School Funding Plan Gets Mixed Reviews (WI)

June 25, 2010

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–>State Superintendent Tony Evers outlined his strategy to reform school funding Thursday, but some local officials said the plan won’t do enough to fix the problem

Evers’ proposal, "Fair Funding for Our Future," which he discussed during a conference call with media Thursday, would allocate about $900 million in the School Levy Tax Credit toward general school aid.

"When I ran for this office, I called for a fair and sustainable and transparent school funding system," Evers said. "Our school finance system is broken … with cuts and school closings resulting in fewer opportunities for students."

School districts receive state aid based on a formula that includes the district’s equalized property value and student enrollment. The plan proposed by Evers would include a minimum level of state aid to districts for every student and would factor in student poverty levels. His proposal also would reduce the number of categorical aids from the current level of about 40.

Evers didn’t offer more specific details about how much struggling districts with high poverty levels would receive.

Nekoosa School Board member Steve Bechard said the plan, which must receive approval from the Legislature and governor before going into effect, is a baby step toward the necessary funding reform.

"Until we go back to two-thirds funding — (the plan) is going to mean local property taxes don’t have to bear that local share of the burden, but that doesn’t mean anything for kids," Bechard said. "If you limit my revenue increase at 2 percent, and my expenses continue to go up at 4 percent because of (the) structure of teacher negotiations, I will still have to cut."

The state has stepped away from its commitment to provide districts enough aid to cover about 67 percent of their costs, while decreasing the aid per student from about $275 to $200 in the current budget cycle.

In the Adams-Friendship Area School District last year, state aid financed about 35 percent of district costs, while 68 percent of its enrolled students received a free or reduced-price lunch, said Superintendent Steve LaVallee.

The district lost about $1.4 million in state aid last year, while only recouping about $210,000 of it through high poverty aid, designed to offset the tax levy, LaVallee said.

LaVallee said he’s interested in seeing what Evers has planned by way of an increased financial commitment to schools struggling with high poverty rates.

"Depending on what that is, that would obviously help us," LaVallee said.

Nekoosa School District Superintendent Wayne Johnson said he likes the state administrator’s plans, but he is cautious about predicting its impact.

"Unfortunately, until the state economy improves, it’s going to be like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," Johnson said. "I think the crisis will boil to a point where something has to be done, and hopefully he’ll be positioning the state, when (the economy) does turn, he’s ready and something can be done to fix it."