AEF today announced the release of 84 revenue limit gap analyses for key legislative districts. These materials will help legislators understand the impact that 30 years of revenue limits have had on their constituent school districts. In combination with our Revenue Limit Map, the new district-by-district analysis drives home the fact that Wisconsin’s system for school funding leaves almost 25% of students behind in favor of much higher funding in select school districts. As many readers know, the funding is not based on demographics or student need. Instead, revenue limits are based on what a school district was spending 3 decades ago. The differences were established then and have persisted ever since. It makes no sense and is not a fair way to distribute tax dollars.

The current legislative district analysis shows the revenue limit in every public school district for those legislators. Working with the school finance experts at RW Baird and our colleague Dr. Andrew Reschovsky, emeritus at UW-Madison’s LaFollette School of Public Affairs, we were able to show significant deficits in a single budget year as well as the cumulative effect of low funding for many school districts across the state.

We also summarized a recent research project we commissioned from Dr. Jesse Rothstein, noted economist from the University of California. In that study and a follow-up by AEF, we found significant impacts of revenue limits on district operations and student outcomes. We found that low revenue districts:

• Send a smaller share of their students to college.
• Spend 25% less per student on elementary teachers and have 8% more children per classroom.
• Make up just 17% of districts that spend more than $3000 per MS/HS student, while high revenue districts are 50% of the total.
• Spend 30% less, but have 12% more students for every school counselor.
• Spend 22% less on nursing care compared to high revenue districts.
• Make up just one-third of the districts spending the most on Library Media Specialists.

Furthermore, districts at the bottom level of revenues in 1993 are almost all still there today. Revenue limits trap students and districts in unfavorable funding cycles creating winners and loser every time there is a new state budget.

A brief explanatory video is available on AEF’s YouTube Channel.

In the 2019-2021 budget cycle, the Joint Finance Committee added $700 to the low revenue amount. AEF is calling for a $1500 increase in the 2023-2025 budget. This would create a situation where more than 350 out of 421 districts are funded at the same per pupil amount. In fact, over 90% of districts would be funded within 10% of the same per pupil amount. That’s a much more fair distribution of state and local tax revenues.

Here you can scroll through the data sheet for Senator Romaine Robert Quinn from a large portion of northwestern Wisconsin. See below for the links to the data sheets for all of the 84 legislators we were able to provide information to. These data sheets were distributed to the offices of these legislators at the State Capitol on March 10th, 2023 (Representative Hurd was emailed her report on 3/16/23).

AEF members agree: it’s time for the unfair, unequal, and unconstitutional revenue limit system to sunset.

For more information, contact AEF Executive Director John Humphries at (608) 438-6109 or johnhumphries.waef@gmail.com

• Allen
• Armstrong
• August
• Ballweg
• Behnke
• Binsfield
• Bodden
• Born
• Bradley
• Brandtjen
• Brooks
• Cabral-Guevara
• Callahan
• Cowles
• Dallman
• Dittrich
• Donovan
• Duchow
• Edming
• Felzkowski
• Feyen
• Goeben
• Green
• Gundrum
• Gustafson
• Hurd
• Hutton
• Jacque
• Jagler
• James
• Johnson
• Kapenga
• Katsma
• Kitchens
• Knodl
• Krug
• Kurtz
• LeMahieu
• Macco
• Magnafici
• Marklein
• Maxey
• Michalski
• Moses
• Murphy
• Mursau
• Nass
• Nedweski
• Neylon
• Novak
• O’Connor
• Oldenburg
• Penterman
• Petersen
• Petryk
• Plumer
• Pronschinske
• Quinn
• Rettinger
• Rodriguez
• Rozar
• Sapik
• Schmidt
• Schraa
• Schutt
• Skowronski
• Snyder
• Sortwell
• Spiros
• Stafsholt
• Steffen
• Stroebel
• Summerfield
• Swearingen
• Testin
• Tittl
• Tomczyk
• Tranel
• Tusler
• VanderMeer
• Vos
• Wanggaard
• Wimberger
• Wittke
• Zimmerman

The Association for Equity in Funding today released two maps that give a clear picture of the inequities in school funding and the burden experienced by nondisabled students to cover the costs of special education.

