.

Welcome back.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 21, 2008 · 4:37 pm

Quotes of the Day and Sources to Consider

Graph courtesy of Community and Schools Together (CAST)

Graph courtesy of Community and Schools Together (CAST)

Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal editorial:

Wisconsin received more evidence this week that its taxes are too high….

The study, from the Pacific Research Institute in association with Forbes magazine, should give state and local policymakers new incentive to control spending so that taxes can be reduced….

There are reasons to be suspicious of some of the study’s assumptions about what contributes to prosperity….

Wisconsin should beware that prosperity requires public investment in the seeds of growth, including education…

State and local policymakers face tough decisions as they prepare the next round of government budgets. They should redouble their efforts to rein in spending so that tax cuts will become possible.

It appears the editorial board is confused and conflicted.  They are eager to cite a study they acknowledge as flawed because it provides red meat for their anti-tax appetites.  They recognize that public investment in education and other things is the key to prosperity yet call for tax cuts.  Maybe they should have just kept quiet.

The problem with this kind of editorializing is that it creates a climate where the investments we need, like in education, get lost in the general anti-tax stance.  The graphic at the top is one measure of local investment in education and it shows that this is far from an area that needs “redouble[d] efforts to control spending.”  Instead it indicates that due to the broken state school finance system, our investment has been lacking and that we can and should invest more by passing the November 4, 2008 referendum.

There are good reasons to doubt both the conclusions and the source of the “study.”   As the editorial notes, New York —  with an economic growth rate of 4.4% last year —  is ranked last, while South Dakota’s 2.3% growth rate is accompanied by a number one ranking in “Economic Freedom.”  Obviously the relationship between “economic freedom” and prosperity is not as simple as the authors would like us to believe.  I don’t want to go into the assumptions behind the construction of their index, but I do want to note that as usual with these right-wing think tank things, taxes are given much weight and no attention is paid to government fees.  Wisconsin’s fees are relatively low and this skews thing mightly.

The source, The Pacific Research Institute has been linked to Big Tobacco, the campaign against paper trails for electronic voting, anti-immigrant rhetoric in the battle against expanding government health care programs, attacks against LINUX and open source software, and work on behalf of the privatization of water rights. See a pattern here?

I happen to know one of the authors of the current study, Eric Daniels.  Eric and I were in Grad School together; a nice enough guy but nobody I’d look to for policy or moral guidance.  Eric is an acolyte of Ayn Rand.  Eric’s section of the report is the historical portion and it is a masterpiece of selective use of sources and data, sprinkled with authoritative pronouncements derived from Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman, all disguised as scholarship.

In an interview with EdNews, Doctor Daniels had this to say:

You’re right that there seems to be an emphasis in socialist countries is on helping the less fortunate, but it is only the most benign aspect of the much more perverse deeper emphasis, which is the morality of altruism. The socialist nations demand more than just help, they demand the sacrifice of the strong to the weak, the intelligent to the feeble minded, and the moral to the immoral…

Any honest man with a knowledge of history should see that those who want to help the less fortunate ought to embrace capitalism.

He believes that both the Democratic and Republican parties of are guilty of pushing this dangerous socialist agenda.  In a sense he is correct about this, in that both parties correctly see a positive role for government that goes beyond protecting persons and property and includes things like education, food and drug safety, infrastructure…  In these days of Lehman Brothers and AIG, that he is wrong about the virtues of unfettered capitalism should go without saying.

I think I know why the State Journal was so confused.  They started with the mistaken assumption that the likes of Eric Daniels had anything useful to contribute.

Support a better vision of the common good, Vote Yes for Schools!

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 10, 2008 · 3:56 pm

Referenda Results – We Are Not alone #24

Of the 12 referendum questions on the ballot yesterday —  8 operating and  4 to issue debt, — 8 passed (5 operating and 3 debt).  Of the operating referenda that passed, all were nonrecurring.  That means that when the authority expires, these districts will be headed “off the cliff.”  Thankfully, Madison had the wisdom to facilitate long-term planning with a recurring referendum.

One by one, in reverse alphabetical order.

A “big” win in Weston (after a close loss in April) — 482 to 308 — on a three-year non recurring in amounts for $210, 000 to $575,000.  This means that for the next three years Weston will survive and be able to ““keep the books and equipment in the budget year after year.” Got that — in order for a school district to have books, they need the approval of the voters at a referendum. Are you listening Governor Doyle? Are you listening State Legislators? Are you listening voters as you look toward your November ballots?  Click the links and try to get the ears of our elected officials.

