{"id":14134,"date":"2024-11-26T01:34:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T02:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=14134"},"modified":"2024-11-26T02:57:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T02:57:42","slug":"mauston-school-district-eyes-third-referendum-within-a-year-after-voters-say-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=14134","title":{"rendered":"Mauston School District Eyes Third Referendum Within a Year After Voters Say \u201cNo\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.bootsandsabers.com\/2024\/11\/25\/mauston-school-district-eyes-third-referendum-within-a-year-after-voters-say-no\/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mauston-school-district-eyes-third-referendum-within-a-year-after-voters-say-no<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019 education even when they are swimming in cash and how the data shows exactly where the money is going. Let\u2019s go\u2026<\/p>\n

The Mauston School District is threatening to dissolve after an operational referendum was rejected by the voters this month. But wait, there\u2019s more\u2026 the failed referendum in November was after they had another failed referendum just seven months ago in April. But wait, there\u2019s more\u2026 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\u2019t get more cash. They just can\u2019t 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<\/a>, but that\u2019s the gist.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s really going on?<\/p>\n

All of the data used in this post is found in various reports publicly available from the state DPI<\/a>. I prefer longitudinal data and the data set takes us to the 2022-2023 school year. I\u2019ll refer to school years going forward by the year when the school year ended. All good? Let\u2019s dig into the Mauston School District and their alleged woes.<\/p>\n

ENROLLMENT:<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s lick apart the superintendent\u2019s statement from the WPR story:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so enrollment driven, which is a challenge in rural areas,\u201d Heesch said. \u201cYou\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u2019s look at revenue and costs.<\/p>\n

REVENUE:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

COSTS:<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the costs. It\u2019s always the costs. Let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n

In the report titled \u201cAudited Annual Report Comparative Cost\u201d 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):<\/p>\n