The first map shows the wide disparity in funding available to districts in the state. In blue, you see districts that get $12,000 or more to educate their students. In red, you see districts stuck at the bottom of the funding equation. These districts get $10,000 or less per student. This is unfair, illogical, and unacceptable. It’s based on a 1993 funding plan that was intended to be temporary. The legislature’s 2022-2024 budget did nothing to address these inequities.

The second map shows the dollar amounts taken from the education of every nondisabled student to cover the costs of special education. Since districts are required by law to provide special education services, and the state covers only about 30% of the costs, districts are then required to take money from regular education to cover special education costs. This map shows how much districts are transferring into special education for each student without an IEP. In other words, since the state created an unfunded mandate, nondisabled kids are losing. Districts will continue to do the right thing—educate students with disabilities. However, we also want to provide an excellent education to all students. We should not be taking major funding from the regular education classroom to cover these extra costs. The legislature’s 2022-2024 budget did very little to address these costs.

CESA 10 Administrator Mike Haynes interviewed AEF Executive Director John Humphries discussing AEF’s work to improve Wisconsin’s school funding landscape. Listen in as John talks about the association’s priorities, current projects and their upcoming conference.

https://wiseconversations.podbean.com/e/advocating-for-financial-equity/

The Association for Equity in Funding was formed in 1992 to identify legislative solutions to school funding challenges. When those solutions were ignored, we sued all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a landmark case known as Vincent vs. Voight. Decided in 2001, the ruling established important criteria for school funding, especially for disadvantaged students. “Wisconsin students have a fundamental right to an equal opportunity to a sound basic education that will equip students for their roles as citizens and enable them to succeed economically and personally.” That standard is clearly not being met. AEF has the data, but educators, administrators, and Board members know it firsthand. The financial challenges of educating special education, low-income, and English learner students have become unmanageable without adequate state support.

The 2019 Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding Recommendations were another milestone in our state’s discussion about school finance. In addition to improved funding for high-cost students, the bipartisan group, co-chaired by Republicans, clearly identified the need to reform the unfair system of revenue caps so many districts have suffered under for decades. Those recommendations have been largely ignored.

Now, in a watershed moment, with billions of dollars available, legislative leaders have turned their backs on the Supreme Court directive, the Blue Ribbon Commission, and their own agreements to improve the inequitable system of school finance in Wisconsin. With Governor Evers’ signature on the budget bill, AEF is alerting the public that the legislature can no longer kick the can down the road–it’s time to demand action through the courts, since legislative options are clearly not going to happen.

According to John Gaier, Superintendent of the Neillsville School District and President of the AEF Steering Committee, “Schools across Wisconsin can’t just hope anymore, we need results. When legislators approved a budget bill that did little to address the longstanding challenges in educating high-need students as well as the unfair Revenue Limits that trap unlucky children in poorly funded school districts, they missed a huge opportunity. To put so few new state dollars into addressing these school funding challenges, at a time when state coffers overflow, is more than disappointing, it calls for a strong response. AEF is considering all of its options, including filing a lawsuit to right the injustice under which our schools, families and students have suffered for far too long.”

AEF member districts have approved the filing of the suit, and have begun to amass a legal action fund. AEF is conferring with top-tier law firms in the state and nation. We have completed preliminary data analyses, and have begun reaching out to expert witnesses. We have engaged legal, policy, and economic experts. We are identifying potential plaintiffs.

We will be making regular announcements as our plans progress.

For Immediate Release:

John Gaier, President

Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding

jgaier@neillsville.k12.wi.us

715-743-3323

Neillsville, WI, JUNE 21, 2021

The Association for Equity in Funding was formed in 1992 to identify legislative solutions to school funding challenges. When those solutions were ignored, we sued all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a landmark case known as Vincent vs. Voight. The ruling established important criteria for school funding, especially for disadvantaged students.

Now, our legislative leaders are ignoring even their own party’s proposals from the Blue Ribbon Task Force on School Funding, co-chaired by GOP Representative Joel Kitchens! As today’s Milwaukee Journal states, “The Legislature has taken no action on those proposals, but, said Kitchens, ‘I would hope that we would still have a chance to get those done this time or in the future.’” AEF members can’t just hope anymore, we need results.

As key legislators craft a budget that does little to address the longstanding challenges in educating high-need students as well as the unfair Revenue Limits that trap unlucky children in poorly funded school districts, they have missed a huge opportunity.  AEF understands their priority for tax reductions, but to put so few new state dollars into addressing these school funding challenges, at a time when state coffers overflow, is more than disappointing, it calls for a strong response. AEF members will be weighing our options. It appears ever clearer that the time for another state-level school funding lawsuit is sadly drawing near.

