Community and Schools Together has posted a new video on their web site. It explains why a recurring referendum (like the Board of Education voted in favor of) is better than a nonrecurring referendum.
You can see all the videos from the 2006 referendum campaign here.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under "education finance", AMPS, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action
From today’s Wisconsin State Journal lead editorial
The message to policymakers is equally clear: Wisconsin’s schools, colleges and universities have a vital role to play in the state’s economic success.
They should be held accountable for their performance. But they should be given the resources to perform well.
Investments in education pay dividends that enrich students, families and the state.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under "education finance", Accountability, AMPS, Budget, education, Local News, Quote of the Day, School Finance
“Up in the morning and out to School…”
Chuck Berry, “School Days.”
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under Best Practices, education
Chuck Berry, “Don’t You Lie To Me” (click to listen or download)
In his predictable screed against the November 4, 2008 Madison school referendum, Dave Blaska makes at least two statements that are demonstrably false.
Today, housing values are plummeting; unemployment is edging up…
The chart above shows housing value trends. After a drop in January, the general direction is up; by about $20,000 since the first of the year on both average and median. Sales have slowed and both the average and the median are down slightly in year-to-date measures, but one look at this chart and others reveal how unsupportable the verb “plummeting” is. There is a slight downward trend for August, but if you look at prior years there have been downward trends in August since at least 2005. According to the Dane County Real Estate Blog:
The Dane County market certainly needs to get better (especially the condo market), but once again the national numbers show that we’ve avoided the meltdown that is occurring in other parts of the country.
Blaska is even further from the truth on unemployment. According to the Department of Workforce Development’s latest report unemployment in Madison dropped 0.3% in July, is the same as it was one year ago, is the lowest rate of any Wisconsin Metro area, is 1.2% below the state rate (unadjusted) and 2.4% below the national rate (unadjusted). Sorry Dave, going down, not up and doing very well in comparisons.
Better luck next time you decide to pull “facts” out of thin air.
One reason Madison continues to attract jobs and homebuyers is the quality of our public schools. Keep our community strong and prosperous, Vote Yes for Schools!
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, Elections, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, Referenda, referendum, Uncategorized
“Educate in order that your children may be free.”
Irish Proverb often quoted by Margaret Haley.
“Only through the freedom of their teachers could the children remain free.”
Margaret Haley, ca 1899.
Margaret Haley is one of my heroes. She was a woman of great ideals who acted on these ideals and accomplished much. She began as an underpaid elementary school classroom teacher, with no job security and subject to the whims of her supervisors. To win protections, security and respect for the mostly female elementary school teachers, she organized the Chicago Teachers Federation (CTF). She led the affiliation of the CTF with the Chicago Federation of Labor and fully participated in the radical world of turn-of-the-century labor politics in that city. She was the first woman to speak at a National Education Association meeting where her 1904 talk “Why Teachers Should Organize” scandalized the conservative, professor-and-administrator-dominated organization. She helped secure the passage of Illinois’ Woman’s School Suffrage law, which like those in about 30 other states and territories granted women limited suffrage and office-holding rights for school related elections and posts. She was a fighter; her autobiography is titled Battleground and she was dubbed a “lady labor slugger.” You can see why she is one of my heroes.
Perhaps her finest hour was the 1900 “tax fight.” When the Board of Education pled poverty and failed to pay hard-fought-for raises to the teachers in the CTF. In order to remedy the situation, Haley led a team that researched and then sued to secure back taxes totaling over $600,000 from major utility and street car companies; money that the politicians were not interested in collecting. This was more than enough to pay for the raises. At about the same time she exposed sweetheart and (tax free) lease arrangements of School District property with major Chicago businesses, including the Chicago Tribune. The courts refused to find wrong in the Tribune case, but Haley had many successes fighting for education against corporate power and the politicians who protected that power.
For more on Haley, see:
Citizen Teacher, by Kate Rousmaniere.
