REPORT REVEALS HOW SCHOOL REVENUE LIMITS ARE AFFECTING SCHOOLS

Data from a new report from IWF, collected with the help of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES), show that Wisconsin's schools are all being affected by the revenue limits law. The law has basically frozen schools at per-pupil spending levels from the 1992-1993 school year, with a small increase allowed each year.

The report, entitled Are School Revenue Limits Limiting Education?, details the problem—that the allowable increases have not kept pace with the rising costs of inflation, employee wages and benefits, technology needs and a host of other pressures. Coupled with this are the mandates passed down from both the state and federal governments which are not always fully funded by these same governments. As a result, the school districts must struggle with the cost of these demands.

What is happening in schools across Wisconsin is alarming: classrooms are getting crowded, teachers are leaving the profession, technology is getting older, maintenance is being delayed or skipped and entire budgets are being ransacked to maintain basic operations.

Students, teachers, administrators, business professionals and citizens all came forth to express their worries about the effects revenue limits are having on Wisconsin's schools.

The report was presented to the Wisconsin Legislature on January 24 in Madison, as part of an all-day event organized by WAES.

People from all over Wisconsin came to testify and register against the law, attending a five hour hearing of the Senate Education Committee. A list of the testifiers, and the legislators from the Senate Education Committee, is available in the full report.

To receive a copy of the full report, please call IWF at (414) 384-9094.

A summary version of the report and the full report can be obtained on IWF's website, www.wisconsinsfuture.org.

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