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
“A very small” sales tax is not the best remedy and doesn’t address the problem. Districts rarely put health insurance plans out to bid. If they did, districts could see millions in savings, without a reduction in quality of benefits. Instead most must go with WEA (which is affiliated with WEAC) through collective bargaining.
It’s also disingenous to say the state only has a 5% sales tax, when many counties tack on an extra .5%. Won’t Milwaukee be over 6% soon?
I also love the breakdown of where the money goes. “$280 million to increase equalization aid and reduce property taxes” — yeah right. How can you prove an increase of one tax really reduces another? Remember, the sales tax was started in 1962 as an effort to reduce property taxes. Look how well that worked out!
The funding formula is surely flawed (but there will never be a perfect formula) and many other flaws in the system (I mentioned WEA monopoly above), but solve those first before knee-jerk raising taxes and throwing more money at unsolved problems.
Districts rarely put health insurance plans out to bid. If they did, districts could see millions in savings, without a reduction in quality of benefits.
There are only so many benefit cuts you can make before the job starts to become unattractive to people. But that’s really a separate issue. There isn’t a magic silver bullet that will make money appear out of nowhere. I mean, I realize people like to bash on the teacher’s union but…
but solve those first before knee-jerk raising taxes and throwing more money at unsolved problems.
The problem is a lack of money though. Districts are left with a choice between cutting services or having a referendum to raise property taxes. You can seriously expect the school districts to be absolutely perfect before raising taxes. This isn’t a knee jerk idea, the current funding system is not sustainable. Districts from Madison to rural districts are having problems. And Wisconsin’s education system is pretty well.
Lukas, that’s just it, you can bid out plans for cheaper cost without cutting benefits. The district would see a savings and teachers could even see more take home pay in addition to the good health benefits that other state employees receive. If teachers would just realize that instead of being spoon-fed from WEAC/WEA.
The problem is NOT a lack of money — it’s where that money is going. In addition to the health plan issue, so much is going to administration costs. We have too many school districts and overlap and unnecessary positions. Proposals to direct 70% to the actual classrooms and kids (remember them?) were rejected out of hand. Wonder why that is? Over 60% of the state budget goes to schools, so you can’t tell me there is a lack of money.
“A Penny for Kids” — sounds so warm and fuzzy, “do it for the children.” All it will mean is more taxes and in a few years that won’t be enough either because no one bothers to deal with the root causes of the problem.
Oh yeah, remember the little gem 5 years ago about Muskego buying eight 42-inch plasma TVs for the high school cafeteria at a cost of $51,000?!
Yeah that really sounds like a system that is suffering a lack of money.