Benson Proposes Relief from Revenue Controls

School boards would be able to exceed revenue controls by a simple two-thirds vote of the board, under a proposal advanced by State Superintendent John Benson.

Currently, a school district can only exceed state-imposed revenue limits if approved in a referendum presented to district voters.

Under Benson's plan, a two-thirds vote of the School Board would allow the district to raise its revenue limit by 1% of the statewide average revenue per pupil, or about $75 per pupil, in each year.

In his 2001-2003 state budget request to the governor and Legislature, Benson also advanced two other proposals to address the "constricting effects of revenue limits and declining enrollment." He is asking that:

• The state increase the "hold harmless" provision from 75% to 100% for districts with declining enrollments.
• The low revenue ceiling limit be raised from the current $6,500 per pupil to $6,800 in 2001-02 and $7,000 in 2002-03.

In another major proposal, Benson also is calling for Milwaukee Parental Choice students to take the statewide assessments; the $65,000 annual cost represents about one-tenth of 1% of the estimated $65 million cost of the program during each of the next two years.

"As we demand ever greater accountability from our public schools, it seems to me we ought to demand that private schools — sectarian and nonsectarian alike - be held accountable for the public dollars they receive," he said.

Describing his budget request as the "cost to continue providing the best public education in America, if not the world," Benson asked that greater attention be given to improving minority student achievement, strengthening teaching, and providing greater accountability.

"By nearly every measure of academic performance or behavior, an unsettling gap exists between white and minority students in Wisconsin," said Benson, adding that nationally the gap has been growing for nearly a decade.

The state superintendent advanced a $15 million proposal for a newly created Badger Comprehensive School Reform Initiative. As many as 300 schools in 13 school districts would be eligible to receive up to $50,000 each year for five years to adopt a school reform model. To be eligible, districts would either have to have minority student enrollments of at least 38% (twice the state average) or have at least 2,000 minority students.

To continue to receive funding, participating districts would have to document:

1. that all students, but especially minority students, have demonstrated improvement in academic achievement and attendance, and
2. that the district has improved staff development opportunities and participation as well as parental and community involvement.

Benson indicated that he is also seeking $600,000 in 2001-02 and $900,000 in 2002-03 in American Indian gaming revenues to restore support for American Indian education programs.

"I can't think of a better use for those revenues than education," he said.

A third element of the minority student achievement initiative would allow approximately 3,000 students to benefit from an annual infusion of $900,000 to the Minority Precollege Scholarship Program.

"Historically, more than 80% of scholarship recipients have chosen to attend a postsecondary institution after high school," said Benson.

In the area of strengthening teaching, the state's educational leader is proposing to create a new incentive program called the Awards for Achievement Initiative. Up to 10 schools will receive $5,000 each in the form of planning and implementation grants to improve staff knowledge and skills, with future awards of $50,000 to $100,000 to schools meeting their performance goals. Additional teacher training opportunities would come in the form of $2.4 million annually for staff development centers at the state's 12 regional cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs).

"Quality teaching mixed with smaller class sizes in the early years is a recipe for academic success of our children," he continued.

Benson also is asking for additional support for peer mentoring programs.

"Experienced teachers have much to pass on to beginning teachers that will improve both teaching and learning," he noted.

In addition to focusing on minority achievement and strengthening teaching, the Department of Public Instruction's biennial budget addresses the importance of accountability through a strong testing program.

"High quality assessments are an important piece in the overall effort to continue improving our schools," Benson said.

He proposes to spend

• $4.6 million annually to continue developing and administering the Wisconsin High School Graduation Test;
• $225,000 annually to continue administering the fourth-, eighth-, and 10th-grade statewide assessments, the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations;
• $90,000 annually to rewrite and administer the statewide third-grade Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test; and
• $375,000 annually to maintain a statewide electronic report card.

Citing the recent Supreme Court decision on school funding, Benson quoted the court standard that "all children are entitled to a sound, basic education that will equip them for their roles as citizens and enable them to succeed economically and personally."

For districts with disproportionate numbers of disabled, economically disadvantaged, or limited-English speaking students, Benson proposes:

• $19 million in 2001-02 and $45 million 2002-03 targeted for students with disabilities. "In addition, we recommend that in the second year of the biennium, the state begin funding 90% of the educational costs of disabled students who exceed three times the state average cost per pupil (or about $27,000 per pupil)."
• The state fund 30% of the costs associated with educating all limited-English speaking children statewide ($12 million in 2001-02 and $15 million in 2002-03).

Among other budget items Benson highlighted are:

• $218 million in 2001-02 and an additional $235 million in 2002-03 to maintain the state's two-thirds support of public education.
• $20 million in the first year and $39 million in the second year of the biennium to continue funding the 580 schools participating in the SAGE program, which reduces student-teacher ratios to 15:1 in grades K-3.
• $5.4 million in 2001-02 and $6.8 million in 2002-03 to meet the state's obligation to fund 13% of public library system costs.
• $600,000 in 2001-02 and $900,000 in 2002-03 to make the transition to the statewide Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, including the residential school in Janesville.
• $75,000 in 2001-02 and $150,000 in 2002-03 of Universal Service Fund monies to fully fund BadgerLink, a popular Internet connection to thousands of library resources.

Posted September 18, 2000