Wisconsin is Not Alone in its Fiscal Woes

Schools throughout the state of Washington shut down January 14 as thousands of educators rallied at the State Capitol and other locations in an attempt to save school funding.

The source of their consternation: proposals to further cut education funding in light of a projected $2 billion state deficit.
Likewise, educators in Oklahoma are planning a school-day rally at the State Capitol on February 12 to support a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase to protect schools in that state from additional devastating cuts. In the last two years, schools have faced cuts of more than $240 million. The source of their problems: a projected $593 million deficit.

In Oregon, more than 5,000 people gathered for a rally on the steps of the State Capitol January 20 to demonstrate the need for adequate and stable funding for public education. They lobbied in support of a measure that would temporarily raise the income tax rate on higher-income Oregonians and corporations to erase $310 million in cuts enacted by the Legislature. (The measure failed in a January 28 referendum, prompting Portland school officials to announce they would cut 24 days out of the school year).

The source of their problems: a projected deficit of potentially more than $1 billion.

And in California, Governor Gray Davis has announced an accelerated plan for budget cuts that include slashing $2.7 billion from schools this school year and more than $6.7 billion from education over the next 18 months. Educators are swarming the Capitol to fight for their schools.

The source of the problem: a massive projected state budget deficit of $36 billion.

These are not isolated cases. States throughout the nation are facing severe budget problems brought on by a sluggish economy, fears of war, and economic backlash from a volatile and unpredictable stock market. And many states are placing much of the burden on schools, which are often targeted because they account for a large share of state spending.

While Wisconsin struggles over a projected two-year deficit of more than $4 billion, schools here are at least benefiting from the fact that the state’s newly elected governor, Jim Doyle, has repeatedly vowed to do everything he can to protect K-12 funding.

Doyle will present his budget plan in February.

While Doyle has vowed not to raise taxes, many governors – even the Republicans among them – are finding that deficits are so overwhelming that tax increases are necessary. Citing governors in Idaho, Connecticut, Arkansas and Georgia, The Washington Post recently ran an article titled, “GOP Governors Grit Teeth and Raise Taxes.”

Wisconsin’s deficit problems are among the significant ones in the nation, but far from the worst. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, based in Washington, D.C., Wisconsin’s fiscal year 2004 budget deficit is equivalent to 17.6% of its overall state budget, compared to an average range of 14% to 18%. At least 12 other states are facing deficits that are potentially higher than Wisconsin’s, in terms of a percentage of total budget. They are:

• Alaska, 37.8%.
  
• California, 23.4% to 33.8%.
  
• Maine, 14.5% to 18.4%.
  
• Michigan, 17.5%.
  
• Minnesota, 18.7%.
  
• Nebraska, 12.9% to 17.3%.
  
• Nevada, 19%
  
• New Jersey, 19%.
  
• New York, 24.3% to 29.1%.
  
• Oregon, 20.4% to 27.2%.
  
• Texas, 13.1% to 25.5%.
  

The New York Times in January said the country’s 24 new governors “face the worst state financial landscape since at least World War II.”

And when states look for places to cut spending, education is always on the list. That is why, throughout the nation, educators are fighting to preserve money for jobs, salaries, pensions, class sizes, course offerings, and classroom resources.

“Despite current adversity,” Washington Education Association President Charles Hasse wrote in a message to members, “this Legislature must find the courage and vision to sustain improvement and invest for the future. Voters expect it, students deserve it, and the constitution requires it.”

Posted February 7, 2003