Fact checking

Update: the version I submitted to the Herald-Independent can be found here. The links to the data I reference are here:

WI pK-12 spending as a % of GDP:

WI pK-12 spending in inflation adjusted dollars:

1998-99 School year expenditures per pupil:

FY2008 Expenditures per pupil:

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Original Post:

Total Wi school funding in 1998 was $7,527, not the $4,956 reported by Sunny in her recent column. Corrected for inflation that's $9899. In 2008 average spending was (correctly reported) $10,791. In real dollars that's an 8% increase, less than 1% per year, not the whopping 64% increase reported by Sunny.

So were did that 1%/year go? Not into the pockets of teachers, who have been losing ground to inflation in the last decade, and not into smaller class sizes (average class size has been creeping up in Wisconsin.) No, any employer will tell you that health care costs have been increased by more than 50% over this period - and school districts feel the same effects. The fact that cost increases are slowly squeezing the life out of our schools is another reason we need to fix the broken health care system in this country.

On with the facts: In 1998 scores on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) ranked WI in the top 3 among states- but Wi scores have stagnated while the rest of the nation has (on average) been improving significantly. In the latest results WI ranks 15th and falling. These results mirror the funding situation: In 1998 WI had schools among the best funded in the nation, but since then funding has stagnated while on average other states have increased spending. Between 2000 and 2009 average spending in the US on education has increased 17.9%, while in Wisconsin spending has been flat since 2003. As Wisconsin funding for schools sinks to the national average, our test scores have also.

More facts: spending on schools has been sinking as a share of GSP (Gross State Product) for more than a decade. The education "piece of the pie" is smaller than it has been. That means public schools are more affordable now than in 1998, and educational professions are becoming less attractive compared to other endeavors. The recent changes to WI school funding will probably put us below the national average - we should not be surprised when our test scores follow.

These facts reinforce something simple I learned long ago: You get what you pay for. Education is not exempt. I wish our politicians could learn it too.


PS: Apparently Sunny got taken in by CNS news- a Conservative "news" organization which falsely reported the 1998 number - using a slight of hand to link to the wrong report from NCES.

Real Estate:

By law and policy the district can only sell or lease real estate with authorization from the electorate at a public meeting. At last Wednesday's board meeting we unanimously approved three measures to be placed on the agenda of the October 5th annual meeting. The three measures seek authorization from the public to:

1) Sell or lease the Nichols property
2) Sell the two residential properties on Jerome street across from the high school
3) Lease the Maywood property

None of the proposals require we do anything with these properties, but the give the board the authority to take advantage of any opportunities that might come along.

I have said before that I think the district would be better off with the Nichols property working for the community rather than sitting (largely) idle. It is a prime piece of real estate in Monona and could be of significant value to the community. To my knowledge there are no plans or proposals in the works, but finding the right project for the property is likely to take some time. Public approval will let potential developers know we are serious, and makes it more likely that someone will invest the time and effort to develop a proposal.

The Jerome street properties are two houses adjacent to the District tennis courts across the street from the high school (these are actually in the city of Madison.) We've been talking about doing something to upgrade the tennis facility for years - and the neighbors would prefer something to these unoccupied residences. The houses are used by the district for storage, but they aren't really of much value to us - selling them could provide some revenue for much needed facilities maintenance and upgrades.

No one is interested in selling the Maywood property, I think we should keep it for potential future needs. But finding a paying occupant would be of financial benefit to the district, better maintain the building and address some of the community concerns associated with an unoccupied school. As I noted we have seen some interest from the Madison school district as a location for their Nuestro Mundo charter school. An arrangement could be substantially mutually beneficial.

Nuestro Mundo

Today the WSJ covers Madison's Nuestro Mundo charter school and its search for new space. Nuestro Mundo combines (50/50) English language learning students with traditional students to provide a "dual language" program. This enables ELL students to progress in English proficiency and an foreign language immersion program for the traditional students. The data appear to indicate that this program is quite successful and it is popular in Madison.

The Madison School District is looking for more space because the program is crowded into Allis Elementary alongside the traditional elementary program. To that end Madison has contacted us about the possibility of leasing space in the Maywood or Nichols buildings. Nothing has been decided, but I think an appropriate arrangement that provides a financial benefit to the district, additional opportunities to MG students and "keeps the lights on" in one of our unoccupied buildings is certainly worth pursuing.

Two articles on the topic are in today's WSJ - but they aren't available on-line. I'll link to them when I can.

On a personal note - my summer hiatus from writing this blog wasn't intentional. It just happened that way. I have to say its been a big relief to take a break after the intensity of last spring's debates. I'll try and get back in the swing.

WiscNet to be eliminated?