Shawano got approval to go ahead with the $24.9 Million construction of an Early Childhood – Grade 2 facility and upgrades and additions to other buildings by a vote of 2,186 to 1,842.  “The children of Shawano won tonight,” said Lincoln Elementary principal Troy Edwards.

Bad news from Salem, where $1.16 Million recurring referendum went down 677 to 286.  Time for more cuts.

Board members will be forced to cut staff, said board vice president Larry Kamin. The layoff notices will go out in February…

Officials have said as many as seven full-time teachers could be cut, increasing class sizes above state-recommended minimums. Combined-grade classes could also become a reality, officials said.

Salem serves about 1,100 students.  The equivalent loss for Madison would be about 153 teachers.

Tiny Rubicon’s non recurring $150,000 a year measure passed 132 to 91.  See this previous post for a list of past cuts and what was at stake.

The news for Rhinelander was not so good.  Voters there defeated both the request to issue $23.35 Million in debt to renovate, add to and improve existing buildings and build a new facility (3,180 to 3,135) and a recurring referendum in the amount of $225,000 for operations ($3,204 to 3,105).  This was a scaled back version of a referendum that failed in April.  Prior to the vote The Rhinelander Daily News editorialized:

We believe this community needs to reinvest in our schools so that today’s students get an education that fits today’s world; so students get an education that provides them with options and opportunities. We need an educational system that students can take pride in and that the community can grow around.

and characterized the vote as “an opportunity to do great things, for the schools and the community.”

It is now a missed opportunity.  How many other opportunities have been missed in our state because voters don’t fully understand that providing quality education requires successful referenda?  How many opportunities have been missed because Boards of Education are reluctant to even ask the voters (or, as in case of Madison, are reluctant to ask for the funding required to maintain our present level or restore valued programs and services that have been cut in the past)?   How many have been missed because our elected officials lack the will to enact a way of funding schools that is based on educational needs? Way too many.

Neillsville voters understood what was at stake and approved five-year non recurring authority at $300,000 a year by a vote of 557 to 481.

A 959 to 866 victory in Montello means they can take a step back from the edge of do-or-die finances.  Failure of the two-year non recurring $950,000 measure would likely have set them on the road to dissolution.  This breathless video report from WISC-TV tells part of the story and doesn’t even tell that part very well.

I don’t know which is worse, breezy or breathless.  The details of school funding are complex (see here for an accessable introduction), but one fact is simple: Each year, without referenda,  the (nearly) mandated costs increase faster than the allowed revenues.  How hard would it be to convey that information every time referenda are the topic?  Apparently too hard for most local members of the fourth estate.  In addition to omitting that basic and essential information, the video report neglects to clearly state that when the non recurring authority runs out, Montello will likely be back on the edge and mis-characterizes consolidation as a panacea.  By most accounts, consolidation buys a year or two away from crisis while the erosion created by our “going-out-of-business” way Wisconsin funds education continues to eat away at the future of our children and our state.

The referendum in Mineral Point also went down.  The vote on the five-year non recurring referendum was 599-328.  For a guide to the damage this no vote will lead to, see here.

The story in Deerfield is much more encouraging.  The six-year non recurring referendum passed 422 to 265.  as I’ve noted repeatedly, the community involvement process in Deerfield was exemplary.

“We had a very active group of citizens that came together eight months ago and spent eight months looking at all the needs of the district. They were vital in terms of putting this plan together. They came to the board with the referendum plan and the board backed that plan unanimously,” [Superintendent Michelle] Jensen said.

Small class sizes will be kept, technology upgraded, plumbing HVAC and electrical work will be done and there will be a new track (replacing one built 30 years ago).  These are basic things that a district should be able to do without having to hold a referendum.

Colby will get the greenbacks for green schools they requested.  The vote on that debt measure was 696 to 287.  Another vote to refinance retirement obligations also passed, 738 to 228.  The Marshfield News Herald reports:

“These referendum questions are focused on a win for everybody, and I think that’s why they were successful,” said Colby Superintendent Terry Downen. “We certainly hope to save programs as a result of softening the blow of increasing costs by having these additional savings in place.”

[Neillsville Superintendent John] Gaier said if the state’s school funding formula remains unchanged, every district in Wisconsin, including Neillsville, will continue asking taxpayers for more money.

Madison media, pay attention.  Notice how simple it was to give some of the bigger picture by  including that quote from Superintendent Gaier.

