Educators, Parents, Citizens Ask Joint Finance Committee Members to Budget for Continued Quality Education

Sen. Robert Welch (right) meets with WEAC members (left to right) Paul Shogren, Nancy Habeger and Michelle Frola.

By Joanne M. Haas

They didn't quite get the answers they were hoping for, but teachers Nancy Habeger of Markesan and Michelle Frola of Iola-Scandinavia were still glad for the time they had Wednesday (May 9, 2001) with a member of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance.

They came away from their meeting with Sen. Robert Welch of Redgranite with at least some hope.

"He did say he is for making SAGE permanent," Habeger said of his stand on the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education class-size reduction program for the early grades. "But there again, he went back and said, 'If I can find the money.'

"It's all conditional. It's all tied to money," Habeger lamented, as Frola nodded in reluctant agreement.

That's the name of the game at the State Capitol, where Welch and his Finance Committee colleagues are spending this month taking their turns at balancing the state budget – estimated to be $761 million short.

That situation presented special challenges for the two teachers and their colleagues who traveled to the State Capitol Wednesday to lobby legislators for support of Wisconsin's public school needs, as deliberations over the 2001-03 budget continue toward the deadline of June 30. Although there is a growing skepticism by many in the Capitol as to whether the Legislature will have its budget work completed by the end of the fiscal year, all agree it is time to brace for budget fights.

Anticipated to be at the heart of those budget battles will be education policies because, as Welch and other finance committee members stress, more than 50% of the pending state plan is earmarked for education.

This is why the Education Community Coalition, including several state education organizations, spent the day lobbying elected officials on issues including revenue controls, class size reduction programs and special education. Other groups that joined WEAC members in the lobby day included the Wisconsin PTA, the School Administrators Alliance, The Wisconsin Federation of Teachers, the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, and representatives from the school districts of Janesville, Madison and Milwaukee.

"We've got to keep spreading the word," said Habeger, a 1st-grade teacher. Habeger said her district is among the state's top 10 for declining enrollments.

"The caps are hitting us real hard," she said of the 1993 law which links a district's revenues from state aids and property taxes to enrollment fluctuations. If enrollment drops, so does the district's aid and property tax revenues. Districts may bypass the law and increase property taxes beyond the limit only with the voters' approval.

Exacerbating Markesan's problems is its land values, which by state formula standards make the central Wisconsin district appear wealthy and therefore in line for less state aid. But the reality, she said, is the Markesan voting public, while supportive of the district, does not have the funds to help where the revenue caps cannot. Next year is not looking any better.

The district is looking at a $350,000 shortfall, a situation Habeger said could be helped dramatically by a provision allowing school boards to increase their revenue limits by up to 1%.

"This would give us an extra $125,000 which is a lot when you are looking to cut $350,000," she said. "In a small district like ours, it would really save us."

Several teacher layoffs have already occurred, and Habeger said more layoffs are certain unless some teachers opt for early retirement.

Frola, a kindergarten teacher, echoed her district's support of revenue limit law changes. She said her biggest fear is that Wisconsin will continue to force cuts on schools – through the 1993 revenue limit law – to the point where the damage cannot be repaired.

"We do damage to kids by putting too many kids in a class ... and not having the resources to stay current," said Frola, who like Habeger has had limits placed on her supply budget.

"One of the things we have to keep in mind is our future – and that's our kids."

But Welch said he could not support the 1% solution – authored by Sen. Peggy Rosenzweig of Wauwatosa – because he fears its popularity.

"I think every school district in the state would do it, and it would be an increase in our property taxes."

But Welch said such proposals could be revisited in a year or two when he expects the recession-like economy gripping the nation and state to relax.

That was of little solace to Frola, who said her district has been frugal and managed to so far survive the revenue limit law. But those days may be coming to an end.

"You can't cut back so that you start hurting those kids. You just can't. They are the wage earners of the future, and we need to make sure they are prepared."

Paul Shogren, a high school psychology teacher with the Stevens Point Area School District, shared Frola's concerns and said his school district was on the brink of more troubling cuts. Two years ago, Shogren said, the district passed a stopgap referendum providing two years of additional funding, which runs out next year.

"When we get to the point where we have to rob Peter to pay Paul ... we are creating some in-house fighting," Shogren said of budget debates that appear to be sacrificing quality for financial efficiency. "How long are we willing to do that before the efficiency becomes not efficient."

Shogren was at the Capitol to meet with Sen. Kevin Shibilski of Stevens Point.

"I told him to keep up the good fight," Shogren said. "Sen. Shibilski is in favor (of the requested policy changes), and he understands the need."

Shogren said his district's goal is to maintain.

"Now, we don't want to lose ground, we want to maintain the status quo," he said, admitting stagnation is a troubling goal for a learning institution.

Vicki Burke

Vicki Burke, an English and speech teacher at La Crosse Logan High School, encouraged Rep. Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse and Rep. Mike Huebsch of West Salem, to support the same funding policies touted by Shogren, Habeger and Frola. Huebsch also is a member of the Joint Finance Committee.

Burke, who will retire at the end of the school year, is lobbying for more teachers to get involved in discussions with those who make the decisions.

"We don't seem to get that message out to the teachers very well. Some do not want to get involved," Burke said. "They don't realize how many decisions are made by people who are either appointed or elected."

History teacher Tim Kinney of Spring Green, who teaches at River Valley High School, said he approached Rep. Stephen Freese of Dodgeville with information about a study touting the value of early education programs.

Tim Kinney

"It's hard to argue with success," Kinney said, referring to the results from the 15-year federally funded Chicago Longitudinal Study published this week in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Kinney is so committed to the SAGE class-size reduction program that he believes limited class sizes should be part of education right on through the upper grades.

Kinney teaches two classes with about 30 students each and one that has 13 students.

"I see a huge difference," he said of what is possible with the smaller class. "I can just interact more. I can get them involved more. It is virtually impossible to engage all 30 in a 42-minute class period."

"I wish we could have more one-on-one. That can't be achieved with class sizes of 30 to 35. That's not whining. That is just saying let me do more."

SAGE in the early grades is especially important, he said, particularly when it comes to reading. Kinney recently was told by a transferred 7th grader that he couldn't read.

"He said, 'Mr. Kinney, I can't read. I'll listen to every word you say. But please don't call on me in class to read,' " Kinney said of the boy who came from New York. "And he did struggle. That's frustrating – where they're asked to perform and the background hasn't been established."

Kinney, who after 33 years is nearing the end of his public school career, said the lobby day was about benefiting children.

"We (teachers) are not simply about salaries and benefits. WEAC has taken strong leadership in promoting the quality of education for all students," he said. "It's the future.

"I'm never going to stop caring about the classroom and the kids in the classroom.".

Resource page on 2001-2003 state budget

Posted May 10, 2001; Updated May 22, 2001