(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
As we near the February 18th election, I reached out to State Representative Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) to address some frequently asked questions about the KUSD operating referendum as it relates to state funding. Kenosha Unified is asking voters if they approve of a property tax that is higher than the state’s statutory levy limit by about $23 million per year through 2030 – or a cumulative amount of $115 million over that time period. The state puts levy limits in place so that people are not egregiously over-taxed by school districts, municipalities, and counties. By law, school districts must put proposals to levy a tax higher than the limit on the ballot for voter approval.
Question #1
K. Mathewson: KUSD claims that state funding for K-12 schools is not enough. Is that true?
Nedweski:
What is “enough”? The response to that question is indeterminate. School boards decide how your tax dollars are spent on public schools. The state funding formula determines the amount each district will receive, based largely on the number of students enrolled in a district. Could the formula use reform? Yes, but districts do know how to plan within its current limitations until that reform happens.
While some local expenditures are required by law, most state funding for schools is unrestricted. School boards subjectively determine what “enough” is, not the state. Their primary expense category is employee salaries and benefits. Just like in your household, school boards have to make choices about which wants and needs are affordable with the finite amount of money they will receive from taxpayers. When they spend more than they take in, they operate in a deficit.
Revenue sources for Wisconsin public K-12 schools are primarily made up of local property taxes and state aid. Federal funding is a smaller amount compared to these categories. While some funds come with strings attached, each of our 421 school districts are empowered by law to spend most of that money how they decide to at the local level through their elected school board members. Nonetheless, all sources of revenue come from you, the taxpayer.
School board members are your representatives to district administration. Though the Superintendent may make recommendations to the school board on the budget, spending is ultimately finalized and voted on by the school board on your behalf.
QUESTION #2:
K. Mathewson: Why doesn’t the state use the budget surplus to spend more money on schools?
Nedweski:
The first answer is that state funding for K-12 is an ongoing expense, but much of the state’s budget surplus is one-time money. If the state uses one-time money in the upcoming budget for ongoing K-12 expenses, where will that money come from in the next budget? Either it would have to be cut, or it would, most likely, have to be taken from another ongoing budget expense, like healthcare or transportation. We can’t just print money. We have to take it from one bucket to put it in another, or we have to raise your taxes.
Currently, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau is estimating a budget surplus of about $4 Billion at the end of June, though that number could change, depending on tax collections between now and the end of the fiscal year. Most of that $4 Billion is one-time money. While there may be a small amount of “new” money to fund ongoing expenses, most of that could go to increased Medicaid and healthcare costs. The state DID increase K-12 spending by $1 Billion in the last budget. Was that “enough”?
The second answer as to why the surplus doesn’t automatically go to K-12 education is because Wisconsinites might not want it to be spent on that. The state’s biggest expenditures are already on public school aid and medical assistance – which is mainly the state’s share of Medicaid (Badger Care Plus). As elected representatives of the people, legislators are obligated to expend the state’s tax revenues in the way the people ask them to. The resources are finite, and slicing up the state budget pie is a challenge of meeting people’s needs and listening to where they want their money to be spent.
Last session, Republicans in the legislature attempted to pass tax cuts multiple times to put a large portion of the surplus back in people’s pockets. This included a significant middle class income tax cut, as well as proposals to make retirement income tax-free in Wisconsin. Governor Evers repeatedly vetoed these tax cuts.
QUESTION #3:
K. Mathewson: Why did the state cut funding to public schools?
Nedweski:
Wisconsin public schools are currently funded at historically high levels. As stated earlier, K-12 schools received about a $1 BILLION increase in state funding in the 2023-25 budget. In the budget prior to that, school districts were flooded with federal pandemic relief money – commonly known as ESSER funds – and the legislature chose not to increase spending on K-12 at that time. Nothing was cut… they just did not get an increase for that two-year period. Are increases an entitlement, or should investments of taxpayer dollars be made strategically based on available resources?
Public school state aid is calculated on a per-student basis. If a school district has less students enrolled than the year prior, the district will experience a decrease in total state aid reflective of the number of students lost. School districts that forecast and plan for these declines are prepared for this revenue loss. As the national trend in declining enrollment continues, should there be an expectation that it should cost more to educate less students each year going forward? Should automatic increases (higher taxes) be the expectation? Should funding levels only ever increase, not decrease?
