Wisconsin Farmer’s Union

ConventionJanuary 24, 2015

Jerry Fiene, WiRSA Executive Directorjerryfiene@wirsa.org

Strong Schools, Strong Communitieswww.wirsa.org

Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance (WiRSA)

Unique Organization• Only group to solely represent RURAL

INTERESTS• Only group to have all components of public

education sitting down together to make decisionso Board memberso Administratorso Teacherso CESAso Post-secondary

• Only group where the singular focus is equal opportunities for rural children

Established 2010

WiRSA Purpose• To work collaboratively to solve issues pertinent

to rural schools and communities

• To build a clearinghouse of research and educational best practices for rural schools

• To advocate for rural schools and communities at the local, state and federal level

• To focus on children first

WiRSA Membership & Accomplishments

• Current membershipo 120 school districtso 10 CESAso 11 institutions of higher educationo 15 associate memberso 19 individuals

• Major accomplishmentso Established positive working relationship with legislators,

DPI, other education-related and rural-focused organizations

o Strong communication system built around website, electronic newsletter, member mail lists

o Building a repository of rural best practice

o Significant input and influence on the budget and legislative processes

Wisconsin

• Out of 425 school districts in Wisconsin, approximately 2/3 are rural

• Rural districts cover an average of 170 square miles, which is 50% more than non-rural districts

• Rural districts have an average of 650 students or less than 5 students per square mileo 36 districts have less than 2 students per square mile

Wisconsin, cont.• 96% of districts with less than 1,000 students are

rural

• Nearly all rural school districts are declining in enrollmento A 7% average decline in enrollment over 10 years for rural school

districts compares to an average of 3% decline in non-rural districtso Rural districts’ revenues rose 26% in last 10 years compared to 39% for

non-rural districts

• Rural school districts are dramatically increasing in poverty

Poverty is Growing in WI…

Change in Free & Reduced Lunch (2001-2012)

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. School Finance Maps. http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/maps.html

In many rural districts, more than half the students are eligible for free-and-reduced lunch.

Wisconsin FRL Rate Doubles

2001: 21%2012: 43%

School Funding Basics (Simplified)

Sources of Revenue:• State Equalization Aid (tied to local property

values) & local property taxes up to the district’s revenue limito Comprises 85+% of total revenue

• State Categorical Aids (Transportation, Sparsity, Special Education, SAGE, etc.)

• Federal Categorical Aids (Title I, IDEA (Special Ed), Technology, etc.)

• Local dues & fees

• Debt Service & Community Service (if applicable)

What is the Revenue Limit & How is it Determined

• Revenue limits implemented in 1993-94

• Revenue limits were designed to restrict the amount of revenue a school district can raise through local property taxes and general school aids annually on a per-pupil basis

• Very few and limited exemptions to revenue limit

REVENUE LIMIT – GENERAL STATE AID = PROPERTY TAX LEVY(Equalization, High

Poverty)

What is the Revenue Limit & How is it Determined, cont.• Revenue limit is calculated based on prior year per

pupil base limit plus any allowable (designated in biennial budget) increases to the base multiplied by the district’s three-year rolling pupil membership average

• In recent years, the allowable increase has been very minimal and in the 2011-13 biennial budget, it was a decrease of $550 per student

• Declining enrollments further decrease the revenue limit over time

• In 2012-13, 80% of the school districts had a revenue limit of $9,050 to $10,900 per student

Referenda to Exceed Revenue Limits

• Districts can raise additional revenue through property taxes by going to referendum

o Referendum to issue debt (building or remodeling)

o Referendum to exceed the revenue limit

• Recurring – additional revenue limit authority is permanently added to the base

• Non-recurring – additional revenue limit authority is temporarily added to district’s base for a specified number of years

Referenda to Exceed Revenue Limits, cont.

• There have been nearly 1,000 referenda to exceed the revenue limit over the past 15 years

o Some are to fund additional costs of operating new schools

o Most are to maintain existing programs

• Over 80% of referenda to exceed revenue limits to maintain existing programs are held in rural school districts

• Many rural school districts are becoming referendum dependent in order to exist

What Makes Rural School Districts Great

• Above average in student achievement

• Significantly above average in graduation rates

• Higher participation in extra-curricular activities which positively influence attendance and achievement

• School district functions much more like a community instead of a bureaucracy

What Makes Rural School Districts Great, cont.