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The Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding (WAEF) is a group of Wisconsin school districts that seeks financial equity in the state system of school financing. The members include urban, suburban and rural schools. The two issues that brought this group together have been the wide differences in the amount school districts have been able to invest in the education of their children and the even wider differences in the property tax burden to pay for that investment.

“It’s a political staredown.” That’s how one State Capitol insider described the recent education funding proposal from Wisconsin’s Republican-Controlled Joint Finance Committee (JFC). Now we learn that Governor Evers may veto the entire budget, an action that hasn’t happened since at least 1931. Since the Governor has yet to allocate $2B in federal stimulus funds, we are told that JFC isn’t willing to budget state funds that might duplicate those efforts. One big problem: this does nothing to address longstanding inequities that harm so many students across Wisconsin. Our kids are losing. This is our democracy. Can we keep it if we endlessly block the other side to score political points?

AEF has been collaborating with noted UW-Madison Economist Andrew Rechsovsky. Yesterday, he shared this message: “I calculated the arithmetic average of per pupil revenue limits for (Fiscal year) FY 2011. The average is $10,632. For each of the next 10 years, I added to this number the legislated annual revenue limit adjustments: -$554 in FY12, $50 in FY13, $75 in FY 14, and so on. In FY21, after adding the $179 revenue limit adjustment, the average revenue limit was $10,632–the exact same value as 10 years earlier.To put this fact in perspective, over the same 10 year period, inflation (measured using the CPI) grew by 18.6 percent.” In plain English, schools are being asked to do more with less. Over a decade, while costs have gone up almost 20%, why do low revenue districts struggle to keep the lights on while other districts have enough cushion in their budgets to deal with the shortfalls?

On Monday, we honored the memory of the men and women who gave their lives for our great nation. They did so knowing that for our system of government to continue, sacrifices needed to be made. They were willing to give their lives. Are our elected officials willing to negotiate with each other to make our funding system more fair? Or, are our children just pawns in a battle over money?

At AEF we work at the grassroots level with people across the political spectrum. One thing is clear: everyone wants fairness in funding for Wisconsin’s children. One politically divided school board recently came together after learning how their district has been among the lowest funded for almost three decades. As they debated issues with a voucher school in their community, conservative and liberal board members concurred: a level playing field is a fundamental element of fairness. Why should their public school be funded lower than the rest of the state? What’s fair about a system of school finance that leaves so many behind?

The last biennial budget attempted to remedy some of the issues with school funding. Low revenue districts were given more resources, and it helped. Only later did it become clear that with an even larger influx of cash for all districts, that the inequities got worse. The districts at the top got even more revenue than those which had been languishing at the bottom of the revenue system for decades. The legislature’s own Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding in 2019 released dozens of recommendations, few have been acted on. Why was the Blue Ribbon Commission created if their work would not be used?

In 2001, the Wisconsin Supreme Court made it clear in Vincent vs Voight, that our system of school finance must include adequate funding for students with disabilities, students from low-income homes, and students who are learning English. As AEF analyzes school revenue data and support for these three groups, it’s clear that our system has not improved, and is not reflective of the needs that districts across the state experience. How long does the legislature think we will wait for fairness? Is it time for the courts to revisit these issues?

Governing requires cooperation, not endless blockage and refusal to work with the other side. A house divided cannot stand. 

Please take a moment to read our 2nd quarterly newsletter, “Fair Share,” where we highlight opportunities for budget advocacy and ways to use the Data Dashboards.

The Association for Equity in Funding (AEF) announced plans for a State Superintendent candidate forum to be held January 20th, 2021 from 6:30-8:00 PM via Zoom.

AEF Steering Committee members will ask the candidates for their views about how to best fund schools in Wisconsin, about issues related to funding equity, and about their understanding of the state school finance system. Other questions will relate to the Blue Ribbon Funding Task Force recommendations and the impact of inequitable funding on student success. 

AEF Steering Committee Chair John Gaier expressed his excitement at the opportunity to hear from the candidates. “While the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding has made some important recommendations, AEF is concerned at the slow pace of adoption of those recommendations. Our new State Superintendent will have a heavy workload, collaborating with legislators and the Governor to help make our funding system more equitable and fair. Our candidate forum will be a great opportunity for our members, media, and voters to learn more about this important topic,” Gaier said.

