Education | Boots & Sabers

WI School Districts Whine After Making Terrible Decisions

by Owen | 0752, 15 Apr 25 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 1 Comment

This is happening all over Wisconsin. I saw a post about Port Washington schools having the same problem.

This is a recent board deck from the West Bend School District (thanks to the local resident who sent it to me). They hired 60… SIXTY… people with “free” federal Covid slush fund money. This is a district that has had declining enrollment for the better part of a decade and is projected to continue to have declining enrollment for another decade.

And yet, when someone came around with free money, they found a way to spend it by padding their staff with useless (I say “useless” intentionally) staff. How many of those staff members are friends of family of existing staff members? How many are doing jobs that have absolutely zero impact on student performance? The decision to hire these people was a terrible decision and a complete waste of money. How can I tell? The West Bend School District’s student performance has not improved. That is the #1, #2, and #3 goals of a school district – to educate kids. If adding these people did not positively impact educational outcomes, then it was a waste of money.

Now that money is finally going away and school districts all over Wisconsin – bolstered by the bleating of Governor Evers – are whining and crying about “cuts.”

Get bent.

They never should have wasted that money in the first place and the fact that these people should now all be fired is 100% the responsibility of the idiots who made the decision to hire them in the first place. The vast majority of Wisconsin’s school districts are terribly run and should not be rewarded for their mismanagement.

Free Tuition Boosts Inequity

by Owen | 0939, 12 Apr 25 | Education | 0 Comments

Heh

New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine made history in 2018 when it became the first top-ranked medical program to offer full-tuition scholarships to all students, regardless of need or merit.

The number of applicants, predictably, spiked in the year that followed. But then, the share of incoming students considered “financially disadvantaged” sank to 3% in 2019, down from 12% in 2017, reports showed.

“Tuition-free schools can actually increase inequity,” said Jamie Beaton, co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education, a college consulting firm.

“Tuition-free colleges experience surges in application numbers, dramatically boosting the competitive intensity of the admissions process,” he said. “This in turn can skew admissions towards middle- or higher-income applicants who may be able to access more effective admissions resources, such as tutoring or extracurriculars.”

What the story doesn’t talk about is outcomes. How many students were able to complete their degrees? How many graduated and went on to good careers? Colleges focus so much on the equity of admissions but not the success of their students after they graduate. That is part of the problem with higher education.

Trump Moves to End Dept. of Education

by Owen | 2103, 20 Mar 25 | Education, Politics | 0 Comments

By any objective measure, the federal Department of Education has been an utter failure. Since its creation, educational outcomes have steadily declined while spending has exploded on administration and useless distractions. When something isn’t working, do something different. People who actually care about education understand this. People who care about government jobs never cared about education. We need Congress to act, but this is a good and necessary step. Huzzah, President Trump.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing officials to begin dismantling the Department of Education, a promise he made on the 2024 campaign trail.

“We’re going to shut it down as quickly as possible,” Trump said after signing the order on Thursday. “It’s doing us no good.”

Trump has long called for the department to be axed, a cherished goal of some conservatives, but completely shutting it would require an act of Congress, which is unlikely.

The move is already facing legal challenges from those seeking to block the agency’s closure as well as sweeping cuts to its staff announced last week.

Question About Student Loans if DOE Shuts Down

by Owen | 2038, 7 Mar 25 | Education, Politics | 1 Comment

This is a solvable problem that does not require keeping the DOE alive.

As President Donald Trump prepares to order the dismantling of the Department of Education, the financial arm of the agency – which makes loans directly to borrowers and manages trillions of dollars in student debt – faces an uncertain future, with steep staff cuts and lack of communication exacerbating the uncertainty, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former department employees.

The $1.64 trillion financial portfolio is managed separately from the department’s policy apparatus, the latter of which Trump has sought to wind down or reassign to other agencies. But Trump acknowledged Thursday that the massive loan balance was a complicating factor in his effort to shutter the agency.

“We’ve actually had that discussion today,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting that the debt could land at Treasury, Commerce, or the Small Business Administration. He said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler “would really like to do it.”

And then there is the question of whether the government will stay in the business of lending money to students directly.

