The Effects of Revenue Controls
on the Programs and Services Offered by Wisconsin's Public Schools, 2004-05
School Year
A study by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators
and the Wisconsin Education Association Council
Data Analysis and Written Analysis by Russ
Allen, Ph.D., and Jeff Leverich,
Ph.D. (WEAC)
Special thanks to Denise Maney (WEAC), who worked extensively on
this project and also to Miles Turner, Executive Director of WASDA,
and to the 299 district superintendents who participated in this study.
Overview
In 1993, Wisconsin passed legislation to control school costs and reduce property taxes. To accomplish these purposes, the amount of revenue that districts were allowed to raise from one year to the next was capped. Districts are allowed to increase per pupil expenditures by a specified amount-for the current school year the amount is $248 per student. The revenue controls were to last for a five-year period; however, significant changes were made in the 1995-97 biennial budget. The controls were made permanent, and the State of Wisconsin committed to fund two-thirds of the total costs of public education statewide.
Those who support revenue controls maintain that the law limits property tax increases and encourages school districts to become more efficient. Some who favor revenue controls maintain that increased spending on education is unnecessary by referring to studies showing that low spending districts (or states) often have above-average test scores.
These studies ignore the fact that standardized achievement tests measure only a small part of what schools are asked to accomplish. In addition, superficial comparisons of this type often fail to take into account student backgrounds, including poverty rates or the percent of students who are English Language Learners.
Both poverty and language proficiency have a significant effect on test scores.
In this year's study, 90% of superintendents agreed with the statement, "it is important for the long-term health of public education in Wisconsin that we change the way education is funded." This negative perception toward revenue controls might be expected because the law never was designed to improve education.
Critics point to at least two significant problems with the current law:
- The law treats all children as though they cost the same to educate, when in reality, many children require significantly more services (and resources) than others.
- The law assumes that there is a one-to-one relationship between school district costs and enrollment. This makes it difficult for districts with declining enrollment (currently, 57% of school districts) to maintain programs. For example, when students leave a district, revenue is reduced even though fixed costs (such as heating, transportation, and maintenance) remain the same. In fact, many fixed costs, such as those related to heating and transportation, are increasing dramatically. Declining revenues in combination with increasing costs produce budget shortfalls.
Significant Findings from Previous Studies
- On several occasions superintendents have been asked about the long-term effects of the revenue controls on educational quality. Nearly all have said the effect has been "Very Negative" or "Negative." This negative perception is not unexpected because this legislation was enacted in order to reduce and control property taxes. It was not promoted as a way to improve schools. When asked about the effects of the revenue controls on the quality of education, the percent saying "Negative" or "Very Negative" grew from 63% in 2000, to 72% in 2001, to 78% in 2004.
- n a previous study, 83% of superintendents favored changing the revenue caps law to allow school boards greater flexibility to exceed the caps. Likewise, 90% favored allowing districts to increase spending by 1-2% without having to pass a referendum.
- Superintendents report that the revenue controls have caused cuts in programs and services, resulting in conflicts or disagreements between regular and special education teachers over the use of resources. In their written comments, many superintendents criticized the state and national governments for failing to adequately fund special needs programs. This is an especially important issue because the percent of students with special needs has increased significantly in recent years.
- The revenue controls law allows school districts to exceed the revenue limits by passing a referendum. Most superintendents in 2001 said that the referendum option is too time-consuming and burdensome and should not be required in order to meet what they say are reasonable and necessary operating expenses. There is no reason to believe that their opinions have changed.
- Previous studies have shown no significant differences among rural/small town, suburban, and urban school districts as to the number of cost-cutting actions taken. Further, the number of cuts is unrelated to per pupil spending amounts. This does not mean, however, that cuts have the same impact in poor and rich districts, or that all cuts impact students in the same way.
- Districts with declining enrollments reported more cost-cutting actions than districts with increasing or stable student populations. Superintendents from declining enrollment districts also have been more critical of the revenue caps than superintendents from districts in which the student population was stable or increasing.
- In 2003-04, superintendents were asked to identify the names of any courses or sections of courses that had been eliminated as a result of budget constraints. The subjects most likely to be listed were business education; family and consumer education; foreign languages; music, art, band/orchestra; physical education/health; and technology/vocational education.
This Year's Study
Since 1994, the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) and the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) have worked collaboratively to collect and report information about the impact of the revenue controls on Wisconsin's public school districts.
In each of the past twelve years, school superintendents have been sent questionnaires asking them about the effects of the controls on programs and services.
On average, approximately 70% of superintendents have participated in each of the studies. This year, 278 of the state's 426 superintendents (65%) returned questionnaires. For a sample of this size, the margin of error is +/- 3.4%.
For the results of previous years' studies, go to the OnWEAC
Resource Page on School Funding and scroll down to Research and
Perspective.
Posted February 20, 2006
