The Future of Public Education?
jalinder
Dear ILMPS Supporter,
"Saving schools money? Yes, but budget repair bill doesn’t offset state cuts"
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_757d4a20-bb28-11e0-ba66-001cc4c03286.html
MADISON — School districts in Wisconsin say they expect to reap some savings from Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, but for many, it won’t be enough to offset massive cuts in state aid.
The bill, which is now law, requires teachers to pay 12.6 percent of their health care premiums and 5.8 percent of their pensions. The La Crosse district lost $4.9 million from state cuts and gained $3.8 million from the new contribution rules. The rest of the shortfall was bridged with $1.4 million of federal stimulus money.
But that one-time fix won’t exist for the school district during the next budget cycle, said Janet Rosseter, executive director of business service for the La Crosse School District, which includes 15 schools and about 7,000 students.
“For 2012-13, we know that we are going to need to reduce,” she said.
In some local districts, the state aid cuts were far more brutal than any benefit obtained by the budget repair bill, school officials said. Local districts are resorting to layoffs and ending positions vacated by recent retirements or resignations. School officials are combining classes and slashing funds set aside for things like technology and school supplies to compensate for a loss that isn’t fully realized by altering staff contracts.
The new law did not yield significant savings for those school districts that already required teachers to contribute 12 percent or more to their health plans, as was the case with several Coulee Region districts.
“We were able to balance our budgets with the sacrifices made by our employees,” West Salem Superintendent Troy Gunderson said. “What cost will there be to the relationship you have with your employees? And to the profession?”
The savings from the law come directly out of the wallets of teachers, he said, which could eventually strain the relationship between faculty and administration.
The West Salem district is estimated to see a $1 million reduction in state aid as part of the $800 million cut to education across the state. District officials negotiated new contracts and plan to save about $800,000.
Onalaska School District staff already paid 20 percent of their insurance premiums prior to the collective bargaining changes, but the district still saved about $900,000 by instituting equal pension contributions.
The district is estimated to lose about $1.5 million in aid, and should make up the difference with cheaper insurance packages, said Larry Dalton, district finance director.
Tomah School District saved about $900,000 with new contracts, but only in the face of a projected $2.1 million aid cut.
“I think it’s important to realize that the savings came strictly out of the teacher’s paychecks,” Superintendent Cindy Zahrte said.
It’s the same story in districts across the state.
Even with the expected savings in benefits, the Green Bay district faces a potential deficit of around $10.5 million in the 2012-13 school year as a result of state aid cuts. Green Bayofficials saw their $20 million deficit reduced by more than half this year, thanks in part to $12 million in savings from pension and health care contributions.
Alan Wagner, assistant superintendent of business services in Green Bay, said the district will look for additional savings during the renegotiation of teacher contracts next year.
“We’re looking for the remaining contracts to save $1 (million to) $2 million from nonteacher unions in the 2012-13 school year,” Wagner said.
Still, a preliminary estimate based on an analysis of local reports conducted by the MacIver Institute, a Wisconsin-based conservative think tank, suggests that local schools would save more than $450 million, if the health and retirement benefit changes were adopted uniformly by every district.
By comparison, private-sector employees tend to pay about 21 percent of their insurance expenses and those with family coverage picked up 27 percent in 2010, according to a recently released study conducted by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.