Battleground: The Autobiography of Margaret Haley (edited by Robert L. Reid).
Encyclopedia of World Biography on Margaret A. Haley.
“Being Margaret Haley, Chicago, 1903,” by Kate Rousmaniere.
Happy Labor Day
Check out the LaborFest (1602 S. Park, 12:00-5:30), great atmosphere, great music, good food, cold beer, fun for the kids. I’ll be there, both to celebrate with my family and friends and to promote the November MMSD referendum with CAST. Come and raise a glass to Margaret Haley and others worth honoring.
Some Labor Day Music Videos:
“Union Maid,” Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie
“Salt of the Earth,” The Rolling Stones
“There is Power in a Union,” Billy Bragg
Thomas J. Mertz
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Yes, you read that right. In another sign of how municipalities must cope with the lack of community resources to ensure the necessary access of their citizens to a quality education. The mayor of Akron, Ohio
Has proposed leasing the city-owned sewage system to a private contractor for up to $200 million and using the money to finance college scholarships for Akron’s public high school graduates.
…
He said money for the scholarships would help students attend the University of Akron or a trade school in the city, and turning over the system to a contractor would include rate caps and service guarantees.
Plusquellic said the plan would address brain drain — a migration of talented students out of the city. The city’s population also has dropped 4 percent, to 207,934, since 2000 because of a decline in the manufacturing industry.
Plusquellic’s plan is a twist on programs in other U.S. cities, including Kalamazoo, Mich., that offer scholarships to students with the hope that they eventually stay. But the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators knows of no other program that leases a sewage system to pay for college scholarships.
Are band-aid solutions going to remain the “go to” panacea for public education in America?
Robert Godfrey
Filed under AMPS, Best Practices, National News, School Finance
We have a referendum!
Community and Schools Together (CAST) has been working to educate the public on the need to change the state finance system and support referendums that preserve and expand the good our schools do. We are eager to continue this work and help pass the referendum the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education approved on Monday, August 25, 2008.
“The support and interest from everyone has been great,” said Franklin and Wright parent and CAST member Thomas J. Mertz. “We’ve got a strong organization, lots of enthusiasm, and we’re ready to do everything we can to pass this referendum and move our schools beyond the painful annual cuts. Our community values education. It’s a good referendum and we are confident the community will support it.”
Community and Schools Together (CAST) strongly supports the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education’s decision to place a three-year recurring referendum on the November 4, 2008 ballot. This is the best way for the district to address the legislated structural deficit we will face over the next few years.
This responsible approach provides time for the MMSD and the community to engage in the strategic planning that will take our already excellent schools to the next echelon. It will also establish a solid foundation for setting future budgets, justifying future referendums, and working for state finance reform. Such a process could be easily derailed if the community and district become distracted by discussion of major reductions in programs and services. At little cost to taxpayers, the Board’s action has given our community an opportunity to enter the Superintendent Nerad era in a way that will allow us to make good use of his talents and contributions.
“If we want to look at the big picture and plan for the future, we need the certainty that a recurring referendum provides,” stressed Hamilton Middle School parent and CAST activist Jerry Eykholt.
Since 1993 the district has reduced programs and services by over $60 million, even as other costs have continued to rise. The proposed referendum will provide basic operating funds to maintain the existing programs and services in Madison’s schools. Over the last fifteen years more than $60 million of programs and services have been cut. Without a referendum the cuts will continue at ever higher levels.
“Without the referendum, the preliminary areas identified by Superintendent Nerad and his staff for further cuts would create unwarranted stresses on our students, making it much harder to provide the education they deserve,” said Deb Gilbert, a CAST member and parent of two children at Leopold.
CAST is confident that the board and administration understand this referendum simply provides the authority to exceed revenue limits and, with the community, will continue to seek additional efficiencies and limit levy amounts to that needed to ensure a sound education for Madison’s children.
“I like the partnership aspects,” said CAST Treasurer and Falk parent Jackie Woodruff. “They clearly understand that we all need to work together to make the best use of the resources the community provides.”
