RUSD Needs More than an Educational Expert at the Top
Top Executive Must Also Have Administrative Skills
The selection of a new leader for the Racine Unified School District is more critical now than anytime in recent memory. Faced with projected revenue reductions and the current minimal improvement in student performance, the job requires more than the typical experienced educator.
The Racine Taxpayers Association offers the following comments regarding this selection. We hope this will motivate others to express their own opinion, or comment on ours, to the RUSD School Board and the Journal Times.
RUSD'S last two superintendents had excellent credentials in the field of education. This led to a strong focus on experimenting with new systems, procedures and teaching and learning techniques. Unfortunately, an equal emphasis on an operational strategy to match resources with goals and objectives did not occur. This resulted in a decade in which the District did not achieve the desired academic results and did not always use revenue wisely.
Educating the student must always be the number one priority for a school district, however, financial restraint and accountability cannot be ignored. With reductions in state and federal aid, revenue caps, continued loss of students to "open enrollment" and now the additional loss of students to "school choice", a financial operating plan to fund only the most efficient, productive and proven teaching and learning techniques is a must.
The RUSD Administration predicts a loss of millions of dollars in revenue when school choice enrollment caps are eliminated in three years. They claim Racine School Choice could reach Milwaukee's participation rate and RUSD would then lose 20% of their students and the revenue associated with them. If that happens, the district will have to downsize itself by 20% in order to maintain the current ratio of one employee for every eight students and revenue of $12,700 for each enrolled student. That means a reduction of 500 employee and the closure of 6-7 schools.
It is doubtful the loss of students will come that fast, however, it will be significant over the next five years. Also, it is evident that RUSD has no plan to solve their maintenance backlog and will eventually have to come to the voters with a referendum. RUSD cannot afford to be led by another educator with 30 years experience and a raft of new ideas that will require a few years to implement.
MAP testing has been in existence for a number of years and gives teachers significant information regarding student performance. The new Data Warehouse is starting It's 3rd year and incorporates MAP data, state test scores and other student/teacher information. The State Superintendent of Schools is starting a data warehouse for all students statewide and will be developing new statewide standardize testing for all students in public, charter and choice schools.
We do not need any more changes at this time. We just need to evaluate, refine, and streamline what is currently in place.
The new leader for RUSD must be an individual with a track record of achieving results that match expectations and the ability to achieve these results in an organization that must become smaller, more flexible and more efficient. Someone committed to eliminating bureaucracy and decentralizing the organization.
Central office should be reduced to the lowest number of employees possible and resources, authority, responsibility and accountability given to the teachers and the individual school principals.
A career educator has a vested interest in the bureaucracy of the educational system. It has been said "the more bureaucratic an organization, the greater the extent to which useless work tends to displace useful work." The useful work is in the classroom with the teachers and the students.
The new leader must be committed to look at every system, procedure, process and program and eliminate all that do not enhance and produce classroom results.
Kenosha School System faces Reality Adjustment
The Kenosha School District made substantial changes to their high school curriculum. Following are minutes from an April 28, school board meeting explaining why:
Historically, in the block schedule, a high school has been staffed for students to take 32 credits, or 8 classes a year. In reality many of these students did not actually take all of the courses they signed up for during the school year. Many students opted for a release or study hall in lieu of a credited class. Since students withdrew from classes after they were staffed, some high schools ended up running classes with lower class sizes.
To compound this problem of inefficiency, we created a system that encouraged students to take more than 8 credits per year. In some instances students signed up for 8 credits during the school year and additional credits at eSchoo1.
KUSD pays to staff for full-time students at high schools and as part-time students at eSchool. If a student elects for a release during the school day and takes an eSchool course online, the District is double staffing for that student.
This includes students who register for classes and drop them for Youth Option courses.
Free College Credits
Furthermore, it is not uncommon for students to maximize their ability to take as many credits as they can during their high school career. Many students will take their PE requirement during summer school or eSchool courses to take advantage of post secondary opportunities earlier in high school.
Since college tuition is expensive, it is appealing for parents to allow the school district to cover the cost of these courses. The School District does this while enduring the staffing costs of high school classes, eSchool classes and Youth Option classes to allow unlimited credit acquisition.
KUSD is currently in a budget crisis. The unrestricted access to courses at high school is not fiscally responsible. We simply can not continue to staff high schools in an unrestricted manner. KUSD needs to staff high schools more efficiently. Providing students the ability to earn a maximum of 7 credits each year maximizes staffing while continuing to provide students the courses needed to be successful in post secondary studies, or the workforce.
This Sounds Familiar
The Racine Taxpayers Association has been telling RUSD for more than a year costs can be reduced in our high schools. If the educational bureaucracy to our south can practice fiscal responsibility, maybe there's hope for RUSD.
State of the State's Transportation Fund
Wisconsin residents have long enjoyed a quality transportation infrastructure. Transportation projects account for about 10% of state spending and includes highways, airports, railroads, harbors and mass transit.
The Transportation Fund's four primary sources of revenue are: federal aid, fuel tax, registration fees and borrowing (revenue bonds).
After a 2-year stimulus plan increased federal funds, these funds are now declining.
Revenue from the fuel tax has been flat and has actually gone down in inflation adjusted dollars. Every year the average vehicle becomes more fuel efficient and the tax per gallon of fuel remains constant.
Registration fees and borrowing have been the areas of increased revenue for the Transportation Fund. The increased borrowing (revenue bonds), now requires 9% of the budget for debt service.
Additional taxes, registration fees or even toll roads are in the future.
Increased borrowing to maintain transportation is not the answer.
City, County property values on the decline
The value of all taxable property In Wisconsin declined 1.8% this past year. This makes the total 3 year decline 5.4%. from the 2008 peak of $514 billion to $487 billion.
In the past year property values in Racine County decreased 1.2% from $15.23 to $15.04 billion.
Wisconsin Transportation Fund average revenue per year in $ million:
A B C C-B
Source 2000-08 2009-10 2011 Diff.
State 1,572.5 1,926.0 1,992.8 + 66.8
Federal 742.7 1,140.1 778.0 - 362.1
Bonds 274.7 464.9 728.1 +263.2
Total 2,590.0 3,531.0 3,498.9 - 32.1
Debt Service 141.9 265.9 313.7 % of Revenue 5.5% 7.5% 9.0%