Congratulations to all the winners, my most sincere empathy to the losers and to all, let’s fix the system that requires these referenda, let’s “Get’er done.”

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 10, 2008 · 9:17 am

Madison Mill Rates and Assessments from Peter Gascoyne

Peter Gascoyne has helpfully provided the following presentation on mill rates and property assessments in MMSD and Madison.  This information sets the context for the November 4 operating referendum.

As the cost of running the district continues to rise, and as Madison homeowners and families find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, it is easy to think that our property taxes are also ever rising.  But that’s not the case, at least as regards the portion that goes toward our schools.  Over the past 15 years, the schools’ portion of Madison property taxes has declined 6%, on average.  The decrease is 9% if you adjust for today’s higher enrollment figures (1993 = 23,600; 2007 = 24,200).  And it plunges to a 36% decrease if you adjust for inflation; (a dollar today is worth 30% less than it was 15 years ago).

The chart below, based on local funding of MMSD and data from the city assessor’s office, shows the recent history of school mill rates, the rate that is applied to your assessed property value to determine how much you contribute towards Madison schools (10 mills = 1.0% of the assessed property value).  The reported rate has dropped from 20 mills to 10, but property values have doubled thanks to the general rise in home prices (termed “revaluations” by the assessor’s office), so the rate is more appropriately captured below by the “Net of Revaluations” line.  That line is then adjusted for school enrollment (the red line), and inflation (the heavier blue line).

(click on image for pdf)

(click on image for pdf)

There are three important caveats to the above statements: 1.) school taxes are lower on average, but if your home has increased in value by more than about 110% since 1993, then you will be paying more for schools; 2.) it is the schools portion of property taxes that is lower on average; the remaining portion of property taxes that pays for the city, Dane County, Wisconsin, and MATC, has risen; 3.) other sources of Madison school funding (state and federal funds, and grants and fees) have also gone up; (I have not done the much more complicated calculation of real increase in funding there).

That the infamous schools’ portion of property taxes has declined over these past 15 years is quite a surprising result, and certainly counterintuitive to what one might expect.  How is this possible?  First, the school finance structure put in place by the state years ago has worked, at least as far as holding down property taxes.  The current structure allows about a 2% increase in expense each year, consistent with the CPI (Consumer Price Index) at the state level.  (In fact, local funding of the MMSD has increased from $150 million in 1993 to $209 million in 2007, equivalent to about a 2.4% increase each year.)  Of course, the problem is that same structure allows for a 3.8% wage hike for teachers if districts wish to avoid arbitration, an aspect that has essentially set an effective floor on salary increases (with salaries & benefits representing 84% of the district budget).  The difference between the revenue increases and the pay increases, about 1-2% annually, is why we face these annual painful budget quandaries that can only be met by cuts in school services, or by a referendum permitting higher school costs, and taxes.

The second reason today’s property taxes are lower than they have been historically is growth, in the form of new construction (i.e. new homes & buildings, as well as remodelings).  What we each pay in school property taxes is the result of a simple fraction: the numerator is the portion of school expenses that is paid through local property taxes, while the denominator is the tax base for the entire city (actually the portion of Madison and neighboring communities where kids live within the MMSD).  The more the tax base grows, the larger the denominator, and the more people and places to share the property taxes with.  Since 1993, new construction in Madison has consistently grown at about 3% per year.  Indeed, since 1980 no year has ever seen new construction less than 2.3% nor more than 3.9%.  So every year, your property taxes are reduced about 3% thanks to all the new construction in town.  I leave it to the reader to speculate how much the pace of new construction and revaluations will decline if the schools here should decline in quality.

FYI, the figure below shows how new construction and revaluations have behaved in Madison since 1984, as well as total valuations (which is the sum of the two).

(click on image for pdf)

(click on image for pdf)

Thanks Peter.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 7, 2008 · 12:50 pm

A breezy need for money

(1924 National American Ballet)

Contrast the excellent coverage of what’s at stake for the various referendums taking place this coming Tuesday by my colleague TJ Mertz, in the post immediately below this one, with what was reported yesterday in the Wisconsin State Journal regarding three local ones chosen for coverage.

Three area school districts are holding referendums Tuesday — two say it’s to avoid the presidential election hoopla and another wants to finalize its budget as soon as possible.

Deerfield, Mineral Point and Weston school districts are each asking to exceed the revenue limit in order to pay for everything from daily operating expenses to maintaining staffing levels.