KUSD has considerably less students enrolled today than they did in 2020, yet they spend more each year. Through a series of distributions, Kenosha Unified received about $72 MILLION in ESSER funds. This was one-time money. ESSER funding had to be expended by the end of 2024. While a small percentage of ESSER was required to go to virus mitigation, over 80% had few strings attached. Districts that primarily used these funds on one-time expenses, like capital improvements or short-term contracts, did not face a fiscal cliff when the money ran out. Districts that used ESSER money for ongoing expenses, like new permanent positions and technology upgrades, found themselves unable to pay for these ongoing expenses after 2024. This put them into a deficit, and many school boards chose to go to referendum instead of cutting expenses.
Is it the responsibility of Wisconsin taxpayers to backfill the loss of temporary federal funding in perpetuity? What happens at the end of five years? Will there be another referendum? The choice is up to the voters.
QUESTION #4:
K. Mathewson: Does KUSD have to use the referendum money the way they said they would in their expensive mailers and advertisements?
Nedweski:
There are two types of referenda, operating and capital. If a governmental body goes to the people for referendum money to build, remodel, or physically improve infrastructure – such as building a new school or constructing an addition – those dollars can only be used on those projects.
Money collected for an operating referendum, though, is not tied to specific operating costs by law. For example, if a school district advertises that they will spend operating referendum dollars on increases in teacher salaries, but then they only increase the compensation for administrators, there is no legal recourse. If a district advertises that they will use operating referenda dollars to borrow money for capital improvements – rather than raising money in a capital referendum – they can do that. However, just because they advertise that is what they plan, they are not held to that spending by law.
QUESTION #5:
K. Mathewson: What is the 400-year veto?
Nedweski:
In the 2023-25 state budget bill, Governor Evers creatively used a series of strikes to punctuation marks and numbers with his partial veto power that resulted in a guaranteed school property tax increase for the next 400 years. This is being challenged in court, but as of now, this is a tax increase for your lifetime and your children and grandchildren’s lifetimes.
QUESTION #6:
K. Mathewson: Why is the state holding back the money for reading?
Nedweski:
A special bill to bring back phonics in early literacy education in K-3, known as ACT 20, was signed into law in 2023. Similar legislation has been adopted in over 20 other states, and the results have shown dramatic improvement so far. I recently had the opportunity to attend a meeting during which KUSD educators presented their progress on the implementation of ACT 20, and it was extremely impressive. The enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to this effort is driving KUSD’s success in adopting Science of Reading practices that will, ultimately, better prepare children for the future. What these educators have accomplished in a short amount of time is nothing short of a miracle, and I am so inspired to witness this exciting movement coming to life in Kenosha Unified.
As a co-author of this bill, I pushed for $50 million in funding for the effort, though the Governor only asked for $20 million. Even though he signed ACT 20 into law, he used his partial veto power on the trailer bill that set up the framework for the funding. The way in which he used the veto is being challenged as illegal in court. Until the State Supreme Court makes a decision, it is unlikely school districts will see those dollars. Let’s hope they don’t hold the money hostage for political reasons. Every penny of the $50 million will be worth it.
OPINION
K. Mathewson: What are YOU going to do?
Wisconsin already ranks as a state with one of the highest tax burdens. While some of the 421 school districts are going to operating referendum, most are not. Ask yourself why. How can some school districts operate and spend within their means, and why can others not? If you spent more than you make, you’d go broke. If businesses did this, they’d go bankrupt. Why is it OK for school districts and for the government?
What are you getting from KUSD as a return on your investment? Two-thirds of Wisconsin students can’t read or do basic math, according to the latest national scores. There have been huge increases in funding that corelate to drastic drops in outcomes. What is the real problem? Perhaps the people making the decisions are not competent. They sure don’t seem to have a problem overspending your hard-earned tax dollar and then coming back to you for more.
Unfortunately, if the KUSD referendum fails, they will probably just come back for another one. They have no plan to meaningfully cut spending. They only plan to return to you with their hand out when the extra dollars dry up. In the end, it’s the decades of liberal leadership of the KUSD school board that has brought this district to their current financial crisis. In the long run, we need smarter people calling the shots. Choose wisely.
21 Responses
The funding limits as eloquently explained here are from the 1990s. A quick google of “Wisconsin school funding” will get you articles going back even further into the 1970s.
What this state needs is a comprehensive re-do of how schools receive funding both from the state and directly from the taxpayers.
But like the story about KUSD below, until this state politically makes changes, nothing will drastically change at all.
The governor’s mansion needs a new tenant.
Are we up for that challenge ?
We Need Exceptional Candidates to Step Up !
Rep. Nedweski is exactly correct.
KUSD enrollment has decreased 17% over the last ten years. A responsible School Board and ESC Leadership would have been simultaneously reducing Teaching Staff, Administrators, and ESC Leadership by a similar 17%. That’s Common Sense and proper management.
Did they do that?…..Nope…..They have actually increased staffing over the last ten years.
