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A Study by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and the Wisconsin Education Association Council
Data Analysis and Written Analysis by Russ
Allen and Jeff Leverich, Wisconsin
Education Association Council
Executive summary
In 1993, Wisconsin Act 16 was passed to reduce property taxes by controlling
school costs. This law capped the amount of revenue that school districts
could raise from one year to the next. The original legislation stipulated
that the controls would last for five years. However, in the 1995-97 state
budget the revenue controls were made permanent. At that time the State
of Wisconsin also committed to two-thirds funding of the total costs of
public education statewide.
Many of those who supported the original legislation believed that placing limits on revenue would force districts to eliminate waste and to become more efficient. They were convinced that there was "fat" in every school budget and that schools should be forced to operate more like an efficient business.
When asked in 1994 to speculate about the long-term effects of Act 16 on educational quality, 90% of superintendents thought that the caps would do significant harm. Nine years later, 81% of superintendents surveyed in 2001-2002 report that educational quality has, in fact, declined. For this reason, along with many others, 91% of superintendents want significant changes in the current law. Only 9% favor the existing system.
Initially, cuts in programs and services that directly served students were relatively modest. Instead, districts tended to target areas such as maintenance and improvement of buildings and grounds and purchases of computer technology. In recent years, however, academic programs and support programs and services increasingly have been cut or eliminated. For example, during the 2001-2002 school year more than one-half of districts reduced the number of academic courses offered, and more than one-half also reduced programs for at-risk and gifted and talented students.
Furthermore, districts report more lay-offs (67%), increased workloads
(61%), delays in hiring (62%), and a significant decline in professional
development opportunities (71%). At a time when there are more and more
pressures (from the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Wisconsin's
new licensure rules, and the general public) to prepare and employ highly
qualified teachers, the conditions of employment continue to deteriorate,
making K-12 education a less attractive career choice. When capable young
people fail to choose education as a career, this is a loss to our students,
to the economy, and to our society.
Posted March 10, 2003