Project 2025 – the Heritage Foundation effort that was authored by many Trump allies, though Trump tried to distance himself from it during last year’s campaign – suggested a new agency should be established to extend loans going forward, run by a Senate-confirmed leader and board of trustees. But the government would get out of the business of making the loans directly, instead reverting back to a role as guarantor of loans underwritten by other companies. The new agency would be funded by Congress, with a goal of “treating taxpayers like investors,” with loans that could have better terms for certain academic disciplines or professions.

The policy remedy of Project 2025 is the right direction but doesn’t go far enough. The federal government should also get out of the business of guaranteeing loans. The federal government is in no position to judge the credit worthiness of debtors and funding higher education is not within the scope of responsibility of the federal government. If some states want to pick up this funding, that’s up to them.

End federal loans. Auction off existing debt to banks. Close the Department of Education.

Done.

Republicans Propose Penalties for MPS

by Owen | 1625, 6 Mar 25 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

There’s no way this won’t be vetoed by Governor Evers. There is no amount of illegal or crappy behavior that Evers won’t accept from a public school. Heck, Evers doesn’t even care that almost no black kids who attend MPS can read or write at grade level. Why would he care about the kids’ safety? This being the case, Republicans should go big.

Proposed legislation would penalize the Milwaukee Public Schools if the district cancels plans to place police officers inside school buildings. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Republican lawmakers are proposing a law that would financially penalize the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and the city of Milwaukee if they stop complying with a state law that requires police officers in schools.

The bill, coauthored by Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) and Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), comes after months of noncompliance with state law by the school district. Wisconsin Act 12, which provided a boost in funding to local governments, included requirements that Milwaukee Public Schools place 25 school resource officers — sworn police officers assigned to schools.

Mauston School District Voters Raise Their Taxes

by Owen | 2117, 18 Feb 25 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Sigh… and people wonder why Wisconsin is still a tax hell.

Here’s something worth pointing out. Remember that the Mauston School District put this exact same referendum on the November 5th ballot – a high-turnout presidential election where one could get the input of the most voters. In that election, the referendum failed:

Mauston School District Operational Referendum

No 2,635 Yes 2,566

Notice the vote total. 5,201 voters. 5,201.

The school district turns around and put the exact same referendum on the February ballot – one of the historically absolute lowest turnout elections Wisconsin has. Why? Because it’s a non-partisan primary election with very little on the ballot and immediately after a presidential election where there is voter fatigue.

The turnout today?

3,078

That’s 40% fewer voters

We need referendum reform at the state level to prevent predatory school districts from shopping for low-turnout elections to get unpopular referendums passed. Three simple reforms would make a huge difference:

A school district can only ask for a referendum once per board election. This is usually every 2 years, but sometimes once a year. That way the same elected board can’t keep going back to the well without facing the voters.
A referendum that is rejected by the voters may not be resubmitted in the same form to the voters withing 5 years.
Operational referendums are only valid for one board cycle. Then they must be resubmitted to the voters for continuance.

Mauston Schools Make 3rd Attempt for Operational Referendum – Vote TOMORROW

by Owen | 0802, 17 Feb 25 | Education, Politics | 0 Comments

This is the third time in ten months that the Mauston School District is asking the voters to pass an operational referendum. I posted below what I wrote about this after the referendum failed in November. It has a lot of details and stats. This referendum is exactly the same as the one that failed in November. What’s different? They are trying it on one of the historically lowest turnout elections of the year – the February non-partisan primary ballot.

For all of the reasons stated below, the voters should reject this referendum. The Mauston School Board and administration, which has so badly managed finances to date, is threatening to fold the district and merge into neighboring districts if the referendum fails. So? It seems that merging small districts across the state is a good path to financial viability. Bigger districts with less administration and better economies of scale are a good thing – not a bad thing.

It is also worth noting that nothing in the referendum rhetoric talks about making kids learn better. There is nothing in there about better educational outcomes or better opportunities for kids. It’s all about propping up an expensive and failing bureaucracy.

On a state level, this referendum attempt is another example of how we need statewide referendum reform. It is infuriating that this school district is allowed to ask again for an operational referendum within a year of the voters rejecting two other requests. The district asked for more money. The voters said “no.” The district asked again. The voters said “no” again. Here the district is again, asking again, less than three months after the last “no.” At what point do school officials listen to the voters and manage within the means that the voters approved? At what point does “no” mean “no?”

