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10/17/2006
Do they need the money?
Voters residing in the Neenah School District will be voting on a referendum question November 7 to allow the District to exceed revenue limits by a total of $6M over three years.
It seems to be agreed that the District has faced – and will continue to face - operating deficits if the referendum fails to pass and the district continues to operate as in the past.
Advocates say the money is needed so teachers, field trips and extracurriculars won’t be cut. They say teachers work hard and Neenah is a great place to go to school. And they say the district must have the extra money to give everyone the brightest futures and greatest memories possible.
Opposition is primarily that taxes are high enough already and perhaps the administration and school board should be more fiscally responsible, staff should help to pay for health care, some co-curriculars and field trips may not be essentials. That kind of thing.
So let’s look at the numbers. Access and print off this spread sheet for your reference. The numbers are taken from the hot-off-the-press Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) SchoolFacts06, a highly regarded compilation of data for the state’s 425 public school districts. Copies of the full report can be ordered by calling 608-241-9789 or visiting www.wistax.org.
First let’s look at relative district wealth. Because the value of all Neenah property, divided by the number of public school students, or the “Equalized Property Value per Student,” is relatively high in Neenah, the “equalization aid formula” does just that. It equalizes districts, providing more state aid to communities with relatively lower property values per student. Though Neenah numbers are very much in line with state averages, Neenah taxpayers will nevertheless pick up a larger portion of their school costs than a less property-rich community.
Now let’s look at total spending.
WISTAX uses two expenditure measures in trying as much as possible, to compare apples to apples.
“Total Expenditures” per student “captures nearly all of a school district’s spending,” excluding food service and community service expenses. For many districts, this number includes transportation and capital spending.
“Comparative Expenditures” per student better measures ‘education-related’ spending. Expenditures such as transportation and capital spending are not included.
Neenah tops the charts in both spending categories, in comparison with its neighbors. “Total expenditures per student” range from a high of $10,438 in Neenah to a low of $9,558 in Kaukauna; the K-12 statewide average (excluding Milwaukee) is $10,549, just about what Neenah is spending.
“Comparative expenditures per student” range from a high of $8,826 in Neenah to a low of $7,720 in Kimberly, with the statewide average (sans Milwaukee) at $8,809 - again at about the level of Neenah’s spending.
Ok, it’s a lot of numbers. But here’s what they say.
- Neenah residents are already, pre-referendum, paying more in property taxes per student than any of their neighbors – but slightly less than the state average. If you look at the spread sheet, you’ll note that the ability of Neenah residents to pay those higher taxes is significantly above average (look at “average Adjusted Gross Income, 2004”).
- Neenah is spending, by either measure, again, pre-referendum, more than all of its neighboring school districts, and about at the state average.
Ahhhh – some might say… Neenah schools have a quality reputation to uphold – so there should be no question about saying YES to more money. We’ll take a look at “quality” measures (read…”test scores”) in tomorrow’s FoxPolitics Says.
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