by | September 16, 2008 · 12:27 pm

A Blow to School “Choice” in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau has released their legislatively mandated report on Test Score Date for Pupils in Milwaukee’s Pupil Choice Program (voucher schools).  The news is not good for choice advocates.  In every instance where there was a statistically significant difference between choice students and students in traditional public schools, the students in the traditional public schools did better.

I’m sure there will be lots of spin from all sides, but to me the choice this recommends is very clear.

One caveat — I do not now and never will think standardized test scores should be the sole measure of school quality.  They are part of the tool kit and in this case a part that favors MPS over choice schools.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 13, 2008 · 12:01 pm

Why Arbitration Is Rarely a Good Idea

The Adverts, “Bored Teenagers” (click to listen or download)

Portuguese Joe. “Teenage Riot” (click to listen or download)

I’ve written many times about why it is rarely best for School Districts to use the arbitration procedure available under the Qualified Economic Offer law (most extensively, here).  There is new evidence from Wauwatosa of the harm that arbitration can cause.

In that district, the Board has chosen to invoke arbitration; in response the teacher’s are “working to contract.”  That means that they have ceased to volunteer their time outside of required hours and duties.

According to WauwatosaNow, “a lot of teachers are cutting back on volunteering for after-school activities and writing letters of recommendation for students.”

Although involvement in many co and extra curricular activities is paid and contracted, not all is.  Our teachers volunteer because they care and the efforts they put in as volunteers often make connections with potentially “disconnected youth.”  With no volunteers, fewer connections, more bored and disconnected youth, more delinquency….

One more thing to think about next time you hear complaints about School Districts avoiding arbitration.

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 10, 2008 · 8:19 am

Ruth Page Jones — An Education Champion for the Assembly

Ruth Page Jones narrowly won the Democratic primary in the 97th district.  She is President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools, Activist in Project ABC-Waukesha, longtime champion of school finance reform and a friend (see her testimony before the State Senate Education Committee here).  If you believe that changing the way Wisconsin funds schools needs to be a priority, then help Ruth defeat Bill Kramer in November.

And don’t forget the “Building a pro-education Democratic Majority” event in Madison on Thursday, September 18.

Closer to home, Kelda Roys won the 81st Primary in Dane County.  All indications are that she will also work for change in school funding.

Referendum results later today.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 8, 2008 · 12:15 pm

New Blogs in Town

Jan and Dean, “The New Girl in School” (click to listen or download)

AMPS would like to welcome two new Madison education blogs: News from the Madtown School Board and Middle School Madness.

News from the Madtown School Board is by Sarah Maslin, the student rep. on the MMSD Board.  She promises that “As we discuss, debate, and decide…, I’ll try my best to keep you all informed via this blog. ”  I thought Ms Maslin was very eloquent and right on target during the discussion of the referendum proposal at the last Board meeting.  I look forward to reading what she has to say.

The Middle School Madness team describe themselves and their mission as follows:

We are a community of educators dedicated to sharing and discovering information on various issues, including the district’s new standards-based report cards. While each of us has his or her own unique classroom, subject areas, students, and grade level, we all share a passion for providing excellent learning opportunities for the teenagers in our care.

All ideas, comments, and thoughts are welcome here.  Please feel free to comment on any of the postings to discover the experiences and opinions of others.   The site was founded to meet your needs as an educator and thus will grow and adapt to meet the needs of active users.

Although they don’t identify as teaching in MMSD, documents quoted as “from the district” are identifiable as MMSD documents.  At AMPS, we generally frown on anonymous posting, but in this case it seems like a reasonable choice.  So far, the perspective offered on Middle School Madness has been enlightening.

It looks to me as if the local internet education scene just got richer.  Thanks to Sarah Maslin and the Middle School Madness team for making the effort.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | September 7, 2008 · 5:42 pm

Let’s build a pro-education Democratic majority in the State Assembly

Click on image for PDF flier.

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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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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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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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