As our current referendum laws are set up, a school district can put the same rubbish on the ballot election after election. They only have to get approval once. In the example of Mauston, they are clearly targeting a low-turnout election in an effort to sneak one past when the voters are occupied with other things. If this referendum passes, does it indicate that the citizens actually approve when they rejected it in a high-turnout presidential election held three months ago? Of course not. The school district is shopping elections instead of trying to listen to the true intent of the voters.

State lawmakers must reform the referendum process to prevent predatory school boards. No, it can’t happen with Governor Tony Evers at the helm. Education is gotten worse and worse under his leadership, and he is not going to do anything to stop the slide. But referendum reform needs to be on the agenda of Wisconsin’s next Republican governor.

Here is my post about this from after the failed attempt in November.

This is going to be a long post, so buckle up. It is just one example of how Wisconsin government school districts cry poor and threaten kids’ education even when they are swimming in cash and how the data shows exactly where the money is going. Let’s go…

The Mauston School District is threatening to dissolve after an operational referendum was rejected by the voters this month. But wait, there’s more… the failed referendum in November was after they had another failed referendum just seven months ago in April. But wait, there’s more… despite the voters telling the school board to live within their means twice within a year, the school board is considering putting ANOTHER operational referendum on the ballot in February. But this time, they are threatening to dissolve the school district if they don’t get more cash. They just can’t possibly see a way forward without getting more money. They are blaming the usual suspects: declining aid with declining student population, rising expenses, and that dastardly equalization aid formula. You can read their agony in this story by WPR, but that’s the gist.

What’s really going on?

All of the data used in this post is found in various reports publicly available from the state DPI. I prefer longitudinal data and the data set takes us to the 2022-2023 school year. I’ll refer to school years going forward by the year when the school year ended. All good? Let’s dig into the Mauston School District and their alleged woes.

ENROLLMENT:

For the past 10 years, enrollment in the district has been relatively flat with an average enrollment of 1,448 students. In 2013, they had an enrollment of 1,462. In 2023, they had an enrollment of 1,410. Over a 10 year period, that’s an enrollment decline of 3.6% over a decade. This is actually better than most school districts that are facing steeper enrollment declines due to the overall demographic trends in the state.

So let’s lick apart the superintendent’s statement from the WPR story:

“It’s so enrollment driven, which is a challenge in rural areas,” Heesch said. “You’re seeing declining enrollments, your revenues are either flat or decreasing based on those enrollments, while your expenditures, especially through an inflationary period, have increased dramatically.”

Enrollment is down. A bit. A little bit. But a 3.6% decline over a decade is very, very manageable. It is not a precipitous collapse. So let’s look at revenue and costs.

REVENUE:

Over the same 10 year period, from 2013 to 2023, Total comparative revenue is up 28.7% from $20,795,476 to $26,757,154. In per-student terms over the same period, revenue increased 34.5% from $14,114 per student to $18,977 per student.

In inflation adjusted dollars, $18,977 in 2023 was worth about $14,814 in 2013 dollars according to the CPI calculator from the federal BLS.

So, the conclusion is that revenue on both a total and on a per-student basis has kept up with inflation and then some. District revenue has exceeded the inflation rate by about 5%. That’s not an excessive amount, but it does show that the taxpayers have provided increasingly more funding to the Mauston School District in excess of the rate of inflation.

COSTS:

Enrollment is flat to a slight decline. Revenue is increasing in excess of inflation. So why is the school districts claiming a financial crisis that may require them to dissolve without even more money?

It’s the costs. It’s always the costs. Let’s take a look:

In the report titled “Audited Annual Report Comparative Cost” for Mauston in the longitudinal reports (it downloads as an excel sheet), we can see the spending for every line item over time. The thing to look for is which line items are increasing in excess to inflation or are new expenditures. Here are some key cost drivers (note that I am going to use per-pupil numbers to normalize the spending to enrollment):

Total Instructional Expenditures are up 22.4% from $6,983 per student to $8,544 per student. That’s not bad. It’s actually lower than the rate of inflation over the same period.
Operational/Administration/Other expenditures are up 51.1% from $2,793 to $4,220 over the 10-year period. That is double the rate of inflation.
That doesn’t tell the whole story of the cost of administration. Beginning in 2015, all Wisconsin districts broke out Administration costs into its own category (thank you, Republicans) so we can see them better, Between 2015 and 2023, just Administration expenses went up 37.5%. Over the same period, Operational expenses increased 47.5%. Both categories were increasing well in excess of the rate of inflation.
- The big drivers in these categories were “Operation Administration,” “Other Support Services,” and “Purchased Instructional Services.”
Interestingly, between 2013 and 2023, transportation costs went up less than 1% – well below the rate of inflation. So the excuse that many rural districts use for spending is the cost of transportation in a geographically large, population sparse, district does not apply here.
Facilities costs went up 77% between 2013 and 2023 from $1,838 per student to $3,259 per student.

