As I’ve noted before, Wisconsin’s school funding formula is flawed, perhaps fatally. School districts across the state are facing increasingly difficult decisions on how to balance their desire to provide a quality education to their students with their need to not bust their budgets, and as Forward Our Motto points out, a very small sales tax that might just fix the state’s school funding problem is not politically viable:

Tom Beebe has an idea for raising $850 million a year for Wisconsin schools, easing property taxes for homeowners and buying some time to devise a long-term solution to the state’s Byzantine school funding system — raise the state’s 5 percent sales tax by 1 percentage point.

It might not be politically viable. But supporters say at least it’s an idea.

In order to address the state’s school funding problems, a group called A Penny For Kids has started a petition to tell Wisconsin legislators that our schools need their attention now and a penny-for-kids sales tax increase is a good way to start. If passed, a one-cent increase in the sales tax will raise about $850 million annually, according to the group, with one example of how the money would be distributed as follows:

• $280 million to increase equalization aid and reduce property taxes
• $280 million for additional aid to children from poverty
• $170 million to offset the regressively of the sales tax
• $66 million for additional aid to children with disabilities
• $25 million in additional aid for rural districts
• $15 million in additional aid for children who are English language learners
• $10 million in additional aid for transportation expenses
• $10 million to slow the decline in aid to districts with declining enrollment