School Funding Reform Proposal Unveiled

by Joseph Quick, WSPRA Legislative Liaison

After almost two years of haggling, negotiation and compromise, the state's major education groups—under the mantle of the School Finance Network (SFN)—have recommended a series of school funding reforms. Prodded by legislators who urged the education community to speak with one voice, the groups representing over 100,000 members said now is the time to begin making changes to how Wisconsin's schools are funded.

"For a decade and a half, Wisconsin has used a school funding system that is based on revenue controls," said Madison Board of Education member Beth Moss. "But what was good for our state 15 years ago is no longer working today. Our kids deserve better," she told attendees of a news conference in Verona, one of ten news conferences held around the state to tout the proposal.

Moss continued, stressing that the resources are based on student needs: "Children with disabilities, those from low-income families, kids in rural districts and others, all have different needs. The current system does not take that into consideration and, over time and given a dynamic, changing population, this has created a financial burden on many districts. The School Finance Network's plan addresses those flaws in the system by providing targeted aid to help all districts ensure that every student will be treated in a fair and equitable manner," Moss said.

The SFN is comprised of groups representing parents, school boards, school officials, teachers and other and includes leaders from the Wisconsin PTA, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, School Administrators Alliance, Wisconsin Education Association Council and other state and regional groups.

The 13-page proposal has several elements, but the key to the plan is to target resources to the neediest children, keep down the cost to property tax-payers and ensure that no school district loses resources. The proposal increased categorical aid for children with disabilities and special needs, for small, rural school districts, and for low-income students, sharpening the focus on funding for students who the state Supreme Court identified in the Vincent v Voight school funding decision in 2000.

The proposal also reworks how annual per pupil increases are calculated, moving from a Consumer Price Index model to tying increases to a five-year rolling average of the state's personal income growth. The SFN believes this model more effectively aligns school district revenue with annual costs.

At the Verona news conference, Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Middleton), the chairwoman of the Assembly Education committee was blunt in her assessment of the state's current funding situation, "If anyone is to blame for the continued struggles our failed education funding system presents, it is the collective Legislature. It is those of us under the dome in Madison. We gave you this failed formula and it is ours to fix."

Pope-Roberts continued, "More than fifteen years of revenue caps preventing school boards from meeting the cost of inflation—resulting in endless cuts to programs, staff and services—which have finally led the Legislature to understand that the funding system is broken. Until now, it has been far too easy to ignore this very complicated problem. But today's presentation by the SFN delivers a solution to those charged with the fix."

Pope-Roberts will hold a hearing on the proposal on March 24 at the Capitol.