SUMMARY:

The story of the Mauston School District is similar to so many other school districts in Wisconsin. Student enrollment has been flat to declining, but their revenue has been increasing to match the rate of inflation and then some. The spending on direct student instruction – the money spent on actual teachers in the classrooms – has increased, but not as quickly as the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, spending on administration and facilities has far exceeded the rate of inflation – soaking up all of the additional revenue, and then some, and squeezing out spending on teachers.

The alleged financial struggles of the Mauston School District are entirely self-inflicted by wasteful spending on administration and facilities. Meanwhile, the students and the teachers are left wanting. The taxpayers are right to deny them more money through an operational referendum and the school board and administration are utterly incompetent and/or corrupt if they can’t manage the district’s finances any better than this.

Trump Cuts Funding for Schools that Require Covid Vaccine

by Owen | 0946, 15 Feb 25 | Education, Politics | 0 Comments

Be careful what you wish for. This is exactly how people on both sides have pushed their agendas. They use the power of the purse to strongly encourage or discourage a policy or behavior. For most things, I don’t want my federal government using its power this way. Covid policy is handled perfectly fine at the local level. And I would rather that the Department of Education, with its minions and millions poisoning our school systems for no good, didn’t exist.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools, colleges and states that require students to be immunized against COVID-19 may be at risk of losing federal money under a White House order signed Friday by President Donald Trump.

The order is expected to have little national impact because COVID-19 vaccine mandates have mostly been dropped at schools and colleges across the United States, and many states have passed legislation forbidding such mandates.

The order directs the Education Department and Health and Human Services to create a plan to end vaccine mandates for COVID-19. The agencies are asked to identify any discretionary federal grants or contracts going to schools that violate the order, and remove funding “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

Trump Signs School Choice Order

by Owen | 1905, 30 Jan 25 | Education, Politics | 0 Comments

Excellent!

The order involves multiple agencies in the effort to provide taxpayer funds to parents to pay for private schools.

Among its directives, the Department of Education – which Trump has vowed to shut down – is ordered to issue guidance on using federal funding to support scholarship programs for grade school students. The Department of Defense is ordered to submit a plan to Trump directly on how military families can use DOD funds to send children to their preferred school. The secretary of interior is ordered to submit a plan to Trump on how families with students attending Bureau of Indian Education schools can use federal money to attend the school of their choice. And the Health and Human Services Department must issue guidance on how states can use HHS funds to attend private or faith-based schools.

Wisconsin GOP Proposes to Reverse Dumbing Down of School Benchmarks

by Owen | 0746, 22 Jan 25 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

Yes, they should absolutely do this.

Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill aligning state education test scores with national standards after Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly made controversial changes last year.

Each year, Wisconsin elementary school students take the Forward exam and high school students take the ACT. For many years, the categories were labeled “advanced,” “proficient,” “basic” and “below basic.”

The DPI recently changed the standards for the Forward Exam by renaming the levels of student achievement and lowering the scores to reach each category, increasing the number of students who score in higher categories. The new labels are “advanced,” “meeting,” “approaching,” and “developing.”

The category changes have been met with criticism from Republicans and even Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. It also means the test is no longer aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Universities Warning Illegal Alien Students

by Owen | 2049, 25 Nov 24 | Education, Politics | 1 Comment

Um, what?

US universities have been emailing international students and staff advising them to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, amid concerns over his plans for mass deportations.

“All international students are worried right now,” University of Colorado Denver professor Chloe East told the BBC.

Trump, a Republican, has pledged to enact the largest deportation operation in history, and use the US military to help.

More than 400,000 undocumented students are enrolled in US higher education, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.

