More Analysis of Structural Deficit
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 10, 2014
The Wisconsin Budget Project has released yet another interesting analysis, this time focusing on the projected $1.8 billion state budget deficit.
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Senator Cowles: Lawmakers Should Have Been More Cautious
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 9, 2014
From WisPolitics . . .
GOP state Sen. Rob Cowles, who pushed fellow Republicans to address the structural deficit as part of a tax cut package earlier this year, said the new projection shows lawmakers should have been more cautious in handling the surplus.
Cowles, R-Green Bay, noted a report from the Department of Administration due in October that includes expenditures as well as revenues could help soften the deficit. Still, he also pointed out Wisconsin’s Medicaid fund faced a $93 million shortfall earlier this year and the state is now in a dispute with the Forest County Potawatomi over the tribe’s gaming revenue sharing payments.
There’s also the chance revenue collections could pick back up, though the state needs to “be prepared that it might not be quite that good,” he said.
“Until you’ve gone through one of these things, you really don’t understand how bad it can get,” said Cowles, who’s been in the Legislature since 1983. “Maybe they’ll be more cautious next time.”
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Walker, Dems Spar Over Projected Structural Deficit
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 9, 2014
From WisPolitics . . .
Gov. Scott Walker is downplaying a new projection that pegs the state’s structural deficit at $1.8 billion, while Dems are accusing the guv and Republicans of reckless budgeting.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau sent lawmakers a new projection yesterday, showing declining revenues had driven the structural deficit for 2015-17 to $1.8 billion from a $624 million projection in May.
During a stop in Waukesha yesterday, Walker insisted revenue growth would more than make up for the projected deficit. He sidestepped a question about where that revenue would come from, instead stressing average revenue growth over the past decade had equaled that mark.
“It’s not a new number. It’s new to the media, but it’s literally not a new number. They just took the number they reported on and applied it to the future budget,” Walker said of the LFB projection.
Dems accused Walker and the GOP-controlled Legislature of having “squandered” a surplus.
“While virtually every state in the nation has a surplus due to the improvements in the national economy, Wisconsin now becomes one of the select group of states that squandered it through irresponsible budgeting,” Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said in a conference call with reporters.
The state would be better off if it had followed the Democrats’ plan to use the projected surplus, Barca said. That included doubling the deposit into the state’s rainy day fund, increasing funding for worker training and directing targeted tax breaks to the middle class. He also said the budget would be in better fiscal shape had Walker accepted federal money to expand Medicaid.
Sen. Jennifer Shilling, the ranking Democrat on the Joint Finance Committee, said the projections paint a “dire picture” of the state’s fiscal health and accused Republicans of denying there is a problem.
“We have a fiscal storm on the horizon, and it seems my colleagues are unwilling to admit we have a problem,” Shilling said, adding that Legislature can’t address the issue “as long as Republicans continue to ignore the facts.”
Read the LFB memo here.
See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Coverage here.
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Walker Campaign Declines SAA Request; Burke Campaign Says “Yes”
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 9, 2014
As you know, last Thursday the SAA asked the Walker and Burke campaigns to respond in writing to several questions on current education issues impacting Wisconsin public schools and public school children.
On Saturday, the Burke campaign responded via email thanking the SAA for reaching out to the campaign and promised to have their written responses to the SAA by the deadline of September 19th. On Monday, we received a form letter from the Walker campaign manager declining to participate.
The SAA is moving forward with its process for engaging the candidates. When we receive additional information from either of the candidates, we will forward it to the SAA membership. Stay tuned.
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AEF Releases School Finance Study
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 8, 2014
The Association for Equity in Funding (AEF) has released its much-anticipated school finance study, which examines the Wisconsin school funding formula to determine whether the funding formula fulfilled its mandate to provide for a sound, basic education as defined by Vincent v. Voight (2000) ands statute. The AEF study and press release are linked below for your review and information.
It is vitally important to note that this study does look at specific districts to compare and contrast the level of funding that they receive to serve students with disabilities, ELL students and economically disadvantaged students. However, it is not the intent of the AEF to claim that any district is overfunded and should have any funding taken from them. Rather, the districts that appear to be funded appropriately should be held up as the models for the state funding system. The goal of the study is to move the state toward an adequate funding system that meets the needs of all students in all districts.
According to AEF President, and Neillsville School District Administrator, John Gaier, “Ultimately what the study reveals is that Wisconsin’s funding formula no longer adequately funds all school districts. This has resulted in widening gaps of opportunities for students and communities. Low property value communities are shouldering a greater burden for funding local school districts. A better funding system is needed for Wisconsin school students to have the opportunities for them to be college and career ready, regardless of life circumstances or the community in which they live.”
Please direct questions about the study to John Gaier at the Neillsville School District, jgaier@neillsville.k12.wi.us or (715) 743-3323.
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