WEAC supports legislation to repeal revenue caps.

In 1993, Wisconsin passed legislation to reduce property taxes by controlling public education costs. This law limits the amount of revenue that districts are allowed to raise from one year to the next by a specified amount. For example, the 2007-09 biennial budget allowed for increases of $264 per student in 2007-08 and $270 per student in 2008-09. Originally the revenue controls were supposed to last for a five-year period; however, in the 1995-97 budget the controls were made permanent. At the same
time, the State of Wisconsin committed to fund two-thirds of the total costs of public education statewide.

Every kid deserves a great school, and the flaws in the revenue control law are hurting public education. The law assumes that cost increases are the same for all students when, in reality, many children require significantly more services (and resources) than others. In addition, the law assumes that there is a one-to-one relationship between school district costs and enrollment. This makes it difficult for districts with declining enrollment. For example, when students leave a district, revenue is reduced even though fixed costs (such as heating, transportation, and maintenance) remain the same. In fact, many fixed costs, such as those related to heating and transportation, are increasing dramatically. Declining revenues in combination with increasing costs produce budget shortfalls.

Investments in great schools build strong communities, and these education caps have forced school districts to cut programs and lay off staff, severely damaging the quality of education they can provide for students. In some districts, the caps have forced schools to close and have even threatened to force the closing of entire school districts. The caps have tied the hands of school districts to make investments in small class sizes, professional development and school safety.

Since 1993-94, the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and the Wisconsin Education Association Council have surveyed superintendents to determine the effects of the revenue controls law on the programs and services offered by public schools. In 2007, more districts reported cuts and reductions in program and service areas than on any prior survey. Thirteen years of cumulative effects, combined with the fact that more districts than ever have declining enrollment, are taking their toll. Initially, superintendents reported cuts in non-academic areas like maintenance and building operations; today, however, cuts appear across the board.

Superintendents report that academic subjects are being cut or eliminated as a result of the revenue controls. The most vulnerable areas are business education, family and consumer education, foreign languages, music, art, band/orchestra, and technology/vocational education. For these reasons, superintendents have consistently reported that revenue controls are harming their districts’ overall educational quality.

Revenue controls take decision-making authority away from locally elected school boards to make determinations about how to meet the diverse educational needs of the community. This defies a Wisconsin tradition that values local control.

Great schools benefit everyone, and for our state to prosper we need to create a school finance system that adequately and equitably funds public education. This system should meet the diverse needs of rural, urban and suburban students. To accomplish this, the state must repeal revenue caps.

Additional Information

Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e-mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.

Posted May 12, 2008