Ken
Bates — School Funding Network
Good Morning,
My name is Ken Bates and I am Superintendent in the Green
Lake School District. We are one of those small districts
that Senator Breske talked about.
I am here representing the School Finance
Network a group of ten educational organizations that have
joined together around a common mission of changing the way
our schools are funded.
The members of the network include:
American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin
Association for Equity in Funding
Fair Aid Coalition
School Administrators Alliance
Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance
Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools
Wisconsin Association of School Boards
Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators
Wisconsin Education Association Council
Wisconsin PTA
School Finance Network members believe that
the current funding system is flawed and is no longer providing
adequate funding to ensure student success.
Network members believe the state needs to
invest in education for our future and it urgently needs to
change the way it supports our public schools. Governor Doyle
has long promised to reform the way the state finances public
schools. It’s time for legislators to get on board as
well. Let’s put our state motto, “Forward”,
into practice. A serious public discussion about school funding
reform is long overdue.
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Dan Brereton — Florence
Country School District Board
I want to thank Roger and Sondy for once again co-sponsoring
this bill, and once again for inviting me to speak at this
event. I also want to thank all of the legislators who signed
on to it, thank you for taking responsibility, the school
funding system is the responsibility of legislators, we as
parents, tax-payers, and communities must hold them responsible,
these legislators have taken that responsibility and should
be recognized for that.
The financial problems my school district in Florence faced
are well known. Unfortunately, some legislators seem to think
everything is ok now because we passed a referendum, I am
sure they want me to just go back up north, shut my mouth
and stay there, your problem’s solved, and they honestly
think passing a referendum proves the funding system works.
Let me be the first to clue them in, I am not shutting my
mouth and I am not staying up north. Florence is still right
smack in the middle of the same perfect storm which put us
in our financial situation, the only thing that has changed
is now many other district are in the storm with us, or on
the edge of the storm.
I am not here today to talk about the past; I am too busy
- like everyone else here today - trying to protect the future
of education for our kids. I am here to give the facts of
what the funding system forces us to do everyday, and what
our district has to look forward to in the future.
This year we are spending 16% more on fuel, and that’s
after reducing bus routes. Our overall transportation costs
are up 9.21% and that’s after a reduction in bus driver’s
benefits. Our expected healthcare costs will rise 16%, and
that’s after a reduction in staff and a change to a
smaller plan. Our utilities are expected to come in at a 6.87
% increase, and this is after a mild winter.
No matter how innovative and prudent we are with our taxpayer’s
money, our fixed costs are increasing by more then the state
allows our district revenues to increase.
This year we are allowed to increase our revenue limit by
$750,000 because we passed a referendum. But with our declining
enrollment and the negative aid limit, Florence’s actually
increased by only $60,925. Next year, because of the referendum
our revenue increases by one million dollars. Any guesses
on what our revenue limit will actually increase? Only $24,091.
It is well documented that our year-around residents’
income is on the lower end of the scale. However the formula
says we are rich because our property values are high. Our
equalization value went up 14% average again last year. High
property value means low state aid.
I am looking for volunteers to come up and help me pass yet
another referendum. You can’t just pass one referendum;
you have to keep passing referendum after referendum after
referendum. Every decision we make along with our District
Administrator, has to answer the question, how would it effect
passing a future referendum? That simply is the wrong way
to have to operate a school.
The resolution we are supporting today at least gives us
hope that we can work together to guarantee all students across
the state the education they require to be successful in the
future. My year-around taxpayers need hope they will be able
to keep their homes. Our community needs hope that we will
have a school. And, most importantly, our students need hope
that we will provide them quality education in the future.
Right now theirs not much hope in Florence or any other school
district around the state, so let’s get to work.
We can no longer think that we can tinker with Wisconsin’s
school-funding system and fool ourselves into believing we
are helping kids. It’s time to throw it out and do something
better. This resolution is the beginning of that process.
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Jacinth Sohi— Madison
West High School
Good morning. My name is Jacinth Sohi, and
I’m the President of the Madison Student Senate. Along
with some of my classmates, we represent all the public school
students in Madison, and are seeing the quality of our schools
decline from a lack of funds resulting from revenue caps.
We are passionate about this problem, and dedicated to creating
change.
Fifty-two million, seven-hundred-seventeen
thousand, five-hundred and forty-six dollars. That’s
how much money has been cut from our schools since the revenue
limits were imposed in 1993. 615. That’s the number
of FTE positions that have been eliminated because of these
budget cuts. It’s hard to comprehend the repercussions
of these cuts looking solely at numbers. But don’t think
of these statistics as merely numbers—remember the people
behind them. Thirteen years and millions of dollars later,
we’re seeing the terrible affects that these cuts have
had on the education of our students.
