Capitol Connection

By State Senator Joe Leibham

November 19, 2008

 

New 2008-09 School Funding Numbers Released

Several weeks ago, I dedicated my Capitol Connection column to a description of the school referendum process and a breakdown of one specific school district’s state school aids since the inception of state-mandated revenue caps about 15 years ago. In response, I was contacted by a number of constituents and taxpayers from other school districts who were interested to know the state school aid data for their own districts.

On November 17, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau provided its annual report of net general state school aids payments to all school districts for the 2008-09 school year. Following is a listing of these updated numbers for the school districts in the 9th Senate District. For your reference, I have also included the enrollment, property value per student and total levy per student for the 2007-08 school year, all of which were used to calculate the net general state school aids for school year 2008-09. I have also included the amount of the total 2008-09 school levy for each district as provided by the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

When reading the table, please note the following: “Enrollment” signifies the number of students attending school in the school district, “Property Value Per Student 2007-08” represents the cumulative total value of all property in the district during the 2007-08 school year divided by the number of students enrolled, “Total Funding Per Student 2007-08” is the amount of combined state and local funding received by the district for the 2007-08 school year divided by the number of students enrolled, “Funding from Local Property Taxes 2007-08” is the amount of school funding received via their local property tax “levy,” “New Funding from Local Property Taxes 2008-09” is that same number updated for 2008-09 and “Total 2008-09 Net State General School Aids” is the amount of funds that each district will ultimately receive from the State of Wisconsin.

Sources: Legislative Fiscal Bureau and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

The state school funding formula – also known as the “equalization aid formula” – is very complex. In general, the formula operates under the principle of equal tax rate for equal per-student expenditures. This means that a school district’s property tax rate does not depend on the property tax base of the district, but rather on the level of expenditures. The provision of state aid through the formula allows a district to support a given level of per-student expenditures with a similar local property tax rate as other districts with the same level of per-student expenditures, regardless of the value of the property within the district. There is an inverse relationship between equalization aid and property valuation. Districts with low per-student property valuations receive a larger share of their costs through the formula than districts with high per-student property valuations.

I hope this general information is helpful. Please contact me if I can provide any additional information.

Is there a state program, law or issue you would like me to address? “Just ask Joe” by calling me at 888-295-8750, writing to P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707-7882, or by e-mailing me at Sen.Leibham@legis.wi.gov. You can also log on to the 9th Senate District on-line office at www.leibhamsenate.com.

As always, it has been a pleasure communicating with you. It is an honor representing the residents of the 9th District in the State Senate!