K-12 recommendations in Governor’s
2005-’07 budget proposal
These are some recommendations in Gov. Jim Doyle’s
budget proposal. Full details are in the official
budget documents. For K-12 recommendations look
under “Public
Instruction, Department of.” For an overview
of everything, look at the “Budget
in Brief.” A district-by-district review
will have to await analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
State equalization aid: Increase state equalization
aid by $285 million in FY06 and $415 million in FY07. Total
increase of $700 million. Increases are calculated relative
to funding for 2004-’05. These are equivalent to annual
increases of 6.6% in the first year and 2.8% in the second
year, and are more than twice what Burmaster proposed.
Revenue limits: No change in basic revenue
limits. Based on current projections of inflation, they would
increase $248 per pupil in FY06 and $252 in FY07. Doyle’s
proposed “property tax freeze” would not apply
to school districts.
Revenue limit modifications: (i) Declining-enrollment
districts could use a five-year average, rather than a three-year
average, to calculate limits. (ii) The low-revenue exemption
would increase from $7,800 this year to $8,100 in FY06 and
$8,400 in FY07. (iii) Unused revenue-limit authority could
be carried over 100%, rather than current 75%.
SAGE: Increase per-pupil reimbursements
from $2,000 to $2,250 in FY06 and $2,500 in FY07. Fund 10
additional schools to enter the program. Total increase of
$44 million. Almost the same as Burmaster’s proposal.
Transportation: Increase from current $17.7
million to $20.9 million in FY06 and $30.9 million in FY07.
Funding would be switched to the state Transportation Fund.
Reimbursement increases would be concentrated on routes of
8 miles or more, where rates would double (up to a maximum
$200 per student). Almost half of what Burmaster requested.
Special education: No increase in FY06;
$15.5 million increase in FY07 (including $3.5 million to
reimburse 90% of special-ed costs in excess of $30,000 for
individual students). This falls well short of Burmaster’s
special-ed recommendation.
Four-year-old kindergarten: $3 million
in FY07 for start-up grants.
School breakfast: Increase reimbursements
by 50%, from 10 cents to 15 cents.
English-language learners: Increase aid
by $2.4 million over the two years, enough to keep the reimbursement
ratio at its current level of 12%. This is well short of Burmaster’s
proposal, and has no funds for currently ineligible students.
Rural schools: Additional transportation
funding is aimed at rural districts. Not included, however,
is Burmaster’s proposed sparsity aid. Also, the big
jump in equalization aid won’t be as much help to rural
districts with high property values but low incomes.
Teachers: Eliminate the QEO; $1.8 million
for pilot grants for districts to develop new compensation
models for teachers.
District fund balances: Require a school
board vote to maintain a ratio of general-fund-balance-to-expenditures
in excess of 90% of the state average.
School levy credit: Increase of $150 million
for FY08, with the additional money distributed under a new
formula based on property-value equalization. This, combined
with the increase in equalization aid, allows the state to
get back to 66% funding by the end of the biennium.
Adequacy cost-out:
There is no provision in the budget for an adequacy cost-out.
The governor’s office assures us that he strongly supports
the idea and is working to obtain private funds for a cost-out
by people from UW-Madison.
|