This type of coverage reflects the difficulties Madison will face in it’s referendum in November, this breezy piece failed to mention one of the basic W’s of good journalism – “why.” Why are these districts forced to go to referendum? For the low information voter reading about about one of these referendums for their community for the first time, they may wonder, why haven’t these school boards learned to live within their means during these tight economic times? Legitimate question, but the piece doesn’t provide the answer – it’s a dysfunctional state school finance system. A sentence or two would have sufficed. Instead, the reader is left to draw their own conclusions. I’ve brought up this issue previously of troubling referendum coverage that ignores the “why” of the story, with another journalist from the State Journal who replied to my critique (ironically enough, part of his piece was on the last failed referendum in Weston). It’s a pity the editors at the Journal have missed another opportunity to explain this budgeting shortfall, for one of the most critical functions of our government, educating our children.

Robert Godfrey

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

by | September 5, 2008 · 11:04 pm

We Are Not Alone #23 – Wisconsin Referenda Roundup, Tuesday, September 9, 2008 votes.

[Updated with more video on Montello, Sptember 7, 2008, 11:45AM]

The number of school districts seeking sufficient funding via referenda this Fall (September and November) keeps growing. My count is 20 districts committed to 23 referenda questions (12 questions in September), and this does not inlcude the Madison referendum, which will become official on Monday, September 8.

Do we really need any more evidence that the way Wisconsin funds schools doesn’t work?  As Beth Sweeden exemplified so well in  “I Just Want to Be A School Volunteer Again,” (her open letter to the Joint Finance Committee a year and a half ago), too many good people  —  educators, parents and others — are putting too much energy into trying to address the structural budget gaps the system creates, energy that could and should be spent working to help educate and improve our schools.

Today I am mostly going to write about the operating referenda not related to new capital projects to be held next Tuesday, September 9.  I’ll get to the November 4 measures eventually.

The debt/building votes include two from Colby (see here and here for more); Poynette seeking $13.4 million to build and equip a new K-3 school; Rhinelander is asking for $23.575 Million for a variety of building and upgrade projects and related operational costs (in a second question); and Shawano is requesting $24.9 million to build “a new energy efficient Early Childhood through grade 2 school; [make] improvements [to] and [build] an addition to the Olga Brener elementary school to convert it to a grade 3 through 5 facility; and equipment acquisition related to said projects.” The Shawano Leader has some good stories (including “New school could be boon to economic development“).

That leaves seven operating referenda being voted on Tuesday.

Deerfield, after extensive community input and involvement, is asking for five year non-recurring authority to address structural operating revenue gaps in amounts ranging from $275,000 to $475,000 per year.  I liked this from the Community Advisory Committee’s Final Report:

Ideally, some time in the next 5 years the Wisconsin State Legislature will come up with a more sane way of funding K-12 education than pitting schools against homeowners. (We can always hope…).

I was also impressed with the district referendum web page.

Another Madison neighbor, Mineral Point, has a five-year nonrecurring referendum on the ballot.  The annual amounts escalate from $590,000 to $1 million.  The district’s referendum documents are here.  This is from the “Why a Referendum” document:

The Referendum Remedy

The revenue gap and the declining enrollment penalty are built into Wisconsin’s school funding formula. Together they ensure under funded schools.  State law allows school districts to exceed the revenue limit, but only by conducting a referendum vote.

Preserving Quality Education

School quality means many things to many people and Mineral Point has high expectations for its schools.

  • Quality means good instruction in core academic classes and Mineral Point students out perform students statewide on nearly all measures.
  • Quality means providing opportunities in the fine arts, world languages, career and technical courses, health, PE, and extra and co-curricular activities.
  • Quality also means providing program variety so that students of varying interests and abilities can pursue a meaningful educational path.
  • Quality means being able to attract and retain quality staff members who are highly skilled, motivated and hard working. And that means competitive wages and benefits, ongoing training, the tools to work with and reasonable workloads.

The only path to maintaining quality education is via referenda.  This has to change.

Montello will also vote on a nonrecurring operating referendum on September 9.  After three failed referendums in the last year or so, they are only asking for two years at $950,000.  Consolidation talks with Westfield continue and dissolution is very much on people’s minds.  Administrator Jeff Holmes broached the topic back in July, now Board Member John Sheller is “scared to death” about the possibility.  Here is a video report from WKOW-TV:

And another from WISC-TV.