• Typically, the school district is one of the largest employers in the community which contributes positively to the local economy

• Greater parental involvement

• School is the social hub for the community

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools

• Continuous decline in enrollment

o In 10 years, 123 districts declined at least 10%, 51 declined more than 20% and 5 declined more than 35%

• Declining enrollment combined with recent reductions or minimal increases to the allowable per pupil expenditure in the revenue limit formula has resulted in a decreasing revenue limit for many rural districts

o 44 rural districts had a lower revenue limit in 2013 than they had in 2003

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools, cont.

• In rural school districts, the lack of economies of scale, sparsity and fixed costs (insurance, utilities) prevents districts from proportionately reducing costs to match flat or declining revenue limits

• Most rural districts have had no choice but to either cut deeply into student opportunities (foreign language, AP classes, career & technical education, art, music, library, guidance, reading specialist, etc.) or pass a referendum to exceed the revenue limit

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools, cont.• Recent years have taken a toll on administrative

services, support services, building maintenance and technology infrastructure in rural districts

• Teacher/administrator recruitment and retention is an emerging issue for rural schools

o Increased part-time positions leads to greater turnover

o Since 2010, there has been a significant decrease in under-graduates enrolled in teacher training programs

o 85% of education graduates in 2009 planned to teach until retirement compared to 39% of education graduates in 2013

o Salary disparity between rural and non-rural school districts is significantly increasing

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools, cont.

• High transportation costs in rural districts diverts money from classroom instruction

o 75 rural districts with less than 3.6 students per square mile exceeds the average transportation costs for all remaining districts by 50% or $225,000 for a district of 750 students

• 200 school districts have fewer than 8 students per square mile, 100 less than 4 students per square mile and 36 less than 2 students per square mile

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools, cont.

• Sparsity and geography results in many rural school districts spending more than $800 per student in transportation costs

• State transportation aids cover less than 10% of the total costs

• As a result, rural school districts have less revenue per student to put into the classroom

What are the Issues/Challenges Facing

Rural Schools, cont.• Reduced support for special education from both

the state and federal government has reduced the resources available for regular school programs for all students

• Lack of adequate bandwidth prevents many rural communities from growing and attracting business and rural schools from taking advantage of effective application of technology

o 40% of the state’s rural population does not receive high-speed Internet service

o Technology infrastructure in most rural schools needs to be updated

What Does the Future Hold• Private school vouchers have been expanded

(with caps) statewide draining resources from public education

• Proposals are being made to remove caps and increase financial support for private school vouchers – What will this mean for public school support?

• Currently, 1.5% of every property owner’s school tax dollar is being used to support independent charter schools in Milwaukee (legislation will again be proposed to expand independent charters statewide)

What Does the Future Hold• Without significant modifications to Wisconsin’s

School Finance System, more programs and student opportunities will have to be eliminated in rural public school districts

• Without significant modifications to Wisconsin’s School Finance System, the future of many more rural school districts will likely be tied to a “Referendum to Exceed the Revenue Limit”

Most Kids Attend Public School83%

3%1%

1%

3%9%

Public Independent Charters (8,400)

Private School Vouchers(26,500)

Neighborhood Public Schools(830,000)

Private School (Private Pay/Tu-ition)(93,500)

Public Charter Schools (29,300)

Public Virtual

Charters (7,000)

Total Enrollment (2013-14)

Public Schools: 875,000Private Schools: 120,000

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Public School Enrollment Data http://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_pubdata3 Private School Enrollment Datahttp://lbstat.dpi.wi.gov/lbstat_privdata

Charter Schools &

Independent (2r) Charters

SchoolsIn 2013-14, Wisconsin had:

242 charters* schools with

47,600 students.

Charters are public schools that are generally authorized by the local school board.

However, Milwaukee and Racine have independent charter schools that are created by:• UW – Milwaukee (12)• City of Milwaukee (10)• UW – Parkside (1)• Milwaukee Area Technical College (0)

The 23 Independent (2r) charter schools enroll 8,400 students, but are funded differently.

Independent charter schools are 100% state funded (no property tax), but only receive $7,925 per-pupil ($8,075 in 14-15).

However, this state funding is created by withholding ≈1.4% of every district’s general aid and redirecting it to the independent charters.

Local districts then can increase their property taxes to make up the difference – essentially raising property taxes statewide.

