|
Joint Finance Committee
Testimony
Governor's 2003-05
Biennial Budget:
Senate Bill 44
March 20, 2003
Elizabeth Burmaster
State Superintendent
Thank you for giving
me and my staff the opportunity to join you here today. I would
like to introduce Mike Bormett, director of policy and budget,
and Brian Pahnke, assistant state superintendent for finance
and management. I will provide some brief remarks and then will
be happy to answer any questions you may have.
During tough times, we must protect
our priorities. No matter how deep the crisis, we have to protect
what's most important. I believe the governor's proposed 2003-05
budget, Senate Bill 44 does that. In the face of an unprecedented
state budget deficit and enormous fiscal challenge for our state,
the governor made our investment in education his top priority.
Senate Bill 44 protects our investment
in early childhood education by fully funding the SAGE class-size
reduction program and preserving the four-year old kindergarten
program.
The results of a recent SAGE
evaluation note that the program continues to demonstrate that
reduced class sizes in early grades lead to higher academic achievement
as demonstrated by the third-grade reading test scores. In analyzing
the findings, the evaluators concluded that the major effect
of reduced class size is increased attention to individual student
achievement. With smaller class sizes, teachers can build relationships
with parents and increase parental involvement in their children's
education.
Ensuring small class sizes is
a vital component to improving reading skills, overall academic
success, and closing the achievement gap between children of
color, economically disadvantaged children, and their peers.
With 25 years of experience working in Wisconsin public schools,
as both a teacher and administrator at every level, I know firsthand-and
research supports-the importance of early childhood education
in student achievement.
There are nearly 250 four-year-old
kindergarten programs in the state of Wisconsin, including those
offered by school districts (160), charter schools chartered
by the UW-Milwaukee and City of Milwaukee (7), and private choice
schools in Milwaukee (79). Collectively, they serve over 17,000
students in your communities. As a state, we must continue to
invest our resources early in the lives of our children, because
it is these early learning opportunities that truly return the
most for our investment.
Protecting SAGE and four-year-old
kindergarten is a testimony to our state's strong commitment
to close the achievement gap and truly leave no child behind.
Given the magnitude of the budget
deficit, it is difficult for the state to continue its two-thirds
funding commitment. Through the governor's budget, we have redefined
our level of state aid to public schools and set a level that
districts can voluntarily choose as a revenue ceiling. The groundwork
is laid for the hard work of reaching consensus on school finance
reform for future budgets.
Greater revenue flexibility for
local school districts will be needed down the road as we reestablish
the state-local partnership in funding our public schools. The
measures included in Senate Bill 44 provide a good starting point.
Even during these tough fiscal times, the governor's budget provides
$100 million for PK-12 general school aids ($40 million in new
general aid in 2003-04 and $60 million in new general aid in
2004-05).
The impact of backing off of
two-thirds funding will be significant for local school districts,
so it is imperative that the $100 million in general school aids,
as proposed, is provided and the current level of funding for
all categoricals remains the same, in particular, special education
and bilingual aid, which protect our most vulnerable children.
I support Senate Bill 44's increase
in the low revenue ceiling to narrow the gap between the highest-
and lowest-spending districts, so children, no matter where they
live in our state, have the opportunity for a quality education.
This is an effort to increase equity across the state, and it
will provide our lowest-spending communities with the opportunity
to increase their revenues, if they so choose, without having
to go to referenda.
Under current law, only a few
districts are eligible to increase their revenues to $6,900 per
pupil, since the vast majority of districts have per pupil revenues
exceeding this amount. This proposal establishes a new base of
quality by increasing the "low revenue ceiling" from
$6,900 per pupil in 2002-03 to $7,400 per pupil in 2003-04 and
$7,800 in 2004-05.
Senate Bill 44 also contains
a measure that will help in our ongoing effort to attract and
retain high-quality teachers for our children as we face educator
shortages. Teachers deserve to be treated the same as other public
employees at the bargaining table. Repeal of the QEO will strengthen
local control and empower local communities to recognize the
need for investment in quality teachers.
I also support Senate Bill 44's increased funding for teachers
earning certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards, which was consistent with our budget request.
Senate Bill 44 also maintains
public library system aid and investments in BadgerLink. This
supports our priority that public libraries are at the center
of community life-long learning.
The governor's budget continues
our current level of funding for public library system aid at
$14.2 million. This is done with appropriations of $12.1 million
in GPR and $2.1 million from the Universal Service Fund. Public
library systems have played leadership roles in the development
of regional electronic networks that provide access to the Internet
for individuals who are not able to do so, thereby bridging the
digital divide. For this reason, I support the use of the Universal
Service Fund to maintain the state's support for public library
systems.
These system aids also help maximize
the local investment made in libraries by promoting the sharing
of existing library materials between local libraries. The end
result is better library service for the public. In 2002, Wisconsin
residents borrowed almost 53 million items from their public
libraries, a 6.5 percent increase over 2001. At a time when the
public demand for library services is at an all-time high, it
is imperative that the state maintain its commitment to our public
libraries.
I also appreciate the governor
increasing the funding for BadgerLink as requested by the DPI.
These additional funds of $36,700 from the Universal Service
Fund in fiscal year 04 and $93,300 in fiscal year 05 will maintain
the current level of BadgerLink services. BadgerLink provides
access to quality online full-text information resources for
Wisconsin residents at our state's public, school, academic,
and special libraries as well as individuals connected to the
internet. BadgerLink also connects users to WISCAT, the online
catalog of Wisconsin library holdings, and provides a directory
of links to library, education, government, and general reference
sites that may be of interest to our online community. It has
been estimated that, by using the state's buying power, BadgerLink
has saved local school, public, and academic libraries a combined
$46 million.
Every state agency has been called
upon to reduce spending to address the current budget deficit.
DPI is no exception. In fact, we have been doing more with less
for a decade. In the past ten years, when times were good and
other agencies grew, DPI lost over 145 GPR-funded positions,
or over one-third of our GPR staff. And, when the Act 109 and
current repair bill GPR cuts for FY 2003 are added together,
they total $3.3 million.
Do I support this level of pain?
No. Are we willing to share the pain? Yes, but we must recognize
that the DPI has reached the maximum threshold of pain if we
are to continue to serve the school districts, legislature, and
citizens of this state.
The task at hand is to balance
this budget. We call upon the legislature to balance the budget
with education as the number-one priority. We call upon the legislature
to recognize the need for more local control of our public schools,
to look to phasing in long-term school finance reform, and to
resist any temptation to reduce existing revenue cap authority.
Quality education can lead us
to the future economic success and security of our state. We
must have the fiscal discipline to make the right cuts and long-term
investments in education to ensure our economic future. What
will long be remembered about this budget crisis is what choices
were made. We ask the legislature to choose education. Balance
the budget with our shared value to put our children's interests
first.
Thank you for your time today.
My staff and I will now be happy to answer any questions you
may have.
Previous
Page
Created March 27, 2003
Last updated on 2/25/2008 2:19:40 PM
|
Home
