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State Budget Brief

Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE)

May 1997

Issue Background

In January, 1994, State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Benson appointed the 34-member Wisconsin Urban Initiative Task Force to study the condition of urban education in Wisconsin and make recommendations for improvement.

Among members participating in the task force were former Representative David Prosser, Representative Antonio Riley, Senator Brian Rude and former Senator David Helbach. Richard Feldhausen, Green Bay Education Association; Chuck Howard, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; and Greg Weyenberg, AFL-CIO, represented WEAC and WFT.

The task force developed a program to guarantee academic achievement for Wisconsin's neediest elementary schoolchildren through a contract between DPI and participating schools. The program emphasized lower class sizes in kindergarten through eighth grades, use of school facilities as community centers, a rigorous curriculum, and increased professional development opportunities for educators.

1995-96 Legislative Action

The 1995-97 state budget (1995 Wisconsin Act 27) initiated SAGE, a five-year demonstration project which embodies the basic tenets of the Urban Initiative. The Joint Finance Committee, on a motion offered by Senator Tim Weeden (R-Beloit) included SAGE in the 1995-97 budget.

The SAGE provisions of Act 27 provided categorical grant funding outside of the revenue controls for schools in low-income areas to reduce class size in the primary grades to a ratio of fifteen pupils for every teacher. The SAGE program language also included rigorous curriculum and accountability requirements as part of a contract between participating school districts and the DPI. Each district was limited to two SAGE schools - except in Milwaukee, where 10 schools were permitted. Eligibility for SAGE participation was linked to enrollment of low-income pupils (based on the eligibility for free or reduced school meals).

Lawmakers allocated $4,591,000 to participating school districts and to study the effects of the program. The maximum per-pupil aid payment was set at $2,000.

Governor's 1997-99 Budget Bill (SB 77)

The SAGE program is now operating in kindergarten and the first grade in 30 schools in 21 districts. Before committing to participate, each school district signed a contract with the DPI that requires a continuation of the program into the second and third grades. The governor's budget proposal (SB 77) freezes the state aid amount at the first year level, meaning participating districts will have to fund the expansion themselves, or confine the program to kindergarten and first grade.

WEAC/WFT Position

The Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers support full funding for the SAGE program.

Talking Points

  • The Legislature and the governor should keep the commitment to fully fund the SAGE program. School districts have signed contracts with the DPI that require the program to expand. Statutory language authorizing the program clearly intends to fund the expansion of the program. Chapter 118.43(6)(c) of the statutes requires that the "department (DPI) shall pay to each school district that has entered into a contract with the department under this section an amount determined over the course of the 1996-97 through 2000-2001 school years."
  • SAGE presents an excellent opportunity to prove that lower class sizes will increase pupil achievement. It is already working for Wisconsin. Research has demonstrated the benefits of smaller classes. Studies have found 15 students per classroom is the optimal size to increase student achievement.
  • SAGE emphasizes basic skills: reading, writing and computing.
  • SAGE is a long-term investment in our children and the future. The program will improve student achievement now and for the long term.
  • Programs like SAGE save taxpayers money in the long run by keeping children out of special education and other programs for at-risk children. SAGE is a preventive program: it starts kids out on the right road at an early age.
  • Accountability and evaluation provisions guarantee success of the program. The guidelines and school contracts, developed by DPI, emphasize professional development of educators participating in the program.
  • Though SAGE contains provisions regarding professional accountability (s.118.43(3)(d)), the law requires the board of each participating school to establish a professional staff evaluation process. The law requires that the evaluation process for professional staff must:
    • allow professional staff members to comment on and contribute to revisions of the evaluation process.
    • identify individual strengths and weaknesses and clearly describe areas in need of improvement.
    • include a support plan that provides opportunities to learn and improve, and document performance in accordance with the plan.

Suggested Action

The Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers ask legislators to keep the commitment to fully fund SAGE. This will require increasing the SAGE base appropriation in the current budget by $2.9 million in 1997-98 and $2.6 million in 1998-99 for a complete restoration of the program to the second and third grades and to expand the evaluation component of the program to those grades.

Contact John Stocks in the WEAC Government Relations Division at 800-362-8034 or 608-276-7711 with any reaction, comments or questions.

Posted May 9, 1997