Additional JFC Budget Highlights

• Adopt the governor's recommendation to provide $100 million for general school aids, but end that commitment in June 2005.
  
  
• Provide an additional $55.2 million GPR in 2003-04 and $79.6 million GPR in 2004-05 for general school aids.
  
  
• Reduce the revenue limits per pupil adjustment to $120 in 2003-04 and $100 in 2004-05 and thereafter. This is a reduction from the current law estimates of $236 in 2003-04 and $241 in 2004-05 offered in Governor Doyle's budget.
  
  
• Modify the governor's recommendation for a low revenue ceiling adjustment to $7,400 in 2003-04 and $7,800 in 2004-05, to require a two-thirds majority vote of the school board to use the revenue authority.
  
  
• Delete the governor's recommendation to repeal the primary aid hold harmless provision of the school funding formula.
  
  
• Make changes to reduce funding to the interdistrict transfer aid under the Chapter 220 program.

Public employer group health insurance plan:

• Allow counties, municipalities, school districts, and technical college districts to unilaterally convert current group health insurance coverage provided to their nonprotective employees to: (a) the public employer group health insurance plan offered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds under s. 40.51(7) of the statutes; or (b) a health care coverage plan, including a self-insured plan, that is substantially similar to the plan offered under s. 40.51(7). Direct the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to use criteria in rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Insurance to determine if health care coverage plans are similar. Specify that any decision by the employer to make this conversion would be a prohibited subject of bargaining, first effective for contracts entered into extended, modified, or renewed, whichever comes first, on the effective date of the bill.
  

Cut state support for four-year-old kindergarten:

• Provide that, for revenue limit and general school aid membership purposes, pupils enrolled in a K4 program who are not considered children with disabilities would be counted as 0.25 pupil, rather than 0.5 or 0.6 under current law. Children with disabilities in a K4 program would continue to be counted as under current law. Specify that the 0.25 or 0.35 reduction in the count of pupils not considered children with disabilities would be removed from all years of the three-year rolling average under revenue limits and the general school aid, computer aid and property taxes attributable to the 0.25 or 0.35 reduction would be excluded from base revenues in the 2004-05 revenue limit calculation. It is estimated that this would reduce revenue limit authority by $38 million annually. Delete $23,000,000 GPR annually from general school aids.
  

Categorical aids:

• Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE). Allow currently participating school districts to choose whether to lower class sizes in grades two or three and continue to receive state aid for low-income pupils in those grades, or to no longer reduce class sizes in those grades and to forego associated state aid. Specify that beginning in 2004-05 and thereafter, the appropriation for special education aids would be increased from the amount otherwise appropriated by an amount equal to any monies that lapse from the SAGE appropriations in the prior fiscal year.
  
  
• Driver Education. Reduce funding by $500,000 GPR in 2003-04 to reflect estimated declines in claims by school districts and eliminate the state categorical aid for driver education and $4,304,700 GPR in 2004-05. Reallocate $4,304,700 GPR to the special education aid appropriation in 2004-05. Provide $25,000 GPR annually for aid to the Elks and Easter Seals center for respite and recreation, which currently is funded at $50,000 GPR annually.
  

Choice and Charter:

• Adjust payments to the voucher and charter programs in Milwaukee
  
  
• Significantly expand the Milwaukee voucher program: (1) delete the limit on the number of pupils who can participate in the program, which is set at 15 percent of MPS membership; (2) specify that a pupil who attends a choice school would remain eligible to participate in the program even if the pupil's family no longer meets the program's income criteria; and (3) delete the prior-year participation requirements for pupils entering the program.
  
  
• Expand the voucher program to include Milwaukee County, rather than only the City of Milwaukee, beginning with the 2004-05 school year.
  
  
• Expand the voucher program to: (1) allow pupils who reside outside MPS to attend Milwaukee charter schools; (2) delete the prior-year participation requirements for pupils entering the program; and (3) allow MPS to transport pupils attending charter schools.
  
  
• Delete the limit on the number of pupils that can enroll in the Racine charter school, which is currently set by law at 400 pupils. Specify that related aid payments to the Racine Unified School District would be capped at a maximum of 400 pupils.
  

Administrative and other funding:

• Require that DPI submit for approval under a 14-day passive review by the Joint Committee on Finance, its plans for any use of federal funding that would support DPI operations, effective for proposed use of these monies beginning in 2003-04.
  
  
• Modify the Governor's recommendation to reestimate funding by -$40,000 GPR in 2003-04 and -$22,500 GPR in 2004-05 from the amounts provided in Governor Doyle's budget.
  
  
• Require DPI to increase fees for initial instate and renewal teacher and administrator licenses from $100 to $150, effective July 1, 2004. Create a separate program revenue appropriation under DPI to receive all revenues generated by the $50 increase and provide $1,500,000 PR in 2004-05. Require DPI to distribute from this appropriation grants to all school districts to fund mentoring for initial educators, as required under chapter PI 34, Wisconsin Administrative Code. Require that the grants be distributed based on the number of teachers employed by each district.
  
  
• Cut the DPI state operations funding by 15% over the biennium.
  
  
• Transfer all remaining TEACH functions to the Department of Administration. School Finance Commission. Create a 12-member K-12 School Finance Commission. Provide that membership of the Commission would be made up of: (a) three members appointed by the Governor; (b) one member appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; (c) three by the Senate Majority Leader; (d) three by the Speaker of the Assembly; (e) one by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and (f) one by the Minority Leader of the Assembly. Specify that the Governor would appoint the chairperson. Provide that the Commission consider the system for funding K-12 education in the state, including the following issues: (a) school district revenue limits; (b) the equalization aid formula; (c) school finance equity; (d) the qualified economic offer; (e) school district health insurance costs; and (f) any other issues the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Senate Minority Leader and the Assembly Minority Leader requests the Commission to consider. Provide $10,000 GPR in 2003-04 for the Commission's expenses, in the annual general program operations appropriation under DOA for the expenses of committees created by law or executive order, under the program for attached divisions and other bodies. Require the Commission to submit a report on K-12 school funding, including any recommendations for modifications to the system, to the Governor, State Superintendent and the Legislature by January 1, 2004.

For more information

If you have comments or questions about this 2003-05 Budget Brief, please contact Bob Burke, WEAC Legislative Coordinator, at burkeb@weac.org or by phone at 800-362-98034 ext 254.

• 2003-05 Budget Brief: JFC budget scheme pits needy against disabled
• Resource page on the 2003-05 state budget