A three-year referendum is a responsible way to allow the community and district to engage in a strong partnership to ensure the future success of Madison schools and students while minimizing the impact on children and tax payers.
CAST is proud of the quality of Madison’s schools and what they have achieved, even as resources have been cut and the needs of our population have grown through rapidly changing demographics-evidence of the dedication and creativity of the MMSD staff and the Madison community. Quality public education is essential to maintaining the economic health and quality of life of our community.
“We need to keep our schools strong-they are at the heart of our neighborhoods and what makes Madison such a great place to raise children” said Jill Jacklitz an activist with CAST and parent at Marquette and Lapham.
CAST is a grassroots organization of parents, educators, and community members that is dedicated to educating the citizens of Madison about school funding referenda in the Madison Metropolitan School District.
If you believe quality public schools for all is an integral part of our democracy, join us in working to assure our schools have adequate resources. We look forward to sharing a positive message about the future of the MMSD. Visit www.madisoncast.org for more information or contact:Community and Schools Together, madisoncast@sbcglobal.net.
Since I am active with CAST and quoted in the statement, now would be a good time to clarify some things.
CAST is a coalition of people dedicated to working for the passage of school referenda and educating on state school finance reform. Decisions are made collectively. Individuals involved differ on many matters related to school issues, even those related to referenda and school finance reform. As a group, we do and say what the group thinks best.
I also blog here and write about what I — as an individual — think is best. What I write or say, here or elsewhere, as an individual should in no way be considered to reflect the beliefs of CAST as an organization. Anything from CAST will be clearly labeled as such. Anything else is just me on my soapbox.
This should be obvious, but I think it needed saying.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under "education finance", AMPS, Best Practices, Budget, education, Elections, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action
The Madison Metropolitan School Board approved placing a three-year recurring referendum on the November ballot and enacted tax mitigation policies Monday, August 25, 2008. This is a good referendum, a good package and if passed will help create a positive atmosphere for the anticipated strategic planning that will make our schools even better while minimizing the costs to local taxpayers. Much more in the coming hours, days, weeks and months.
Just one thing that needs to be said now. Both before and after the vote opponents and other “watchdogs” cultivated deliberate misunderstanding by labeling the recurring referendum a “(virtual) blank check.” It is nothing of the sort. It is a “check” (taxation authority to exceed the revenue caps by up to) for $5 million the first year, $9 million the second year and $13 million each year thereafter. A blank check is a check that may be written in any amount; this referendum asks for specific authority up to a maximum. The idea of a “virtual blank check” is illogical demagoguery. Either a check is blank or it isn’t; it is like being a “little bit pregnant,” no such thing. Those who are pushing this line are insulting the people of Madison.
Thomas J. Mertz
Roy Orbison, “City Life” (click to listen or download).
I’ve been so tied up with life and the referendum stuff that I haven’t been much paying attention to the city budget process. A story in today’s Wisconsin State Journal got my attention, this graphic in particular. Two items on the possible cut list will directly impact the school district budget and at least three more will make things harder for our schools to do their job.
These possible cuts have been identified early in the budget process. Mayor Cieslewicz asked all departments to list what they would propose in the way of a 5% budget cut. If things go as the Mayor envisions, about 37% of these cuts will need to be enacted. Nothing is set in stone at this point. The Mayor will propose his budget in October and the Common Council will act in November.
The two proposed cuts that will force the school district to find more money to makeup the shortfall are a proposal to require the district to pay $522,000 for crossing guards and a proposal to increase bus fares, including pass programs. MMSD spent about $800,000 on Madison Metro bus pass subsidies last year. The proposed 33% fare increase translates into another $264,000 (or a shift to students and families). These two items add up to $786,000.
