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1/29/2007
School budget Lite?
We’ve all seen those ads for “fat-free” this or “sugar-free” that. The products sound good and right but the small print often reveals loads of calories and salt or sugar or additives or whatever.
The same temptation is echoed in legislation proposed by Representative Spencer Black last fall, (with plans to re-introduce this month). The bill calls for an exception to current school budget caps for “security spending” – certainly expenditures that, it can be argued, sound “good and right.”
Security spending came to light last week when the Green Bay School Board passed a package of security measures with a total price tag of $219K. Superintendent Nerad said cuts might have to be made – balancing the need for safety, with spending for textbooks and teachers. News reports said Nerad would certainly support – and was hoping for - the introduction of Rep. Black’s school security legislation. With the budget cap exemption, Nerad wouldn’t have to worry about making ‘cuts’ so as to be able to fund the security package.
So often, arguments for more school spending are based on “It’s for the kids.”
Last October, not a month after a Green Bay school shooting was averted, Rep. Black’s press release stated “Parents are increasingly worried about the safety of their children when they send them off to school….We must do all we reasonably can to provide kids with a safe place to learn and teachers with a safe place to teach.”
Rep. Black goes on to state “The current school spending caps can discourage school districts form taking measures needed to reduce crime and violence in schools. This proposal will let local school boards take the steps that they feel are necessary to keep our schools safe.”
Yes, yes, yes. Our kids are important. It’s very important as well, that on average, Wisconsin schools spend over $10,500 per year per student.
And now we are told we will be asked to exempt more and more costs from the current school revenue caps, allowing school costs to rise higher, faster. This budgetary slight of hand would allow for both new spending and cost shifting.
What’s the right amount to spend on education? How high is too high? Listen for new school programs, the school security exemption proposal and other revenue-raisers to pay for the new programs, during Governor Doyle’s State of the State speech Tuesday.
School funding formula, taxes and results
Madison School Board president Johnny Winston Jr. recently commended Senator Olsen’s school funding study panel for “looking critically at public education and how to fund it.” Good. And for those that believe Wisconsin faces a public education crisis, we must also look at the results we get from public education. Listen for what will be required in the way of “results” in the State of the State.
Senator Olsen said of the reception the panel’s recommendations might receive: “If there is silence from the educational community, this thing is pretty well dead.” Now what about hearing from Wisconsin taxpayers?
This article was written based on comments from Richard Parins, President, Brown County Taxpayers Association
COMMENTS
The problem with Wisconsin public schools is their monopoly status. As with all monopolies costs go up faster than the rate of inflation. The lone exception being Milwaukee's MPS. In Milwaukee private schools compete with MPS. As your article points out the statewide average cost per student is $10,500. MPS is a bit higher, approx. $11,000 per student. The Milwaukee voucher schools, on the other hand, cost the taxpayers $6,000 per student. In most cases the quality of education is better in the voucher schools. A better education at half the price. Can someone explain why the citizens of Wisconsin allow WEAC (teachers union) to prevent adoption of the Milwaukee voucher system statewide?
Russ Burkel (Mon Jan 29 13:22:23 2007)
Yes, extra spending for "school safety" sounds good but we would be well advised to take a much more comprehensive look at school spending before new legislation goes very far. Since the federal government has become more involved with "education" we have seen priorities skewed like never before. While taxpayers and educators have been expressing legitimate concerns over how to adequately fund education the federal government has been lavishing hundreds of thousands of dollars on each of several Valley schools for physical education improvements.
Did you notice the P-C feature on the $100,000 climbing wall just completed at Neenah? Hmmmm ... didn't we used to get roughly the same physical benefits from hanging a $25 rope from the ceiling? Not to take anything away from the new emphasis on lifetime sports, I just have to wonder why, when education dollars are so short, that we can't seem to find a way to have local districts and states have more say in federal grant money that doesn't seem to reflect local priorities. Are security cameras more important than a bunch of new in-line skates? Maybe, maybe not. The point is that we can't even have a good discussion because the federal government is too far removed from the people when it comes to education. If the federal government has that kind of grant money sitting around (and they really don't because they are still massively deficit spending) why aren't we as taxpayers demanding that the tax money not even make the trip to Washington? Keep it local and we also save the costs associated with the Washington bureaucracy. With more money that doesn't even leave the state we might not have to make quite so many tough choices in Madison and at our local school board meetings.
Clif Morton (Wed Jan 31 07:44:45 2007)
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