Further school budget cuts fail
School budget
A look at the 2009-10 budget for the Janesville School District:
What's next?: The school board is expected to set the tax levy Oct. 27.
Operational budget
This year $114.62 million
Last year $113.64 million
Increase 0.87%
Tax levy
This year $34.92 million
Last year $34.2 million
Increase 2.09%*
Tax rate
(Per $1,000 of equalized valuation)
This year $8.292
Last year $8.627
Increase 4.04%
Note: Percent changes calculated on whole numbers.
*Tax credits to property owners estimated to reduce the increase to 1.91 percent.
JANESVILLE — The Janesville School Board passed the budget as proposed by the administration Tuesday despite efforts by two members to cut spending.
The budget calls for a 2.09 percent tax levy increase, although officials estimated state tax credits would reduce the effective levy to 1.91 percent.
The board won't know the actual tax levy until Thursday. That's when the state is expected to tell the district the amount of aid it will receive. If aid is higher than expected, the tax increase could be even less.
If aid is less than expected, "then we're all going to spend some time saying, 'crap,'" said board member Greg Ardrey.
The tax increase was kept in the budget in order to pay for an increase in the district's payoff of a referendum bond issue.
No one complained at the annual budget hearing, but Bill Sodemann and Diedre Richard offered a series of amendments to cut taxes and spending.
Sodemann twice moved to cut money allocated for teacher pay and benefits. The board and teachers still are negotiating a new contract, and the district has proposed a partial pay freeze.
Sodemann proposed cutting the budget item for teacher compensation by $920,000. That amount is the difference, he said, between the board's pay freeze offer and a higher figure in the budget.
Tim Cullen argued against Sodemann's cut, saying the budget as proposed struck the best balance of sacrifices for all concerned. Most board members agreed.
Sodemann was the only one to vote for that motion. A motion to cut a lesser amount from teacher compensation also failed.
Richard, with Sodemann's support, moved to have the administration decide where to cut $718,000, which would have gotten the tax levy to an estimated zero increase, but that effort failed, too.
Sodemann said he doesn't know of one employee, public or private, who hasn't seen a pay freeze, pay cut or job loss this year. The district's administrators all are under a pay freeze, he pointed out.
"If this is not the economy in which to freeze taxes, what is?" Sodemann said, noting Wisconsin's status as a high-tax state.
"It's always straw-by-straw, inch-by-inch, penny-by-penny, and people can't stay in their homes. If not now, when?" Sodemann argued.
Superintendent Karen Schulte said she would have "grave concerns" about cutting spending more than the $2.4 million in positions and other spending eliminated during the lengthy budget process.
Schulte reminded the board that it has set a goal of increasing student math and reading scores.
"Truly, it won't be me raising those scores. It'll be the teachers who are expected to work harder to raise those scores," Schulte said.
Peter Severson said cutting the money for teachers would tie negotiators' hands.
In other business, the board unanimously approved the administration's plan to allow parents to opt out of elementary Chinese instruction.
Oct 17, 2009 at 2:05 p.m.
Suggest removal
Many people are not aware that the test scores of American children include those children with learning disabilities that make it impossible for them to get scores that are "proficient", meaning at grade level or satisfactory. Some of these children cannot even read the test or are English Language Learners who have not yet learner enough English to get passing scores. In America, we test all children in some fashion. Some adapting is done for the least capable. But when all these scores are averaged, it appears that American children test lower. Most other countries,( I'm cautious about saying "all" because I'm not positive.)test their students who are capable of taking the test. So, of course, their scores look much better, and make our scores look poor by comparison. It's hard to watch a student try to read a test when they aren't capable. They struggle for over an hour or more, sometimes coming to tears. Teachers work hard to help children improve their learning. But for some children, just making progress, even if they aren't working up to grade level, is success in itself.
Oct 15, 2009 at 8:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
Pete,
So you are saying GM left Janesville because of high taxes? I am sure they and other companies are building overseas because of the high taxes. Are you sure it doesn't have something to do with high employee wages, health care and retiree benefits. As a matter of fact I am pretty sure many states offer huge tax breaks to companies for staying here.
Oct 15, 2009 at 3:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
Janesville does not, and never has had, high taxes. According to Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance figures, dollar for dollar Janesville's levy rate ranks 117th in the state. The net overall levy including the county and schools is 95th in the state.
http://www.wistax.org/facts/Property%20T...
Oct 15, 2009 at 2:02 p.m.
Suggest removal
Pete, Are you on the "Board" of WMC?
Oct 15, 2009 at 12:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
Pete-I may be wrong but in third world countries you are only educated if you have money and in countries like China and some others they only test students who are achieving at high levels. In the United States every student is required to attend school up to a certain age (in Wisconsin it is 18)and ALL students are tested whether they are identified special ed or talented and gifted hence the test scores.
Oct 15, 2009 at 8:17 a.m.
Suggest removal
Pete,
Yes, Sodeman does volunteer and I applaud him for that. The problem is that the state already limits what school districts can spend and he wants to cut it further. This directly negatively impacts the children and future of Janesville.
***
I am an anti-tax republican and would love to see Bill Sodeman in the State Assembly, but to harm children just to save a few dollars is wrong. We need our cut tax people in the state houses not the school board. I would volunteer to get Bill elected in to the state assembly, there he might actually save us some money that matters. To me cutting $250,000 to look good for tax payers is NOT worth the damage it does to education, after all my part of that is only $10 or so. That's one burger and beer at a bar per year. I can sacrifice that for kids.
**
So, let's start the Bill Sodeman for state assembly committee!
Oct 15, 2009 at 5:26 a.m.
Suggest removal
Pete, "You should thank people like Bill Sodemann *first for volunteering to being involved in community service.*" You are correct, but just because you volunteer doesn't automatically mean you are making the right choices. Most of the time you get what you pay for.
Oct 15, 2009 at 5:22 a.m.
Suggest removal
I think that most of the board members are so busy trying to make themselves look good to the taxpayer that they have forgotten about the real reason they were elected, the children. I watch all of the meetings and rarely do you hear any of the board members say this is what is best for the students. what a shame.
Oct 14, 2009 at 9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
Here is food for thought. Sodeman is so tied up in himself and unwilling to be honest whenever he speaks he does not even realize that the teachers have not even brought up salary increases in contract talks yet. I guess he loves to hear himself talk and get people against teachers. I wonder if he believes in Studer.
Oct 14, 2009 at 9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
Hopefully they didn't.
Oct 14, 2009 at 7:58 p.m.
Suggest removal
I am not sure so I am throwing this out there. Does anyone know if the police and firemen took a pay freeze this year?
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.