That’s not just irresponsible…..that is pure stupidity. There is no sugar coating the fact that the vast majority of KUSD School Board members, every single Superintendent, and the majority of senior Leadership have grossly mismanaged staffing, COVID/Esser Funds, and educational priorities over the last 10-20 years. This is either willful malfeasance or stupid people making decisions outside of their intellectual capacity.
Here are the Statistics:
2013/2014 – 22,602 Students 1638 Administrators 238 ESC
2023/2024 – 18,711 Students 1674 Administrators. 320 ESC
Had they done their job, KUSD would have been gradually reducing staff through attrition over the last ten years. Regarding Teachers alone, a 17% reduction in staffing from 2013/2014 would mean 314 fewer positions that Taxpayers are footing the bill for. 314 fewer Teachers would not be a CUT from 2013/2014, it would result in the same exact Teacher-Student ratio. The average KUSD Teacher Compensation Package (Salary, Retirement, Health Insurance, Unemployment Tax, Work Comp, etc…) is probably $100,000. Take those 314 excess positions at $100,000 each and you are looking at $31,400,000 every year. Add in similar excess spending on Administrators and ESC Leadership, and instead of trying to bail out their horrible management with a $23,000,000 per year Referendum, KUSD should be awash in surplus funds.
By every Objective Metric, Student Outcomes have declined over these last ten years despite literally hundreds of excess staff. These people think they are running a Jobs Program in a failed KUSD structure. This Referendum is not “For the Kids”. It is a money grab for people who have demonstrated they are incapable of educating your kids in an effective and responsible manner.
We can do better.
Yes, it will be painful to layoff the 400-500 positions necessary to fix the Budget. However, there isn’t a business in this town that wouldn’t do the same thing to remain solvent and avoid Bankruptcy.
The first step is to stop this ridiculous Referendum. Then, virtually the entire School Board, and the entire Senior Leadership needs to be cleaned out and replaced with folks who truly have your children’s best interests at heart instead of their own pockets and political agendas. The School Board and entire Senior Leadership has proven they are not smart enough and not up to task at hand. They need to go.
Do we as Kenoshans have the vision and courage to do what needs to be done?
Oops….. I goofed on the above KUSD Statistics. Here they are:
2013/2014 – 22,602 Students 1638 Teachers 134 Administrators 238 ESC
2023/2024 – 18,711 Students 1674 Teachers 166 Administrators 320 ESC
Where do the custodians, food service people, etc., fit into those numbers?
We have the lowest scores of any other country in the world, we pay more per student than any other country in the world and our students are not being taught math and history. Most of the students in the last 25 years don’t know basic US history or Government. The teachers have brought this all on themselves because they indoctrinate and teach this woke ideology and what they believe that History was or should have been. Teachers make more money than most Police officers that are on the street putting their lives on the line. I support Trump sending the education back to the states. These so called teachers brought this on themselves.
This article is spot-on. Hopefully it’s not too late to enlighten people before they vote. Clearly evident, if passed the referendum will just perpetuate poor spending by the School board. Sadly, a referendum should have some better prescriptives on how operational money is spent versus a blank check for nearly everything. ESSER funding was one-time money and in several board meetings the board was reminded of such. Why were those funds not used for priority items like school safety, safe entrances? Why was proactive thought not given on not spending on buildings that would be closed?? The cycle of little long term planning has been evident in Kenosha for years. Why is the district looking to add salary expenses and an additional prep time ? If they can’t meet expenses now adding more won’t be possible in five years with projected fewer students. Responsibility and accountabilty by the board gets moved down the tracks. What does adding prep time mean? It either means more teachers or increase in class sizes or a combination. Every high school teacher would be teaching 1 less class with additional time to prep. For every six teachers getting a prep, you need to back fill with more staff or increased classes. I urge people to vote responsibly, avoid falling prey to the multiple poor choices of correspondence to the taxpayer. Lobby the state to reform school funding and better define expectations of operational referendums.
just what i said last week. “Unfortunately, if the KUSD referendum fails, they will probably just come back for another one. They have no plan to meaningfully cut spending. They only plan to return to you with their hand out when the extra dollars dry up. In the end, it’s the decades of liberal leadership of the KUSD school board that has brought this district to their current financial crisis. In the long run, we need smarter people calling the shots. Choose wisely.”
they will probably just come back for another one. that will also fail. The third ref time is a charm for MUSD Millsville United School District
Hell, open you eyes please. We the voters are far out numbered by the employess of KUSD. Everyone of them are extremely committed to voting themselves a raise and only this. This will pass. Wouldn’t it be nice if our bosses polled us to see if we were interested in voting a raise for ourselves then put it to vote? The major kickback’s pay dividends to it’s creators.