If the referendum fails, we may have another Florence or Wausaukee to deal with.

It is nice to see the Madison media cover this story.  It would be better yet if they did more with the big story of how the way all districts are funded makes it extremely difficult to maintain quality education and they should place the pending Madison referendum in this larger context.

Neillsville had a failed referendum in 2006, now they are asking for a five-year non recurring authority in the amount of $300,000 a year.  According to the district fact sheet, because of declining enrollments and rising property values passing the referendum will still result in property tax mill rates going down in the district.  Video from WEAU on this one:

Neillsville, like all districts, is facing rising energy costs and would like to invest in greater efficiencies for long-term savings, but are unable to under the revenue caps. The referendum would not only preserve educational quality, it would allow them to take this important step.

The small Rubicon Joint 6 district is trying for a three-year nonrecurring at $150,000 a year.  In the recent past, they have eliminated World Languages and instructional aids, reduced Physical Education, Art, Music, Reading Specialists, Guidance, and Library services.  They have prepared the following cut list for consideration in the event of a failed referendum:

Eliminate Cleaning (currently 50%)
Eliminate Guidance (currently 40%)
Eliminate Secretarial/Tech support (currently 80%)
Eliminate Writing tech (currently 20%)
Eliminate PE (currently 60%)
Eliminate Art (currently 25%)
Eliminate General Music (currently 25%)
Eliminate Instrumental Music (currently 25%)
Eliminate Instructional Aide (currently 50%)
Eliminate Forensics
Eliminate Student Council
Eliminate School Nurse
Eliminate Athletics
Eliminate Librarian (currently 20%)
Eliminate Library Aide (currently 80%)
Reduce Administrator 40%
No new text books
Minimal Support Staff Salary Increase
Increase student fees $20/child
Increase Athletic fee to $40 per child
Reduce tech upgrades to $1,000 per year
No additional middle school lockers (currently more students than lockers)
No new English text books
Reduce classroom supplies

Is there any doubt that these cuts would harm the education of the students?

The Salem School District voters will decide on a $1.16 million recurring referendum on Tuesday.  In June a smaller four-year nonrecurring referendum failed by 34 votes out of 504 cast.  Major cuts loom there too.  Technical Education and Gifted and Talented may be eliminated, class sizes will increase up to 29 or 30, Chior and languages would be reduced, a total of 13 staff postions would likely be cut (see here, here and here for more details).  Insanity.

Last, but not least is Weston.  An April vote on a recurring referendum failed 395-364 (much more here).  The new proposal is nonrecurring at $210,000 the first two years and $575,000 the last year.  Like elswhere, the cuts have been going on for a long time and getting deeper each year.  Republican State Senator Dale Schultz (a favorite on AMPS) was quoted on the referendum in Weston and a possible future referendum in Reedsburg:

“It’s just a dirty shame people have to put so much time and effort into another referendum,” Schultz said…

Schultz praised Weston administration and school board for doing all they could under the existing system.

“They have done an excellent job being fiscally responsible,” Schultz said. “I don’t know what more people could expect from a school district.”

Maybe he read Beth Swedeen’s letter.  It sure sounds like it.

I wish all the districts well and hope they all pass.  Check back after Tuesday for the results and updates on the November referenda in the weeks ahead.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | September 5, 2008 · 2:17 pm

Quote of the Day – [School] Districts at a Disadvantage

It wasn’t until after a recent school board meeting while listening to the views of a vote no taxpayer that “it” hit me. This opponent of the upcoming referendum will vote no due to rising taxes in his township. He said, “I can no longer afford to pay the $50 a year that it will cost me to support the Rhinelander School District’s referendum because my township continues to raise my taxes and I need this $50 to pay for those.”

It was at this moment that the “Catch 22” hit me and I realized that school districts are at such a disadvantage. Taxpayers have little say over tax increases from other governmental agencies when they need something, yet schools are required to get voter approval. The fallout of this situation is school districts so often being wrongly accused and somehow responsible for rising taxes, along with the divisions in the community. He said, “The $50 per year that it will cost me for a successful referendum is just too much to support education, students, and our community.”

Dave Wall, letter to the editor, Rhinelander Daily News

Mr Wall is exactly right.  I am reminded of the fact that the City of Madison is budgeting based on a 4% annual increase.  School districts under the revenue caps budget for increases of about 2.5% and require referenda to issue debt over $1 million.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under "education finance", AMPS, Best Practices, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Quote of the Day, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, We Are Not Alone