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Effects of Revenue Caps
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Concluding Remarks
This is the sixth study of the effects of the revenue caps on districts' programs and services. Unlike previous studies, which identified the areas in which cuts were made, this study asked superintendents to indicate the effects of cuts on a five-point scale, ranging from "Very Negative" to "Very Positive."
Not surprisingly, the 1998-99 results tell us that all cuts are not judged the same. Of particular concern should be the fact that many of the cuts that superintendents say are most negative relate to the district's infrastructure. Examples include delaying building or maintenance projects, spending less for maintenance and improvements in buildings and grounds, delaying or reducing hiring of new staff, delaying/reducing purchase of textbooks and curricular materials, and offering fewer staff development opportunities for teachers. More than one-half of the superintendents who reported cuts in these areas said the effects were "Negative" or "Very Negative."
The current study also looked at the extent to which the revenue caps are causing conflicts or disagreements between special education and regular education programs/teachers over the use of resources. Nearly two-thirds of superintendents said there were "some" or "many" conflicts or disagreements. It also was found that there is a strong correlation between the number of cuts made in a district and the perceived level of conflict between special education teachers/programs and regular education teachers. In other words, districts with the most cuts tend to report higher levels of conflict or disagreement.
In their written comments about this matter, superintendents again and again said that in order to serve the needs of special education students, which they recognize as necessary, they have had to make cuts in programs and services for regular education students. This is a problem that is not likely to go away.
This study also found that the fees paid by parents of students increased by about 60% between 1993-94 and 1998-99. During this same period, the cost of living went up by about 16%. The increases in actual dollar amounts are not great, increasing from about $10 to $16 at the elementary level and from $27 to about $44 at the secondary level. However, for some families these amounts can be a significant burden.
Finally, nearly one-half of districts report using "non-traditional" sources of funding to meet district expenses, including sole service contracts (as with soft drink vendors) or use of corporate curricular materials. Equally significant is that of those superintendents, who said their district uses these funds, three-fourths said their use has increased in recent years.
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