To me , that’s 786,000 more reasons not to do a referendum on the cheap. If the November referendum passes, we aren’t going to get a second shot at asking for more operational revenue authority in the foreseeable future. No matter what else happens to create new needs — like the city budget — there will be no second chances. We need to do more than loosen the bonds that have tied the district’s hands, we need to take the ropes all the way off (more on those thoughts here).
The other cuts are in the areas of library hours and social services and childcare tuition aid.
Since we have lived in Madison I have considered the limited library hours a source of shame. Cutting further, or closing a branch will harm both the educational climate and the quality of life.
We all know that children, especially those in poverty, come to school carrying the baggage of their home lives and that the kinds of things that social service help with are the kinds of things that if not addressed make it harder for students to be successful and create behavioral problems which effect the school climate and hurt all students. The “Broader, Bolder” manifesto correctly stated, we need to recognize “the powerful impact on student achievement of numerous contextual and environmental factors such as early learning, parenting, health, poverty, and the cognitive, cultural, and character development that occurs outside schools” and address this via the very same types of social services now on the chopping block.
Last, but far from least is $106,000 cut in the the childcare tuition aid. Childcare is not education, but they can be mutually supportive. Childcare also relieves some of the stress of working and single parents, creating a home environment more conducive to learning. The worst case scenarios, which will no doubt be manifested in some households, are that the cuts in childcare tuition aid will leave some children without guidance or protection for significant time periods and/or increase the childcare responsibilities older siblings, distracting them from their academic work. Not good.
I believe that Mayor Dave is sincere in his desire to build mutually supportive structures and relationships among the school district, the city and the county. All of these cuts would move us further from that goal.
The first round of hearings has passed, but you can contact the Mayor and the Common Council to remind them that supporting education in all ways is essential keeping Madison a great city. Don’t forget to mention that the city has a much freer hand with taxing authority than the revenue-capped school district.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under "education finance", AMPS, Budget, education, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized
[There are three parts to this post: A news roundup, an explanation and analysis of the administrative proposal and my thoughts on why the first year of the referendum should be $6 million instead of the $5 million proposed. Although they are intertwined, the bulk of each part is presented in the order listed. — TJM]
Some clarifications on this report. Marjorie Passman is incorrectly identified as Lucy Mathiak. The “list of potential cuts” mentioned is very, very, very initial. It is a first effort to identify general areas that may be discussed for cuts. I heard more than one Board member grumble about what was in the list. Board President Arlene Silviera has promised to schedule a discussion of this list and potential cuts in general at a future date. I suggest all hold off on critiquing or complaining till that discussion takes place. We all know that $6 million to $8 million in cuts would be painful. For now, let’s just use our imagination as to where this pain would be experienced.
Some clarifications on this report. First the use of $2 million from the Fund Balance in the first year is based on an estimated $4 million growth in the Fund Balance as the 2007-08 year is closed out (more below). The “other” $2 million from the Community Services Fund (Fund 80) Fund Balance as part of the plan to minimize the tax impact, is actually a plan to decrease the Fund 80 levy by that in amount in 2009-10 and use excess money previously collected instead to fund on going Fund 80 programing.
OK, TV out of the way, now newspapers (radio will wait for another day). Both Tamara Madsen in the Capital Times and Andy Hall in the Wisconsin State Journal do fine jobs covering the proposal in all its complexity and reporting on the meeting. Me, I like to go to the source. Executive Summary – Three Year Financial Forecast here; Budget Gap Background and Recommendations here and video here.
That said, Madsen has a quote from Superintendent Dan Nerad worth citing:
We’re about two things here: one is ensuring that the needs of our kids are met to be educated well and the other is to be sensitive to taxpayers going forward.
And Hall quotes Marj Passman with a sobering reminder of what this is about:
[W]e’re desperate and we need this passed and even if it is passed we’re not adding anything back.
