MPS to Lose $27.8 Million From Vouchers
A new study predicts that Milwaukee Public Schools will lose approximately
$27.8 million in 1998-1999 because of the shift in state aid from the
school district to voucher and charter schools.
The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future study concluded that the reduction
in state aid to MPS will not be offset by a comparable reduction in costs
and the number of students, meaning the district will have to make cuts
and increase property taxes.
“How disruptive those expenditure reductions will be depends upon
the ability of the district to cut costs,” the study said. “To
reduce expenditures significantly, MPS will have to reduce the number
of classrooms, and eventually schools that it operates, because instructional
expenditures account for most of its operating budget.”
The study predicts that over time, the loss of funding to MPS, “a
school system already facing the high cost of educating large numbers
of low-income and special needs students, will likely result in larger
classes and program cutbacks. To the extent that this occurs, the cost
of the two voucher programs will be borne by the students who continue
to attend the public schools.”
Researchers say that to offset the loss in state funding over the short
term, the local property tax would have to rise by 1.76 mills, representing
a $176 property tax increase for a $100,000 home.
Posted October 23, 1998