Boots & Sabers

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Owen

Everything but tech support.
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0654, 06 Feb 20

School Spending Transparency Gets First Hearing Today

From RightRisconsin.

A new bill to make school spending more transparent will get its first public hearing at the legislature on Thursday.

The bill, Assembly Bill 810, would create a computerized database of public school expenditures maintained by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The agency would then post the information on the internet for the public.

“DPI must present the data on its Internet site in a format that allows the public to download, sort, search, and access the data at no cost,” according to the Legislative Reference Bureau memo. “Finally, the bill requires DPI to annually conduct a public information campaign on the availability of financial data on its Internet site.”

The law, if passed by the legislature this session, would go into effect for the 2021-22 school year.

Do it!

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0654, 06 February 2020

26 Comments

  1. MjM

    …create a computerized database of public school expenditures maintained by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

    No.  This information’s collection,  recording,  storage,  and presentation  should be accomplished/maintained by a different agency – The DOA, Treasurer, PSC,  the DNR.  I don’t care which.  To put it in the hands of the scabs at DPI who,  like the Election Commission,  refuse to follow existing state law, is insane.

    Outside Looking In is always the better choice.

     

     

  2. Mark Hoefert

    I will be interested to see what this is about.  There is a lot of data available on the DPI site now. I have been pulling stuff for almost 5 years now for discussion purposes – I am probably at expert level in that regard.  In some respects there is too much – it takes a lot of skill to find what used to be easy to find.   Especially comparisons between selected districts & multiple year comparisons.  It appears that some reporting formats were changed that affect year to year comparisons.  And some hyperlinks have become corrupted or disappeared – sometimes I think that has been intentional.

     

  3. Mark Hoefert

    As I recall, Owen, you had found some information about Michigan establishing a format for school districts to report out facts & figures to the community, on an annual basis. Every district follows the exact same format.  Something like that would make sense to do in Wisconsin.

     

  4. jjf

    Weird, there’s no conservative think tanks or legislators asking to be able to see the details inside the private and religious schools who are taking public money.

  5. MjM

    Mark sez: “it takes a lot of skill to find what used to be easy to find.

    Exactly.  Self-interested, self-preserving bureaucrats Hide The Decline.

  6. Kevin Scheunemann

    Jjf,

    What an awful comment. You are truly beneath reproach!

    1.) Private schools cannot implement or inflict a tax on you.

    2.) Money private schools receive is one set amount per student by voucher.

    3.) The Voucher is almost 1/2 of what public school spends per student.

    You should thank private schools for saving taxpayers money big time! Focus on the out of control spending on public schools.

    Do you know what what would be completely transparent? Take away public school power to tax. Voucher everyone up at half the cost and only funding schools get is competition to attract kids! That would be the best system for transparency. If school can’t attract kids, it does not get funded.

  7. Mar

    Weird, there’s no conservative think tanks or legislators asking to be able to see the details inside the private and religious schools who are taking public money.
    Maybe because they are private schools?
    But if I am not mistaken,DPI does have some access to these schools.

  8. Mark Hoefert

    @ Mar

    But if I am not mistaken, DPI does have some access to these schools.

    You are quite correct – the choice schools must have an independent audit performed by someone on a DPI list of approved auditors.

    Choice schools have to submit data on a Budget & Cash Flow Report.  It is submitted to DPI in Excel format. So, I would think that would make it easy for DPI to collate data off of those spreadsheets. Some of the major schedules: Expenses – 4 pages/Revenue – 4 pages/Capital Assets – 2 pages/Debt – 1 page/Net Assets – 2 pages/Anticipated Cash Flows – Six months (2)/Net Operating Balances (1) /Reserves (1).  There are numerous other schedules that require narrative answers. One form has a schedule of 22 attachments – school has to answer “Yes” or “No” as to if they are being submitted – in some cases certain attachments are mandatory, others are on an as-needed basis.

    That is 16 schedules of financial data inputs that get fed into the DPI computers.

    So yes indeed, the choice schools do have to give up a lot of information.

     

     

     

  9. Jason

    >So yes indeed, the choice schools do have to give up a lot of information.

    JJFlaccid just got schooled again!  Has the big dummy ever shown an understanding of what he’s talking about?   I can’t recall a time…

  10. jjf

    On topic, so we get to see the same info from the public schools as proposed here, as we do at choice schools?

    And then there’s still the point that taxpayers are paying for an education that’s not the same as the public one.  Why should I pay for your prayers and indoctrination?  Or for schools that deny science, that teach fantasy as fact?

  11. Kevin Scheunemann

    Jjf,

    Public school has prayers and indoctrunation!

    Global warming cult with tax prayers we can control weather.

    Evolution cabal.

    Intersectional cult where ine truth is: embracing every Satanic sin under the sun.

    I don’t see any incredulity toward these public school religions?

    Clean your own house first before you try to wipe out positive/ society building faith in Christ.

  12. Jason

    >Why should I pay for your prayers and indoctrination?  Or for schools that deny science, that teach fantasy as fact?

     

    Change those objections to something like “Climate Change”, “Liberal Arts”, “deny God”….  and you would sound like a Conservative asking why should they pay for a public school.   I thought you liberals taught “Tolerance”?

  13. Mark Hoefert

    @ John Foust

    taxpayers are paying for an education that’s not the same as the public one

    Since when do all public students in all public schools get the same public education?

    Do you know nothing about charter schools? Alternative schools? Are you stuck in the 80’s when you went to school? Do you not get out on the internet?