Every single budget cut a district make impacts
a person. These are a few of the cuts that our district has
made, and showcase the negative affects on everyone, especially
low-income students.
- Cut One: Support Services. John is suffering
from depression is unable to find a therapist or psychologist
in his school to talk to. His depression gets worse, and
he can’t cope with being in school. John drops out.
- Cut Two: Class Sizes. Kendra’s elementary
school class size is drastically increased. She no longer
gets individualized help from her teacher, and struggles
to learn basic reading and arithmetic. The achievement gap
widens.
- Cut Three: Intercity sports teams transportation.
Marcus, a West High Junior Varsity basketball player, has
a game at East High. His family can’t afford a car.
The city bus routing won’t get him across town in
time. Marcus can’t attend the game.
- Cuts Four and Five: School Textbooks
and Custodial Staff. Textbooks, such as these, are outdated
and falling apart, hallways are littered with dust and trash.
Students’ morale decreases. The state doesn’t
care about their school—why should they? They are
unmotivated to be in school and learn.
We, as students, urge you to take action
on this problem before our school district ends up completely
in shambles. If the repercussions are being felt this strongly
now, one can only imagine how horrible the situation will
be for our students five or ten years in the future. Enacting
legislation such as that of Representative Pope-Roberts is
the first step to giving funding back to our students and
taking our schools back to a higher level of excellence.
Thank you.
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Ruth Page Jones — Project
ABC Waukesha
I am here today with 13 mothers from Waukesha whose children
attend or have attended 17 of the 23 schools in our district.
We came together today as one voice to say, “Stop the
nonsense! Stop forcing our community to cut valuable programs
and eliminate opportunities for children! Our school system,
a source of great pride for our community, is at risk. All
Wisconsin communities need a better school funding system
that provides enough resources to educate our children for
their future.
Waukesha is very proud of its school system. Our above average
test scores, our award-winning music, sports and art programs,
and the successful programs that help struggling students
are all evidence that we have created a strong school system
in Waukesha. Money magazine recognized Waukesha as the best
small city in Wisconsin, in large part because of its schools.
Tragically, the current school funding system will force
our district to eliminate all those programs in the next two-three
years. For the prosperity of our community and the future
of our children, we need to change this formula now and preserve
the excellent system we have created and nurtured.
The 15-year old state funding is simply a “Going Out
of Business” Plan. Waukesha is cutting 60-70 teachers
every year – and next year we will lose all music, sports,
and after school activities. Yes, all sports, music, after
school clubs – even our recently awarded Academic Decatholon
Team, and that’s only half the cuts they’ll make
next year! It is clear, we can no longer do ‘more with
less” \when communities can’t even save their
sports program. Some schools in the state are close to bankruptcy.
Many schools are talking about dissolution. All public schools
in Wisconsin are in jeopardy. When this ‘Going Out of
Business” Plan succeeds, our state will take a long
time to recover.
The formula has become toxic to our schools and our communities.
Only our Governor and legislators have the power to provide
the remedy. We expect our lawmakers to recognize the severity
of this problem, to work together across the aisle to find
a new formula that makes good education a priority and find
a fair way to increase revenue.
We hold the Governor and our legislators responsible and
accountable for the future of Wisconsin’s children.
Parents and concerned citizens are organizing across the state
to make sure our voices are heard. We ask the people we elect
to make this their priority. We need a new system now –
one that provides our schools with the resources they need
to prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s challenges.
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Kelly McMahon — Lancaster
Elementary School (MPS)
I’m here representing the Milwaukee
Teachers’ Education Association. We support the resolution
to reform the school finance formula based on what it really
takes to provide all children in Wisconsin with a high quality
education.
The current funding formula is broken beyond
repair. Milwaukee has been feeling the affects of this poorly
designed finance formula for years – in the shape of
growing class sizes, cuts in academic program, cuts in support
services like guidance counselors, librarians, and school
social workers.
But we’re not the only ones feeling
the pain. Waukesha is in the midst of making terrible, draconian
cuts in their academic and extracurricular programs; rural
districts also have been feeling the pain for years. It is
affecting affluent suburban districts as well as poor urban
and rural districts. Tinkering with one part of the formula,
whether it be revenue caps, or caps on teachers’ compensation
is not enough.
We have to start with what we know students
need from their schools, and find a way to provide it for
them. They are our future, and will determine whether or not
we will be a thriving and prosperous Wisconsin, or an economically
depressed state that continues to fall further and further
behind.
Our children deserve better than simple
tinkering. We need to find the political will to give them
what they need NOW.
Thank you
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