Some of the teachers are actually against this, as they have property value that exceed their proposed raises. It becomes a wash(not fully) for some of them. I’m actually astounded that out current kusd superintendent is making $228K/year
maybe if they just change their name to Foxconn school district they’ll be successful
If it PASSES, we all need to go through the process to challenge the results! There is a limited amount of time to be able to do that. Hopefully it won’t pass!
Rep Nedewski says the same as a person of knowledge of disbursement of funds… If you were in the private sector, you would be broke the way this KUSD/KEA operate they’re worthless managers of the taxpayer funds.Kevin nice work on the article ..
Article is spot on I would like to hear from her on other topics in the future
The school funding formula has been broken for many years and is getting worse. Regardless of KUSD’s sins, this is a statewide problem. The assemblyman points fingers at the opposition party and they, in turn, point fingers back and nothing gets done. I think it’s time for a nonpartisan school funding commission to address this on a statewide basis. The Kansas legislature was found in violation of that state’s constitution because of the school funding formula. Maybe that should be pursued in Wisconsin. But a better solution is for people to work together. That still won’t fix KUSD’s problems.
The Kansas situation is not a good comparison. Follow that model at your own peril.
The State Supreme Court, which inexplicably is made up of a very liberal majority, effectively has veto power over school spending. They invent rulings out of thin air and have exercised this power to overrule the will of the people and elected Governors and Legislatures in recent history.
Having spent a fair amount of time in Kansas over the last 25 years, I can tell you that the Property Taxes are even higher in Kansas than in Wisconsin. You should go see the Schools they build there because the School Districts are awash in money….they are ridiculous palaces that contribute nothing to Student Outcomes.
Maybe? school boards should be a hired position, not a popularity contest. Put smart people on these boards that don’t have a social construct. Educate first, everything else comes second. When you elect dumb dumbs you end up with poor outcomes. Run the schools like a business and watch things change. Bad school boards can really screw up a community. It takes more than money to solve these declining student numbers.
Force schools to teach or lose certain types of funding, reward good behavior. Kids that don’t want to learn, send them on their way, we need to stop pacifying our children. Let’s prepare them for real life problems. Good teachers know how to reach difficult student, but if they can’t or the student won’t learn, move on to those that want to learn, don’t punish the motivated. You can’t educate through absorption, just being at school won’t make you smart, hard work must follow.
Look at Asian cultures, they don’t put up with all this nonsense going on in school, parent have a vested interest in their children doing better than them. American has to wake up before it too late.
Also, Phones need to be banned from schools, Step 1 -These phones aren’t a learning device for most, just a distraction. Many Private school ban phones for this exact reason.
The best solution to our failed education system is universal School Choice.
Allow funding to follow the student to a school of their parent’s selection. Whether it be the current neighborhood school, a parochial school, another private school, or even a homeschool association, empowering parents to select the best school for their child is the way to go.
Generally, only people of wealth can currently afford to choose alternatives to failed public schools for their kids. How is that fair?
No more incompetent School Boards deciding what is best for your child. No more being held hostage by the KEA or other Teacher Unions. No more indoctrination in ideologies that fly in the face of your family values.
Let Schools, Teachers, and Educational Professionals compete in the marketplace of ideas and philosophy, and proven results. Rest assured, it would not take long for parents to figure out which Schools are most effective.
Don’t you ever wonder why Teacher Unions and Liberals in general fight to the death against School Choice and Vouchers? The answer is simple….they know that public schools are a failed model that serve their pocketbooks and ideology….not the best interests of children…..particularly low income and minority children.
If you want to continue to send your child to the “School of Woke”, I am sure they will exist. However, I suspect most parents will flock to new Schools that pop up which emphasize proven Teaching Methodologies, Values that support your family’s Faith and Morals, and Accountability for Student Outcomes.
The people on the KUSD School Board and Senior ESC Leadership could never compete in that environment. They can’t even manage their own budget or produce demonstrably improved Student Outcomes in the current environment where they have a monopoly on funding, no real accountability, and complete 100% control over your child’s education.
Except, who decides what “experts” would be hired, considering on paper, Governore Evers would be a great person to have on a school board. ;P
We have students declining from kusd, just think how many we would be down if we stopped the kids from Illinois from attending Wisconsin schools, but use family address that live in Wisconsin to go to our schools ?
I am wondering who is the guy that is posting Hate statements to KUSD school board candidate, he loves posting and the deletes. Some have got screen shots.
Valerie Kretchmer is receiving the Hate would love to know who it is.