    Today’s families are looking for choice. Here are some examples of school districts responding to that quest.

    Northern Ozaukee School District chartered a nature-based school at Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg.  It is called “Riveredge Outdoor Learning Elementary School.” They host Wisconsin Virtual Learning.  Both attract Open Enrollment students from other districts.

    Kewaskum School district has an elementary charter “i4Learning Community School”.  Here are key components:

    Multi-age Collaborative Learning Environment – students are not bound by their birth year or year they enrolled in school.  Students will learn skills needed to engage in a collaborative learning environment in grades 4K-5th.
    ePortfolios – students will develop an online portfolio that they will continue to build as they proceed through their learning experience.
    Community Partnerships – the governance council, staff, PTO, students, parents will seek ways to partner with those outside the education realm to provide students with rich, meaningful, authentic learning experiences beyond the brick-and-mortar school.
    Project-based Learning – students and staff will engage in project-based learning where they will have the opportunity for voice and choice in their educational journey through rich, authentic learning experiences.

     

  14. Jason

    @Mark, you’re on a roll.  I’m sure either JJFlaccid will disappear from this discussion or again ignore everything you just wrote… with a “On Topic” flag and something that’s not really “on topic“.  Just like he did a 6:19 AM this morning.

  15. jjf

    Yes, Mark.  The state Constitution says “The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein;..”

    Yes, I don’t think they’re as “uniform as practicable.”  The rich kids have better schools than the poor kids, and the rich parents will blame the character of the poor parents.

    Choice and vouchers doesn’t fix that.  It’s not like the ultra-wealthy folks behind the school privatization push are handing out millions to politicians in order to develop a system to ship poor Milwaukee kids out to Kettle Moraine, are they?

    The development of charter schools to me again seems exclusionary, elitist, sometimes racist, sometimes patronizing.  I can understand the “let’s try something different” angle, the whole ecosystem of variety, the idea that someone out there might have a better idea.  You also need to admit the possibility that some people have really dumb ideas that haven’t been tested, and they’ll convince a school board to let them carry them out.  But when it comes down to it, it’s rarely about implementing known and proven improvements in existing schools.  It’s about creating a new space where a few people can go.

    Jason, “tolerance” does mean that the State isn’t promoting a particular religion.  You understand that, right?  Stop thinking about flaccid penises so much.  I know you can learn.

  16. Mark Hoefert

    @ John Foust:

    “The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein;..”

    Last time, I checked, that is exactly what is being done.  >50% of my property tax goes to that endeavor.  There are district schools that are free and without tuition, at least in this part of the state (SE Wisconsin).  Maybe “up Nord” that is not the case – sometimes I wonder if they got in on the “nearly as uniform as practicable.

    We also hear that more money = better education.  By that benchmark, public schools must be offering an education superior to that of the private schools.

  17. jjf

    I think “more money, better education” is too simplistic.  I don’t think spending more money is the only answer – again, it’s too simplistic.  Frankly, I bet I’m just as skeptical about the teacher’s unions and just as wary of bureaucratic waste as anyone else here.

    But the parents in the wealthiest most extravagant high schools are very proud of what they have, and they’ll assure you their school is better than the rest.  Why’s that?

  18. Jason

    JJFlaccid, at it again today quoting State Law and State Constitution when he thinks it suits his viewpoint and yet willing to deny and decry other parts of the Law and Constitution.

     

    He even goes to the length to reject a sitting judge’s judgement that the WEC was IN FACT breaking State Law.  Suddenly there’s room for interpretation in State Law and State Constitution.

     

    Hence his name “JJ Flaccid”.

  19. Kevin Scheunemann

    Jjf,.

    Can’t help it if pubkic schools lag in innovation.

    Solution is to bring good schools to poor kids, not tear down the good, competitive private schools.

    Voucher all kids up, let families choose. They know the good schools. If it happens to be public school, fine, they made their preferred choice.

  20. dad29

    But the parents in the wealthiest most extravagant high schools are very proud of what they have, and they’ll assure you their school is better than the rest.  Why’s that?

    As usual, irrelevant deflection from Jiffy.

  21. jjf

    Dad29, you don’t brag about the schools and civic structure of your suburb?

    It’s not deflection.  Tell me why one high school is better than the other.

  22. dad29

    Results, Jiffy.  Results.  SAT/ACT and/or read/math comprehension.  THAT is what counts–aside from an understanding of the human condition.

    And no, I don’t brag about the schools here.  They, like almost every other school system, build shiny monuments to their Board of Ed and tell the sheeple that the shiny new buildings will educate the chilluns better, better, better!!

    But they don’t.

     

  23. jjf

    Doesn’t quite answer my question, does it?  OK, we could use test scores to measure which one is better.

    Or as they said when the defended multi-hundred-thousand locker rooms, or fancy video displays for the basketball games, sports are the front porch of a school, and they need flashy sports to attract students in these days of open enrollments.

    So how does one school get to higher ACT scores but another fails at it?  If a new charter school or a religious school can somehow adopt the magic sauce to produce results, why can’t it be sprinkled on another school that isn’t producing those results?

  24. dad29

    Yup.  Jiffy claims “magic sauce” without evidence.

  25. Mar

    jjf, your question has about a million answers.

  26. jjf

    So we can have lots and lots of talk about alternatives to public schools that will somehow do better, but we can’t even talk about what the improvements might be, and how these insights could be used to improve the public schools?  Weird.  It’s like the real point is segregation.  A million answers, but somehow none of them can actually be used in the public schools?

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