400,000 illegal aliens in our universities!? Our tax dollars are paying for that. American students are being denied admission for that. We are all paying more for higher education because of that.

Yes, deport them. Deport them all.

Mauston School District Eyes Third Referendum Within a Year After Voters Say “No”

by Owen | 2034, 25 Nov 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 2 Comments

This is going to be a long post, so buckle up. It is just one example of how Wisconsin government school districts cry poor and threaten kids’ education even when they are swimming in cash and how the data shows exactly where the money is going. Let’s go…

The Mauston School District is threatening to dissolve after an operational referendum was rejected by the voters this month. But wait, there’s more… the failed referendum in November was after they had another failed referendum just seven months ago in April. But wait, there’s more… despite the voters telling the school board to live within their means twice within a year, the school board is considering putting ANOTHER operational referendum on the ballot in February. But this time, they are threatening to dissolve the school district if they don’t get more cash. They just can’t possibly see a way forward without getting more money. They are blaming the usual suspects: declining aid with declining student population, rising expenses, and that dastardly equalization aid formula. You can read their agony in this story by WPR, but that’s the gist.

What’s really going on?

All of the data used in this post is found in various reports publicly available from the state DPI. I prefer longitudinal data and the data set takes us to the 2022-2023 school year. I’ll refer to school years going forward by the year when the school year ended. All good? Let’s dig into the Mauston School District and their alleged woes.

ENROLLMENT:

For the past 10 years, enrollment in the district has been relatively flat with an average enrollment of 1,448 students. In 2013, they had an enrollment of 1,462. In 2023, they had an enrollment of 1,410. Over a 10 year period, that’s an enrollment decline of 3.6% over a decade. This is actually better than most school districts that are facing steeper enrollment declines due to the overall demographic trends in the state.

So let’s lick apart the superintendent’s statement from the WPR story:

“It’s so enrollment driven, which is a challenge in rural areas,” Heesch said. “You’re seeing declining enrollments, your revenues are either flat or decreasing based on those enrollments, while your expenditures, especially through an inflationary period, have increased dramatically.”

Enrollment is down. A bit. A little bit. But a 3.6% decline over a decade is very, very manageable. It is not a precipitous collapse. So let’s look at revenue and costs.

REVENUE:

Over the same 10 year period, from 2013 to 2023, Total comparative revenue is up 28.7% from $20,795,476 to $26,757,154. In per-student terms over the same period, revenue increased 34.5% from $14,114 per student to $18,977 per student.

In inflation adjusted dollars, $18,977 in 2023 was worth about $14,814 in 2013 dollars according to the CPI calculator from the federal BLS.

So, the conclusion is that revenue on both a total and on a per-student basis has kept up with inflation and then some. District revenue has exceeded the inflation rate by about 5%. That’s not an excessive amount, but it does show that the taxpayers have provided increasingly more funding to the Mauston School District in excess of the rate of inflation.

COSTS:

Enrollment is flat to a slight decline. Revenue is increasing in excess of inflation. So why is the school districts claiming a financial crisis that may require them to dissolve without even more money?

It’s the costs. It’s always the costs. Let’s take a look:

In the report titled “Audited Annual Report Comparative Cost” for Mauston in the longitudinal reports (it downloads as an excel sheet), we can see the spending for every line item over time. The thing to look for is which line items are increasing in excess to inflation or are new expenditures. Here are some key cost drivers (note that I am going to use per-pupil numbers to normalize the spending to enrollment):

Total Instructional Expenditures are up 22.4% from $6,983 per student to $8,544 per student. That’s not bad. It’s actually lower than the rate of inflation over the same period.
Operational/Administration/Other expenditures are up 51.1% from $2,793 to $4,220 over the 10-year period. That is double the rate of inflation.
That doesn’t tell the whole story of the cost of administration. Beginning in 2015, all Wisconsin districts broke out Administration costs into its own category (thank you, Republicans) so we can see them better, Between 2015 and 2023, just Administration expenses went up 37.5%. Over the same period, Operational expenses increased 47.5%. Both categories were increasing well in excess of the rate of inflation.
- The big drivers in these categories were “Operation Administration,” “Other Support Services,” and “Purchased Instructional Services.”
Interestingly, between 2013 and 2023, transportation costs went up less than 1% – well below the rate of inflation. So the excuse that many rural districts use for spending is the cost of transportation in a geographically large, population sparse, district does not apply here.
Facilities costs went up 77% between 2013 and 2023 from $1,838 per student to $3,259 per student.