Requests for the Zoom link can be sent to AEF Executive Director John Humphries, at johnhumphries.waef@gmail.com.

The Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding (WAEF) is a group of Wisconsin school districts that seeks financial equity in the state system of school financing. The members include urban, suburban and rural schools. The two issues that brought this group together have been the wide differences in the amount school districts have been able to invest in the education of their children and the even wider differences in the property tax burden to pay for that investment.

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For Immediate Release:

John Gaier, President

Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding

jgaier@neillsville.k12.wi.us

715-743-3323

AEF Announces John Humphries Is New Executive Director

Neillsville, WI, August 31, 2020

The Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding (AEF) announced today the retention of John Humphries as Executive Director, as it prepares to launch a new phase of efforts at improving equity in state school funding.

“We are thrilled to have someone with John’s background and experience in this critical position in our organization, “said John Gaier, President of AEF. Not only was Mr. Humphries a successful District Administrator in a rural, low-revenue district, he has central office leadership experiences in urban Beloit, suburban Middleton-Cross Plains, and small rural schools from Dodgeville to La Farge to Thorp.

AEF plans to continue their work to remedy the educational inequities that result from an antiquated school funding system. “Our first order of business will be to maintain and even extend the revenue limit adjustments from the last state budget cycle” Gaier said. Revenue limits were increased from a minimum $9700 to $10,000 per student in the current biennium, a clear improvement, but one that highlighted the need for more equity. Preliminary analyses suggest that this change had a minimal impact on the overall variability of revenue amounts that districts across the state are allowed to raise through state aid and local taxes.

AEF will clearly demonstrate the impact of continuing revenue limit discrepancies, and will begin to re-examine the groups highlighted in AEF’s last major effort: the Vincent v. Voight decision in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. “Legislators should be on notice: the Vincent decision made it very clear that our State Constitution requires equity. AEF intends to tirelessly advocate for equitable funding and equitable opportunities for all children across the state.”

In addition to district office experience, Mr. Humphries brings seven years of experience at the Department of Public Instruction where he was a lead author on a 5-year administrative rule change process involving special education. Humphries was also the lead technical consultant on the settlement to a federal class action lawsuit, Jamie S v. Milwaukee Public Schools, et. al.  In his 2017 bid for State Superintendent, Humphries worked across the political aisle to rally support for school improvement. He brings critical background to the AEF at a time when school finance is taking center stage.

“I’m very excited for this opportunity to improve funding equity across the state. What was a short-term fix, Revenue Limits have turned into a decades-long error in our school funding model. As a District Administrator in a low-revenue district, I saw firsthand the inequities caused by our funding system. I will work tirelessly to ensure that voters and legislators across the state understand how this system is impacting children every day. A great education should not be related to the amount that your district spent in 1993.“

John Humphries has served on the Mount Horeb Community Foundation Board, and was President of the Wisconsin School Psychologists Association. He and his wife Kay Rhode live in Mount Horeb and have two adult sons. He can be reached at johnhumphries.waef@gmail.com, or via cell at 608-438-6109.

The Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding (WAEF) is a group of Wisconsin school districts that seeks financial equity in the state system of school financing. Members include urban, suburban and rural schools, educating about 85,000 students across Wisconsin. The two issues that brought this group together have been the wide differences in the amount school districts have been able to invest in the education of their children (Revenue Limits) and the even wider differences in the property tax burden to pay for that investment.

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On April 10, AEF held a press conference at the Capitol to release it latest study. The study underscores the increasing need to address funding disparity. Previous factors that
protected certain district types against declining student outcomes due to poverty and truancy have disappeared. Specifically, the effects of poverty and truancy have become too strong to be overcome by the previous resiliency of rural and suburban districts.

The study also indicates that increased funding disparity has a greater negative effect within low poverty districts, such that state report card scores of low poverty districts with high funding disparity no longer differ from state report card scores of their counterpart median and high poverty districts with high funding disparity. These factors all point to a greater urgency to address the root causes of disparity, as well as the disparities we now know to be caused by inadequate funding of our Wisconsin public
schools.

AEF’s latest study

Learn more about your school district’s funding disparities.

AEF Press Conference Presentation