Supt. Nerad is calling this a partnership. So what’s the partnership and what’s the plan? The partnership is an addendum to the deal that was struck long ago when public education was established. At that time and since, our society has entrusted our children, our tax dollars and our futures to public schools with the understanding that the schools with the help of community members will educate the rising generation, create a society based on opportunity for all and be good stewards of the public funds provided for this most important work. While asking the voters for more funds via a referendum, Supt. Nerad demonstrates good faith and worthiness in two ways. First, the request is substantially less than is needed for “cost-to-continue” budgeting and there is a promise to meet these shortfalls by finding new ways to do things without sacrificing (and maybe improving) the quality of education. Second (but not unrelated), Supt. Nerad and Assistant Supt. Erik Kass have sought and found ways to minimize the impact of exceeding the revenue caps on local property tax payers. In other words, the addendum might read: “In exchange for a small increase in our revenue authority — less than 1.5% — we promise to use this increase responsibly to educate while doing our best to minimize the burden placed on local property taxpayers.”
This sounds like a pretty fair deal. I think it would be a better deal for our community if we upped the “small increase in our revenue authority” a bit.
I want to go through the details of the plan and my thoughts in three parts. First, what is (and is not) proposed for the referendum, then the ways that the costs to property taxpayers will be mitigated. Finally some words on why I think that the district should ask for more money in the first year. There will be some overlap.
The (Proposed) Referendum.
Recurring means that it is cumulative. The authority to exceed the revenue cap the second year will be $9 million and the third year and beyond $13 million. The advantages of a recurring referendum are two-fold: It allows for better long-term planning and it minimizes the gap and probable cuts to meet that gap in subsequent years. The disadvantage is that recurring referenda are more easily demagogued. I’m not sure why this is so, except that the words “Permanent Tax Increase” carry some emotional weight. Of course the same people who use this appeal complain about the lack of long-range planning. Consistency is rarely the strong suit of the complaining classes.
What isn’t proposed is preserving everything the way it is now. There will be cuts or reorganizations or reallocations each of the three years. They won’t be huge, they probably won’t be too divisive, but they will happen each year.
I value the fresh perspective and approaches Dan Nerad has brought. I am glad that there will be comprehensive strategic planning and that new ways of doing things will be implemented. I understand that this is being connected to asking for less than the gaps in the referendum and that is a legitimate connection.
I don’t think asking for this much less than the gaps is for the best. I think that in order for our children to realize the full benefit of contributions of the new administration we should authorize resources at least equal to a cost-to-continue budget. I’m not advocating keeping things as they are; I’m advocating reforms without cuts. I’m advocating $6 million for the first year (because of the recurring formulation, this also funds the subsequent years). This money can be used to do things like restore Ready-Set-Goals, revitalize the equity work of the district, expand funding of supplemental positions via something like the equity resource formula, fix some of the problems with class size and specials, initiate world languages in the early grades…and most importantly implement initiatives identified through the strategic planning process with less pressure to defund existing programs.
I think that as a community we can afford this. That brings me to the tax impact parts of the plan.
Mitigating the Property Tax Impact
As presented by Dan Nerad and Erik Kass, the tax impact mitigation plans have little directly to do with the referendum itself. It is likely that most of these would be implemented even if there was no referendum. However, they are indirectly related in two ways. First, they are a demonstration of the partnership principles that Supt. Nerad has articulated; second, in very real ways they make a referendum more affordable to the local taxpayers. I want to start this part of my consideration with a some charts from the administration’s presentation.
Mill Rate History and Projections without a Referendum
Mill Rate History and Projections With A Referendum, Other Administrative Proposals and Renewal of Maintenance Referendum.
Mill Rate History and Projections with A Referendum, Other Administrative Proposals and Renewal of Maintenance Referendum
The first chart is the status quo. If there is no referendum and nothing else changes mill rates (taxes per $1,000 of property value) will resume their significant downward trend. With the exception of a very slight up-tick in 2007-8, the school mill rate has fallen steadily since 1992-3. For 2008-9, it is less than one half of what it was in 1992-3!