SUMMARY:

The story of the Mauston School District is similar to so many other school districts in Wisconsin. Student enrollment has been flat to declining, but their revenue has been increasing to match the rate of inflation and then some. The spending on direct student instruction – the money spent on actual teachers in the classrooms – has increased, but not as quickly as the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, spending on administration and facilities has far exceeded the rate of inflation – soaking up all of the additional revenue, and then some, and squeezing out spending on teachers.

The alleged financial struggles of the Mauston School District are entirely self-inflicted by wasteful spending on administration and facilities. Meanwhile, the students and the teachers are left wanting. The taxpayers are right to deny them more money through an operational referendum and the school board and administration are utterly incompetent and/or corrupt if they can’t manage the district’s finances any better than this.

Arrowhead Asks for Fortune

by Owen | 0736, 15 Oct 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

You would have to be near braindead to think that this is a good idea.

WAUKESHA — Voters in the Arrowhead Union High School District will be asked on the Nov. 5 ballot to approve two referendum questions seeking to fund a new high school and to cover operational expenses over the next four years.

The first question seeks for residents of the school district to authorize $1.9 million annually over the next four years, to be used to attract and retain staff, protect educational offerings, aid in maintenance, and keep up with inflationary cost increases, the district said on a website explaining the referendum. It would succeed a $1.7 annual operating referendum passed in 2019 and which expires this year, said Conrad Farner, district superintendent.

The second question asks voters to approve $261.2 million for a new high school on the current AHS site. Its aim is to bring Arrowhead High School, now split into two campuses, under one roof, with a new eight-lane pool to be made available for community use as well, a 1,000-seat auditorium also to be made available for public events, updated classroom technology, enhanced security, and more inside a building of about 555,000 square feet.

They want a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS to replace a fully functional facility. Why? Because they want to. Zero students will get a better education for this expense.

West Bend Schools Asking Voters to Approve Idiotic Referendum

by Owen | 2151, 13 Oct 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

This is probably the easiest decision on the ballot. The West Bend School District is facing a rapid and persistent DECLINE in enrollment and has done almost nothing to plan for it. You would be an imbecile to give them over $150 million to educate fewer kids with zero commitment to improve educational outcomes.

In West Bend, district residents will be asked to approve a $106.25 million facilities referendum to fund security improvements, critical capital maintenance improvements, improve operational efficiency, realign grade levels and replace Jackson Elementary School.

With interest included, at a rate of 4.75%, and annual fair market property growth, at 2%, the estimated total cost is $165.45 million. The current interest rate of 3.95% would place the total cost at about $13 million less, for an estimated $152.45 million.

The estimated tax impact would be an increase in the mill rate of $102 per $100,000 of assessed property value for approximately 20 years, if approved (based on a 20year repayment for Tax-Exempt General Obligation Bonds, a 2% annual fair market property value growth and approximately $59.2 million in estimated interest costs — the cost at a 4.75% interest rate.)

Included in the referendum plan is the closing of Decorah Elementary, Fair Park Elementary, the Rolfs Education Center and the Education Service Center (district central office), which will help the district avoid $51 million in capital maintenance costs, according to the WBSD.

The referendum question for WBSD residents on the Nov. 5 ballot reads: “Shall the West Bend Joint School District Number 1, Washington County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $106,250,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of a new Jackson Elementary building on district-owned land; renovations and construction of additions, including for safe and secure entrances at East/West High Schools; renovations, including new safe and secure entrances and grade level reconfiguration at Green Tree and McLane Schools; renovations and grade level reconfiguration at Silverbrook and Badger Schools; districtwide capital maintenance and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?’

Wisconsin DPI Lowers Performance Goals for Students

by Owen | 0857, 23 Aug 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

This happened a few months ago, but I missed it. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has lowered the performance levels for the Forward Exam – the state standardized test that we use to measure the success or failure of our schools. Put another way, the Government Education Complex was frustrated with the fact that test scores have been flat or declining for years, so they decided to lower the standards to make it look better.