In addition to dramatic cuts in school funding the WI state legislature is taking steps that will increase costs of operating public schools. The latest budget amendment would eliminate "WiscNet" the non-profit internet service provider used by most schools (including Monona Grove) and libraries across the state. WiscNet provides low cost internet service that is significantly less than privately funded alternatives.

The argument for the amendment is that public entities should not compete with private business. But this is not about competing with the private sector, but an effort to divert taxpayer dollars from a public non-profit to private businesses. What it should be about is providing essential services to taxpayer supported public institutions at the lowest cost. Eliminating WiscNet will result in fewer dollars in our classrooms or higher taxes.

State Superintendent Tony Evers notes

it will prohibit any UW campus from participating in advanced research networks linking research institutions worldwide.

The internet as we know it was created by public research networks and organizations like WiscNet - what future revolutionary inventions will we pass up by getting out of this game?

This doesn't seem like the right direction...

The Legislature's budget-writing committee on Tuesday signed off on a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker to phase out a program designed to help students -- especially those from low-income families -- find a path to a college degree.

You can find the full story here.

Wisconsin Covenant scholars who follow the program's guidelines -- and earn at least a B average in high school -- are guaranteed spots in the University of Wisconsin System, the state technical college system or one of the state's 20 private colleges.

Education isn't an expense, its an investment.

P.S. Sorry for the posting hiatus...

More changes...

Adam Mella, managing editor of the Herald-Independent has announced in this week's edition that he is leaving us.  Over the last several years Adam has provided excellent coverage of local events and government affairs, and I think the quality of the reporting has only improved under his leadership.  Adam's tenure has also seen the development of a frequently updated web presence that has provided a new and valuable level of service to our communities.

 Thanks for your good work Adam, and good luck in your future endeavors!

Election results

In a shocking upset Dean Bowles and Susan Fox win seats on the Monona Grove School board.

Congratulations! and welcome to the board Dean!

Belated board meeting wrap up...

The board approved the charter school planning grant application after a presentation by Nancy Gagnon and some of the other proposers, although many questions remain to be answered during the planning grant period.  The charter school proposal as presented calls for up to 180 seats (3 grades of 2 sections of 30 students each), very preliminary budget numbers were about $950K/year in operating costs.  The proposal calls for a school that is an "instrumentality" of the district: although it has a separate governance board it would not be a distinct fiscal entity - this is the way our current charter school (MG21) is operated.  The school would use a "project based learning" model and feature an environmental and health sciences curriculum.  Ann Schroeder raised concerns that there was not sufficient room n Winnequah for 180 Middle School students.

The next step would be to negotiate and agree to a charter in December of next year.  IMHO any agreement would have to be budget neutral - the costs of the charter school should not exceed the differential savings of taking those students out of our existing program -  anything more would result in fewer resources for students in our existing programs. 

The board also approved open enrollments for next year.  Out of a total of 206 applicants we accepted 125 based on available space.  This includes 55 4K, 20 Kindergarten students at Winnequah, and 30 high school students. 

We also got a look at an updated budget forecast: we are anticipating a $3.1M deficit representing a proposed budget reduction of 5.5% per student.  The deficit can be offset by projected savings of $1.1M in WRS and Health insurance payments (the pay cut to teachers), $100K revenue from open enrollment, $850K in Federal Jobs Bill revenue, $245K savings from the Maywood/Winnequah consolidation,  $340K from staffing maximization (reducing staff and moving them around to match student needs) and $362K in program and services reductions (more on those next time).  This leaves us with a projected negative $88K balance on the year, plus whatever is required for remodeling in Winnequah due to the consolidation.


P.S. The H-I website embeds my cell phone video of the 1812 overture played by the combined 4th-12th grade orchestras at the bottom of the front page:  http://www.herald-independent.com/, check it out!

March 30 meeting

The board will meet tomorrow Wednesday with a few items on the agenda.  In closed session the board will:

III. Motion to Move into Closed Session Pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85 (1)(c)
(e) for Consideration and Deliberation Regarding Administrative Contracts/Salaries,
Superintendent Evaluation,  Possible Contract Extensions for Support Staff,
Possible Negotiation of Resignation Agreement with an Employee and Strategies
for Real Estate Practices Regarding School District Properties.

In open session the board will:

A. Discussion  and Possible Approval of Planning Grant Application for School of
      Health and Environmental Sciences - Nancy Gagnon and Stephanie Ramer   (30 Min) 

The board will review the planning grant application proposed by a group of Monona residents for "the Monona Grove Environmental and Health Sciences Charter School" designed to serve as many as 75 middle school students with a project based learning environment.  You can review the document here. 

B. Discussion and Possible Approval of Open Enrollment Recommendations    (30 Min)
C. Discussion of 2011-2012 Budget Reduction Items.                                          (60 Min)

The proposed 2011-13 state budget puts the district in need of significantly more budget cuts than we had planned- the board will consider recommendations for the administration for different directions we can go.