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In
1993, Wisconsin Act 16 became law. This legislation was passed in order
to control school costs and reduce property taxes. To accomplish these
purposes, the amount of revenue that school districts could raise from
one year to the next was capped. The revenue controls were to last for
a five-year period (1993-98); however, there were significant changes
made in the 1995-97 state budget. The revenue controls were made permanent,
and the State of Wisconsin also committed to two-thirds funding of the
total costs of public education statewide(1).
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As part of this study, approximately
1,000 WEAC teachers and 1,000 education support staff members were
sent questionnaires asking them about their experiences with the
revenue caps. (Education support professionals include those in
clerical services, security, custodial services, aides, transportation
services, food services, etc). Surveys were returned by 418 teachers
and 296 educational support staff professionals. Responses to selected
questions are presented throughout this report.
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For the last eight years, the Wisconsin Association of School District
Administrators (WASDA) and the Wisconsin Education Association Council
(WEAC) have surveyed school superintendents to collect information about
the effects of revenue caps on the programs and services offered by school
districts. The response rates of superintendents consistently have been
high. The response rates ranged from a high of 79% in 1994 to a low of
64% in 2000. This year's questionnaires were distributed at the start
of the 2001-2002 school year; 283 superintendents returned them (a 66%
return rate). The districts participating in the eight studies are not
identical; however, superintendents from a similar group of districts
have tended to participate from year to year.
In 2000, and again this year, superintendents also were asked if they would be willing to share the results for their district with the public. Last year, 124 superintendents agreed to public use of their data. This year, 161 superintendents (57% of the 283 superintendents who returned surveys) agreed. The results for these districts can be found in a larger version of this study that includes information about how the caps are affecting 161 districts.
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(1) Districts are allowed to increase per pupil expenditures from year to year by a specified amount--$226.68 this school year. Thus, if a district's base revenue per member in 2000-2001was $6,870, it would increase to $7,096.68 in 2001-2002.