The bars for labeling the comparative success of kids have been lowered. Lowered to levels that are more constructive, reasonable and realistic? To levels that undermine efforts to set rigorous goals and improve the overall achievement of Wisconsin students? Different people would have different opinions.

The bars — known as “cut scores” — mark the boundaries between one category of performance and the next higher or lower category on the tests. This fall, when information on state test results from last spring are released to the public, the percentages will rise, although by how much is not yet known.

They also changed the nomenclature to:

Advanced – The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
knowledge and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their
grade level and is on-track for future learning.

• Meeting – The student is meeting the knowledge and skill expectations described
in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level and is on-track for
future learning.

• Approaching – The student is approaching the knowledge and skill expectations
described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level needed to be
on-track for future learning.

• Developing – The student is at the beginning stages of developing the knowledge
and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level
needed to be on-track for future learning

It used to be Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic.

Look for the news stories when this year’s test results are released. I expect to see educrats celebrating a “rise in scores,” but remember that what actually happened is that we lowered the standards to appease crappy teachers.

Our government education system has been failing and collapsing for decades. We are larding up the bureaucracy with administrators and cost while educational performance keeps falling. We are filling up the curriculum with useless information and social engineering while other countries are teaching their kids how to be successful in the 21st century. We are failing our kids and the government’s response is to lower the standards and use different words to obfuscate their failures. Bad test scores are not an indictment of the kids. It is an indictment of the system and adults who are failing the kids.

Hartford School Board Protects Girls

by Owen | 0652, 24 Jul 24 | Crime, Education, Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

Good for them. We win back this country at the local level with work like this.

HARTFORD — The Hartford Union High School (HUHS) Board voted not to accept a revised definition of the term “sex” under Title IX on Monday night.

[…]

The current HUHS process regarding students wanting to use different pronouns or a different name would not change. The school would still contact the parents and set up a meeting or have conversations with the parents, and only the parents’ written permission would allow HUHS to address the student by that name or pronouns.

Wisconsin’s Government Schools Are Flush With Cash

by Owen | 2039, 23 Jul 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

We keep spending and spending and the performance is stagnant to declining. After a minimum floor of spending is met, there is no positive correlation between school spending and educational outcomes.

(The Center Square) – Public schools in Wisconsin are spending nearly $1,000 more per-student than a decade ago, despite falling enrollment and flat test scores.

The latest spending information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction shows public schools in the state spent $17,697 per-student in 2022. That’s down from the $18,088 in 2020, but about $1,000 more than what schools were spending in 2011.

Will Flanders with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty say those are inflation-adjusted number and show most schools in Wisconsin have plenty of money to spend.

California Bans Schools from Telling Parents About Their Kids

by Owen | 0628, 16 Jul 24 | Culture, Education, Politics | 20 Comments

When the government refuses to tell you information about your own minor children, they are not acting in the interests of the children or the parents. The government is acting in the interests of someone else. Do not endanger your children by trusting these people with their care.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California became the first U.S. state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change under a law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law bans school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission. Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households. But opponents say it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents.

Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

by Owen | 0737, 4 Jul 24 | Culture, Education, Politics | 0 Comments

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Mequon Schools Increase Spending Despite Decreasing Enrollment

by Owen | 0638, 3 Jul 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

This is happening all over Wisconsin.

The budget, as of now, assumes the following: An increase in equalized values of 2.5%, a decrease of 40 resident students, $325 per pupil increase on the revenue limit, a continuation of service for personnel and educational programming, as well as salary increases that include a 4.12% cost of living increase applied to teacher base wages, 4% increase for support staff and 3.5% for all other groups.

It calls for a general fund budget of $52,718,149, a 6.9% or $3,418,913 from the previous year. The total budget of all funds — excluding Fund 73 — is roughly $70.6 million and net total expenditures are $65,040,309.

Most districts are educating fewer and fewer kids and spending keeps increasing. There’s always an excuse. Inflation. Old buildings. Whatever. At some point, should spending decrease with the student population? No, it’s not linear, but I don’t think I’ve seen a single district actually lower their spending even though many of them have lost well over 10% of their previous attendance. It’s not like this is a temporary bubble. All of the projections show the decline in students to be a widescale trend that will continue for at least another 10 years.

I’m tired of hearing excuses for why school districts can’t scale spending to their customer base like every other private entity in the universe.

Boots & Sabers