Appleton Schools Battle funding crisis
By Terry Lawler
Playing “catch-up ball” is never an easy
task. Just ask the Green Bay Packers – or the members of the Appleton
Education Association.
The state’s school funding system – and
its onerous revenue controls – have left Appleton schools scrambling
for money so they can continue to provide quality education to the district’s
15,000 students.
| Front
Lines
by
Terry Lawler |
“The Appleton Area School District has historically
been a fiscally conservative district,” said Dianne Lang, a 3rd-grade
instructor and president of the Appleton Education Association. When
Wisconsin put revenue controls in place in 1993, “the district’s
per-pupil expenditure was significantly below the state average.”
Recently, the independent firm of Virchow, Krause
& Co. found that the AASD performs as well as and spends less than
other comparable districts in the state. But educators fear the current
money crunch poses a serious threat to future performance.
“When Appleton is compared to the 10 other largest
school districts in the state outside of Milwaukee, we are the lowest
in per-pupil expenditures, spending 10.2% below the average of that
group and almost $1,000 per pupil less than the state average,”
Lang said.
Mark Leschke, co-chair of AEA’s bargaining committee
and a civics teacher at Appleton East High School, put the scenario
in graphic terms:
“The implementation of the QEO (Qualified Economic
Offer law) and the current funding formula wounded and battered a district
that was already spending below the state average. Over the years, the
wound remained infected and irritated, was never treated properly, and
now has turned into a major hemorrhage.”
The district faces budget cuts of nearly $3.3 million
and the loss of 45 staff members. These cuts affect nearly every aspect
of the district, from guidance, reading, library and talented and gifted
programs to the loss of more than five administrative positions.
“Class size is targeted to go up again,”
Leschke said, “and as many as 25 employees may not be replaced.
In other words, we have more students, but fewer teachers, and the elimination
of programs and services.”
“Sooner or later,” Lang warned, “we
are not going to get the job done as we have.”
“With approximately 15,000 students in the AASD,
if our per-pupil expenditure were increased to the state average, that
would generate an additional $15 million in the district budget,”
she added.
Hank Krokosky Jr., UniServ director for WEAC-Fox Valley,
worries about the impact of increased teacher workloads.
“As we move into the 21st century, we are accomplishing
great things with available technology, but these accomplishments bring
forth additional work for teachers. The district is trying more and
more to utilize computer technology, but all teachers don’t have
those computers on their desks.”
Leschke noted, “As more things become added to
the definition of what it takes to be an exceptional teacher, nothing
is taken away. The time teachers would rather spend creating a new lesson,
offering specific written comments to a student on a composition, or
researching some new ideas for the classroom is no longer there at the
end of the day.”
For some teachers, the workload may increase exponentially.
A proposed $450,000 cut to the SAGE program would mean that grades 2
and 3 would retain a 15-to-1 ratio for reading and math instruction
but would increase the ratio for all other subjects to 25 to 1. For
the current school year, media specialist positions at two schools were
reduced from full positions to half positions. An anticipated $100,000
in cuts for LMC specialists would take an additional four schools to
half-time media specialist positions.
In addition, six foreign language positions would
be cut, eliminating the entire foreign language program at the elementary
level.
Lang, Leschke and Krokosky are quick to point out
that the AEA has enjoyed a very good relationship with Appleton’s
school board.
“Through all of this, we have a district that
is always ready to talk things over,” Lang said. “The district
is making sure it provides opportunities to talk to people involved
in the proposed cuts.”
Indeed, through November and into December, the district
set up six community focus group sessions. In addition, school site
presentations were held in October and November.
Lang is appreciative of these opportunities. In an
AEA newsletter, she reminded Appleton teachers that “the voices
of AEA members need to be a part of these community discussions to explain
the significant negative impact on program availability, educational
opportunities for our students, class size, and delivery of instruction.
The basic message needs to be that these cuts are bad for kids and bad
for education in Appleton.”
The district has been looking for new ways to increase
revenue. For example, it created 10 charter schools, which have helped
draw students from other districts through the state’s open enrollment
program. Each of the 376.5 non-resident students who attended Appleton
schools last year brought with them $5,241, providing nearly $2 million
in revenue.
Bargaining about to begin
Leschke said the district has yet to begin formal negotiations for the
2003-05 contract. “Budget cuts have dominated most of, if not all
of the district’s time to date,” he said. “We understand
that. We continue to talk openly about issues, and the lines of communication
exist between sides.”
However, no amount of discussion can address the fundamental
problems facing Appleton and other districts.
“The way we currently fund education needs to
be changed,” Leschke said. “It punishes, not rewards a district
like Appleton by locking it into spending below the state average. When
you punish a school district and the children it educates, the whole
community suffers in turn.”
Resource page on school
district revenue caps
Posted December 12, 2003