If there is a referendum and the proposed changes are enacted, the downward trend will also continue with the exception of another slight up-tick for 2009-10 (charts 2 and 3). The calculations I’ve seen say that for $250,000 home taxes will drop about $27.50 from the current rate in the second year and about $100.00 in the third.
This will be accomplished in four ways. First, by not seeking revenues to the amount of the projected gaps. Second, by slowing the rate of growth of the operating Fund Balance (Fund 10) and using some of the Community Service (Fund 80) Fund Balance to lower that levy without cutting programs. Third by moving money to a Capital Expansion Fund (Fund 41) which shifts the responsibility for some revenue from local taxpayers to the state (I’ll offer a more complete explanation at a later date). All of these are fiscally sound practices. The last piece is a conservative projection of 4% annual growth in the total value of property in the district.
Mitigate and Do the Right thing
I fully support all of these ideas for mitigating the tax impact, including not seeking the full gap amount. Where I differ is that I think we should seek closer to the gap and ask for $6 million in the first year. Our schools and our children are worth it.
Year 1: 13.24
Year 2: 11.54
Year 3: 10.68
The highest of these puts about where we were in 1999, when the revenue caps had been wrecking their damage for four years. By year three, mill rates would be back at 2005 levels.
I haven’t had a chance to project the tax impact on a $250,000 home for all three years (too many variables), but my initial calculation is that in the first “worst” year it would be $36.30, or about $9.00 more than what the administration proposed. For something as important as education, I think we can afford that much.
I want to leave numbers aside and talk about three things that I observed and heard today while registering my son for first grade. They are minor and they are indicative of what happens when we neglect our schools, or try to do things on the cheap.
On the entrance to the playground there is a ramp with concrete walls on either side. On one side the wall has crumbled and rebar is sticking out. The rebar is covered by empty plastic soda bottles taped on.
While on the playground, I spoke with the custodian. We talked about lots of things. My spouse asked if wood chips had been ordered (they are badly needed). He said they had, but the amount sent in the last few years has not been sufficient for all the surfaces that need covering.
We also spoke about snow removal. Apparently due to budget cuts, there are no longer removal crews assigned to specific schools (in all cases). Each snowfall brings different crews. Before this was the case, there was good communication about the particular characteristics of this school site and the crew knew where to plow and where not to, where to pile snow and where not to. Now it is random and the school custodians spend time each snowfall taking care of what was not done correctly.
A crumbling wall with dangerous metal protruding, a short load of wood chips and not staffing consistently aren’t huge things. Still they are things we should be able to afford to do right. I know we can’t afford them or many other things. I know we still have some Windows 98 computers in our schools.
What does this say about us that we haven’t cared enough to demand that this situation be fixed? What does it say about us that our school officials think that in order to get us to pass a referendum they need promise further cuts?
I’m not sure that the referendum as proposed will change any of this. It may help with some of these. It will keep things from getting (much) worse and that is very important.
I truly believe that quality public education is what creates and preserves prosperous and enjoyable communities; that public schools are the best tool we have for creating opportunities and overcoming inequality; that if we want the next generations to live in a better world our schools are the best tool we have for making that happen.
(If this passes) There won’t be another operating referendum for some time (maybe never if the state finance system gets fixed). Let’s do it right this time.
One more million in the first year and loads of possibilities open up. We can dream a little again. Wouldn’t that be great?
I’ll be working hard in support of a referendum as proposed by the administration (find out how to help by visiting Community and Schools Together), but I’d have a bigger smile on my face as I worked if the Board and the administration would askfor some more opportunities to dream.
Share your thoughts in the comments here and let the Board know what you think. Come to the Board meeting Monday, August 25 (last I heard, there will be public testimony) or write: comments@madison.k12.wi.us.
Thomas J. Mertz
[Slightly revised, 11:50 AM and 12:48 PM, 8/22/08]
Filed under AMPS, Best Practices, Budget, education, Elections, Equity, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized
Fund a Classroom Project in Madison
AMPS 