This is not a budget year for the state legislature, but lawmakers are still making changes to the way schools are funded. The Assembly Education Committee passed an amendmentWednesday that would limit school districts’ taxing authority.
Since Wisconsin expanded school choice statewide, many districts have boosted property taxes to make up for money they lose when students leave for voucher schools. Now, a number of Republican lawmakers want to change the math involved, and that revision could mean a significant financial loss to many districts.
This is a change that will not affect Milwaukee because it has its own rules for financing vouchers. But the item could touch all other districts, including those surrounding the city. Milwaukee aside, all other voucher programs throughout the state are funded the same way.
In general, the state gives public schools a pot of aid money each year based on enrollment. When students leave for voucher schools, enrollment goes down. So the pot shrinks.
But districts are allowed to make up that money by raising property taxes. Right now, they can levy taxes based on the number of students who attend public schools, plus the number of students who live locally but use a voucher.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) introduced a change to remove the second part of that equation. He doesn’t want to let districts levy taxes for kids who don’t attend public schools.
The state Legislative Services Bureau has crunched the numbers. It estimates in the first year alone, 142 school districts across the state could jointly lose just over $14 million.
Supporters of the change insist the current arrangement puts an extra burden on taxpayers. They say if a child leaves the public school system, the district no longer has to educate him or her. So, they argue, taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for a student who’s no longer there.
Also, the state found that some districts were raising taxes well beyond the amount they lost to vouchers. For example, the Racine Unified School District raised taxes the most. By doing so, they actually got back $1.4 million more than they lost in state aid because of school choice.
Critics of the legislation include organizations that represent public school districts.
The obvious reason they want state leaders to reject the change is because local school districts would be limited in the amount of money they could raise.
One lawmaker who opposes the plan, Rep. Eric Genrich (D-Green Bay), says his district would lose the ability to add about $1 million to its budget – money the district insists it needs.
His district and others insist that even though they’re losing students to choice schools, the public system still has to provide the same level of services, but with less money.
This amendment was inserted into a bigger billthat deals with special education students using vouchers. The bill's author, Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown), told the Wisconsin State Journalhe fears the entire measure will fail because some Republican senators likely won't support the funding changes.
"While I do agree that there was some situations where some districts were gaming the system, and perhaps something needs to be done, it's clear in talking with the Senate that there isn't support to bring this bill all the way home," he said, adding that he expected enough support for the original version of the bill. "Key senators have told me that they're troubled by" the Vos amendment."
The whole item moves on to the Assembly Rules Committee next.