* This includes instrumentality, non-instrumentality, independent and virtual charter schools.Source: Department of Public Instruction. Charter Schools in Wisconsin. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/sms_csindex

Voucher Programs Started Small,

But Have Grown Over Time

1991

-92

1993

-94

1995

-96

1997

-98

1999

-00

2001

-02

2003

-04

2005

-06

2007

-08

2009

-10

2011

-12

2013

-14

- 5,000

10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000

341 In 1998, the State Supreme Court ruled that religious schools could participate in the voucher program.

In 1990-91, the Voucher Program cost ≈ $734,000In 2014-15, the Voucher Program will cost: ≈ $212,000,000Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 101 105 1090%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2013-14 % Voucher Enrollment in Choice Schools

(September Pupil Count)

MPCP RPCP WPCP

Most Students in Voucher Schools

are Publicly-Funded

Milwaukee PCP average: 79%Racine PCP average: 44%Wisconsin PCP average: 4%All PCP schools average: 64%

The % of voucher-funded students in participating schools (particularly K-8 schools) tends to grow over time.

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

…And Most Statewide Voucher

Students

Come From Private Schools

211575%

53719%

1204%

512%

110%

Sales

PrivatePublicNo SchoolHomeschoolOut-of-State

2014-15 Statewide Choice Program Applications:

3/4ths of the students were already enrolled in private

schools

Source: Department of Public Instruction. Private School Choice Programs - Facts & Figures. http://sms.dpi.wi.gov/choice_facts_statistics

Appleton - 2 Madison - 1

Beloit & Janesville - 1 Manitowoc - 2

Bonduel - 1 Marshfield - 1

Chippewa Falls - 1 Menasha & Neenah - 1

Eau Claire & Altoona - 1 Oshkosh - 1

Fond du Lac - 2 Plymouth - 1

Green Bay & De Pere - 4 Stevens Point & Plover - 1

Kenosha - 2 Wausau & Rothschild - 1

LaCrosse & Onalaska - 1 Wisconsin Rapids - 2

Most Statewide Voucher Schools are Located in Larger

Communities

A Voucher in Every Backpack?

What would universal vouchers with public school funding parity cost? Let’s do the math…

New Cost for Tuition-Paying StudentsNumber of Private Pay

Students X

Public SchoolRevenue Limit

=Marginal Cost for

Universal Vouchers

93,000 X $10,000 = $930,000,000

Increased Cost for Current Voucher Students (2013-14)Grade

Public School Revenue Limit

Voucher Amount

Difference XVoucher

Enrollment= Marginal Cost

K-8 $10,000 $7,210 $2,790 X 23,616 = $65,888,700 9-12 $10,000 $7,856 $2,144 X 5,184 = $11,114,500

Total 28,800 $77,003,200

Total additional (marginal) cost for universal vouchers:$ 1,007,003,200 ($1 billion)Source: Department of Public Instruction. 2013-15 State Budget Information.

http://news.dpi.wi.gov/news_2013-15-state-budget-information Note: calculations are updated to determine marginal, rather than total program costs.

Speaker’s Task Forceon Rural Schools

• Established by Speaker Robin Voss in September 2013

• Eight rural Republican representatives and four rural Democratic representatives appointed to Task Force led by Rep. Rob Swearingen, Rhinelander and Vice-Chair Rep. Fred Clark, Baraboo

• Conducted 12 rural school site visits and held 6 public hearings across the state with invited and public testimony

Speaker’s Task Forceon Rural Schools, cont.

• Reports issued in May 2014 (posted on WiRSA website)

o http://thewheelerreport.com/wheeler_docs/files/0506taskforcereport.pdf

o http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/clark/Documents/Vice%20Chair%20Report%205.7.pdf

• Reports of findings substantiated the significant issues facing rural schools

o Chair Report made 17 recommendations for remedy

o Vice-Chair Report made 14 recommendations for remedy

• All testimonies are posted on the WiRSA website:

www.wirsa.org

Speaker’s Task Forceon Rural Schools, cont.

• WiRSA testimony outlined several solutions that were included in the Task Force recommendations (posted on WiRSA website)

o TEACH II funding for technology support and expansion in rural schools

o Expansion of Sparsity Aid to include all districts with less than 10 students per square mile

o Expansion of transportation aid formula

o Rural teacher recruitment and retention through creation of a college loan forgiveness program for extended service in a rural school district

o Support for Whole Grade Sharing between rural school districts

o Support flexibility in teacher licensure and mandate relief