The Little District That Could? Or Not?

We've all heard how school districts across the state are reeling from Gov. Scott Walker's idea of a budget.  We all heard an 8.4% cut to state aid.  Yet the average turned out to be -9.1%, or 8.3% higher than projected.  Worse still, the median (a more accurate figure given the size and spread of the dataset) slashing was 10.13%, a 20% greater reduction than projected.

Then there was Kaukauna, the little school district that could.  On June 30th (actually from a late April presentation), the district released a budget projection that declared to the entire state that Walker's budget was so awesome that they actually would have a surplus!  They vowed to REDUCE class sizes, and hire new teachers.  Wow!  Plan Walker Works!  Right????

It's All-Star time in the world of Major League Baseball...what a fitting time to look at Gov, Walker's batting average.  If one were to count Kaukauna as the singular success among 424 school districts, that would translate into a batting average of 0.002.  Or a solitary base hit in a season's worth of at-bats (424).  That's not even Pee Wee League, folks.

"In the Kaukauna schools, the world is not only not falling apart -- it's getting better."--Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent

And then, on Friday July 1, the DPI general aid estimates were released, and Kaukuna's delusions of grandeur appear to have been squashed like the other 423 school districts.

• $1,905,609 is the projected loss in the state revenue limit formula
funding from the proposed state budget ($527 per pupil decrease)  

---Kaukauna budget presentation 

Suddenly 2,757,698 is the ACTUAL estimated reduction in general aid based on DPI's July 1st data

Which means an additional $852,089 reduction.
Ruh, Roh, Shaggy!
Maybe the cheap tinting has started to flake off of those rose-colored glasses of yours.
It would seem that the boasted $1.5M in surplus was quickly reduced to $650K.

One also has to consider how Kaukauna arrived at it's wonderful position.  After all, they were using the identical set of tools that Walker so graciously provided to all the other school districts.  What did they do OTHER than require employees to pay 5.8% of their retirement and 12.8% of health insurance premiums?   Well...if you look at their budget document, they did a number of things that are responsible for $1.5M in savings.  Hmmm....that's exactly what they said they had as a surplus!

• Buildings and Grounds Cost savings – $275,445 (reduce maintenance budget 50%, reduce overtime 60%, eliminate Custodial Supervisor position, eliminate summer maintenance workers)
• Information Technology Cost Savings –  $248,064 (45% budget cut, reduce staff)
• Other District Operations Cost Savings –  $127,500 (payroll processing changes, reduce contracted services, cut $100K post-retirement benefit payment)
• Co-curricular Activities Cost Savings – $43,529 (eliminate some clubs, reduce budgets, reduce travel)
• Student Transportation Cost Savings –  $180,000 (change to 2-mile limit for busing)
• Administrative Assistants Cost Savings – $95,121  cut one FTE, reduced hours for others)
• Modified 4K Program Cost Savings –  $306,889 (All day, every other day, every other Friday program for 2011-12)  4 year olds ALL DAY?  Right!  That'll work!
• Close 1 Elementary School Cost Savings –  $253,066

They've cut and slashed where other have not ventured...NOW where are they going to come up with the unanticipated $850K hit?

All that and a tax increase too!
The best part about Kaukauna's "success" is that they are planning on a tax INCREASE!
That's right...a $400K increase to the tax levy which translates to a 22% increase in the mill rate ($0.20, or $40 on a $200K home...but all that is based on a 0% growth in equalized value)

Something to write home about?  We don't think so.  A victory?  Not a chance.
_____________________________________
Read more :

http://appletonhub.postcrescent.com/article/20110629/APC0101/110629072/Kaukauna-Area-School-District-projects-1-5-million-surplus-after-contract-changes-health-care-retirement-savings

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/union-curbs-rescue-wisconsin-school-district

Gone, Baby, Gone

How did Sun Prairie fare with respect to the eagerly anticipated July 1 DPI general aid estimates?
Let's answer that question with another question:  How accurate/reliable has the quality of data and projections from the district been?
Answer that question, and you have your answer to the first question

Of course, if you've been stranded in Siberia for the last 6-12 months, let us just give you the answer right between the eyes.
In their Traveling PowerPoint Budget Show, Jim McCourt and Phil Frei have told us that their ACME crystal ball projected that we'd see a 4% reduction in our state aid.
Survey says: * buzzer sound *   a 6.25% reduction.

What does a 6.25% reduction (instead of 4.0%)  in state aid mean?
A unanticipated revenue loss of $731,650

Remember that "unallocated" $725,000 in the budget?  Gone, Baby, Gone
Remember that "wish list" of $600,000 in additional spending for which the $725,000 was earmarked?
Gone, Baby, Gone.

And THIS is why the district should have postponed it's June 16th budget hearing until AFTER this information was received.  Now they will have to scramble to try to spin this mess for the July 18th budget hearing.

We really need to get better, more reliable, more accurate data and projections out of the district office.  We spend a lot of taxpayer dollars on salaries. In theory, those expenses should net us better information than we are receiving.

State Aid Cuts Out; Deeper than Expected

Yesterday the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released its estimate of general aids to school districts.  Of course, the disclaimer on this has to be that these estimates are based on information available as of July 1, 2011, and are subject to change.

   DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

11-12 JULY 1 ESTIMATE VS. 10-11 OCT 15 AID CALCULATION

                                                TOTAL GENERAL AID ESTIMATE
                                                                                       
                                                13    DISTRICTS THAT INCREASE             1,073,642
                                               410    DISTRICTS THAT DECREASE          -399,800,040
                                                 1    DISTRICTS WITH NO CHANGE                    0
                                                                                  =================
                                                                                                                    -398,726,39
Read them and weep.

Recall that Gov. Walker's budget called for an 8.4% decrease to school funding.
These data reflect an average decrease of 9.1%.
For a dataset this large, and with this variability, the median is a better value to focus on than the mean (average).  For the 424 school districts, the median decrease in state aid is 10.13%.  In fact 230 out of the 424 districts received a cut of exactly 10.13%.

73% of districts had their state aid slashed by MORE than the average.

Is Walker's plan really working??