Coalition Blasts TABOR at 3 News Conferences

Government and education leaders draw media attention to the pitfalls of the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights at a news conference in Green Bay June 3, 2004.

Government and education leaders pointed out the pitfalls of the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, Thursday (June 3, 2004) at news conferences in Waukesha, Green Bay and Eau Claire. The events generated media coverage about how the proposed constitutional amendment would undermine local taxing authority and lead to a severe reduction in government services and education programs.

The coalition organizing the news conferences consists of education, religion, health care advocacy, domestic violence prevention, public employee and local government groups.

Waukesha School District Superintendent David Schmidt addressed the media from the Waukesha County Courthouse. He called on state legislators to focus on reforming the state's system of funding public education instead of tax gimmicks. "TABOR is a bad idea for Wisconsin schools, Wisconsin kids and Wisconsin in general," he said.

Schmidt said Waukesha schools face budget constraints due to rising enrollment, state-imposed revenue controls and the unfunded mandates of the federal government's Elementary and Secondary Education Act, sometimes referred to by the Bush administration as the No Child Left Behind law. TABOR would increase the burden, he said.

Former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus said TABOR's proponents in the Legislature are seeking to use the measure to avoid making tough budget decisions. TABOR forces voter referendums to approve certain taxing, spending, and bonding decisions by state and local governments. "Maybe we don't need to change the Constitution," he said. "Maybe we need to change the legislators."

Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne and Marie Kingsbury, executive director of the Women's Center in Waukesha, spoke about the devastation TABOR would cause to local government's ability to provide social services to citizens.

That concern was also expressed by Patricia Finder-Stone, who serves on the board of directors for the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups during the news conference in Green Bay, which was organized by CWAG.

"Ninety thousand lower-income Wisconsin residents age 65 or more depend on Wisconsin's SeniorCare for help with the cost of their prescription drugs," she said. In Colorado, which has a TABOR law, a senior care program that provides relief with prescription drugs costs just isn't possible, she said. "Colorado couldn't raise money for a Colorado SeniorCare even if it wanted to."

According to the Bell Policy Center, Colorado has fallen to 50th in K-12 spending, spends less than most other states on public health care services, and has the highest rate of uninsured low-income children in the nation. The state also has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the nation.

Dan Nerad, superintendent of Green Bay Area Public Schools, said Colorado's school system has suffered tremendously under TABOR. Because of revenue controls and ESEA, Green Bay public schools are already stretched too thin, facing a $4.4 million shortfall. TABOR would take an additional $2.1 million from the district, he said.

TABOR harms the state's most vulnerable citizens, said Kathryn Chapman, director of the Family Violence Center, by cutting or eliminating the programs and services that they need. Those cuts could impact public schools when children in family crisis situations don't get the help they need. "Victims cannot wait for a taxpayer referendum to assure the shelters that keep them safe stay open," she said.

Local leaders brought similar messages to the media during the Eau Claire news conference. Jerry Wilke, executive director of the Bolton Refuge House; Eau Claire County Supervisor Colleen Bates; and school board member Mike O'Brien explained how TABOR would negatively impact the community. Representatives from the firefighters' union; the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; Eau Claire schools and the Eau Claire Education Association also participated.

The Wisconsin Counties Association is sponsoring a teleconference forum from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. June 9 in nine locations throughout the state. Rep. Frank Lasee, author of TABOR; Colorado State Rep. Brad Young; and University of Wisconsin professor Andrew Reschovsky will take part in the TABOR discussion. For more information, visit the OnWEAC Resource Page on Tax Gimmicks.

Some of the information in this article was based on reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay News Chronicle.

Posted June 4, 2004