The rising costs of heathcare is one of the "uncontrolable factors" that the Marshfield School District has to deal with. This was one of the arguments for why they needed more tax dollars.
Meanwhile, other school districts are looking for ways to save money. The aricle below was published in the Appleton Post-Cresent this week. What can Marshfield learn from this?
From the Appleton Post-Crescent
Posted February 26, 2008
Health insurance change to net savings
By Kathy Walsh Nufer Post-Crescent staff writer
APPLETON — Appleton Area School District officials expect to save slightly more than $1.6 million annually in health insurance costs with the approval of major changes in its contract covering 1,200 teachers.
The school board Monday unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the Appleton Education Association on changes in health insurance coverage, life insurance and dental insurance.
The teachers union will vote on the changes tonight.
Key is the switch to WEA Trust Preferred for all teachers from the current 60-40 split between those participating in front-end deductible and preferred provider programs.
Teachers will continue to pay a 5 percent premium share and the same co-pay levels under the new plan.
“Moving everybody will result in significant savings,” annually said Don Hietpas, the district’s chief financial officer.
“The total ramifications won’t be known until bargaining is complete on the total contract (for 2007-09) settlement but an early estimate is a little over $1.6 million cost reduction on health insurance. This is a good plan for both,” he said.
“It is definitely a positive step in the right direction,” said AEA negotiations chairman Corey Otis. “It is good for us and good for the district and a cost savings move we’ve wanted to make for some time.“
If approved by the teachers as expected, the changes will go into effect March 1.
Kathy Walsh Nufer: 920-993-1000, ext. 290, or knufer@postcrescent.com
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Now what?
Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the election and the celebration party is over, there's a big question that needs to be answered. Now what?
The community was divided over the school referendum and for any number of good reasons, 4,800 people voted NO. One of the big criticisms against NO voters was that we were ignorant, misinformed, or just didn't understand the broken system by which schools are funded in the State of Wisconsin. The school district and the Yes Committee pointed their fingers at Madison and said that's where the real problem is.
Since the Yes side has all of the answers and is presumably more educated about these matters, can we trust that they will lead the charge for demanding change at the State level? One of our elected State officials was quoted as saying, “There's little hope for school funding reform.” Are we going to accept that?
Where is the Yes Committee now? They were so vocal, so passionate, so convincing before the election. Will they go back into hiding and only reappear when their services are needed again by the district? What about the angry parents and students, everyone who was passionate about saving all of the student programs. Can you put that same effort into working toward a better, long-term solution?
What about the teachers, the school administrators, and school board? What have you done since the revenue caps were passed in 1993? What will you do now? We're all behind you, so please lead the way.
Or is your plan the same as last time? Celebrate your victory, pat yourself on the back, kick back and put your feet up until the $13.5 million is spent, and then come back to us asking for more?
The community was divided over the school referendum and for any number of good reasons, 4,800 people voted NO. One of the big criticisms against NO voters was that we were ignorant, misinformed, or just didn't understand the broken system by which schools are funded in the State of Wisconsin. The school district and the Yes Committee pointed their fingers at Madison and said that's where the real problem is.
Since the Yes side has all of the answers and is presumably more educated about these matters, can we trust that they will lead the charge for demanding change at the State level? One of our elected State officials was quoted as saying, “There's little hope for school funding reform.” Are we going to accept that?
Where is the Yes Committee now? They were so vocal, so passionate, so convincing before the election. Will they go back into hiding and only reappear when their services are needed again by the district? What about the angry parents and students, everyone who was passionate about saving all of the student programs. Can you put that same effort into working toward a better, long-term solution?
What about the teachers, the school administrators, and school board? What have you done since the revenue caps were passed in 1993? What will you do now? We're all behind you, so please lead the way.
Or is your plan the same as last time? Celebrate your victory, pat yourself on the back, kick back and put your feet up until the $13.5 million is spent, and then come back to us asking for more?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Marshfield School Watch Plans Yearly "State of the District" Report
The Marshfield School Watch group is already forming. And we have plans to take an active role in not only encouraging people to learn more and be active in making change happen, but also in holding our schools more accountable.
For example, the Marshfield School Watch group will be tracking a number of key measures over the next 5 years.
We'll be looking at open enrollments. Do they go up, down, or stay the same? Passing this referendum, according to the Yes side, would cause an explosion in open enrollments. We might need to build an addition on to the high school to make room for all of the Auburndale students who, according to the Yes logic, should be leaving that district in droves now that some student programs will be cut there.
We'll be looking at the general enrollment. Does it go up, down, or stay the same? Now that we will have the best schools in the area and offer the most fluff for free, the population of Marshfield is going to grow like mad. Aftter all, it's not low taxes, good jobs, or economic development that brings people to Marshfield, it's our schools!
We'll be looking at administrator salaries. Posting the current levels now, and then watching them grow over the next 5 years. I saw Mr. King on the news tonight. For time, they mist have edited out the part where he mentioned that passing the referendum also lifted the proposed freeze on administrator salaries, and now he and the others can get their raises.
We'll be looking at teacher salaries, benefit packages, looking at what the district does about the rising cost of health care. And we'll be posting as much information as we can about teacher contracts and negotiations.
We'll be tracking the amount of money the district spends per student. As of yesterday, we were spending the least amount, but producing some of the highest standardized test scores. Now with the influx of $13.5 million, we'll see how the test scores get even higher now that we are able to spend as much per student as some of our neighboring school districts.
We'll be tracking the school tax rate. Will the numbers the district told us the tax rate would increase by match each year as promised? Remember, we voted on the amounts of $2 million next year, $2.5 million the year after that, and $3 million for 3 years after that. What happens if the tax base in Marshfield doesn't grow as much as they anticipated? What if our property values decline some over the next 5 years. We voted to give them $3 million starting in 2011. Guess what happens if the 1.26 increase to the tax rate times the declining values or our properties doesn't equal $3 million in any one of those years? The rate would have to increase again, because we voted to give them that amount. We didn't vote on the mill rate. Granted it could also go in the opposite direction. But when has Marshfield ever been known to actually prosper and grow? What are the odds our Director of Economic Development actually fills up Mill Creek Industrial Park in the next 5 years?
We'll be tracking data from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, comparing each year and documenting whether or not our schools are maintaining what they promised they would if we voted this referendum through.
We'll be tracking juvenile crime rates in Marshfield, Auburndale and Merrill. According to the Yes logic, juvenile crime rates in Marshfield should decline because we have so many great student programs and extra curriculars to keep our kids from getting into trouble and, I don't know, maybe vandalizing school property like a wooden tiger or something. And in the communities where school referendums failed, the juvenile crime rates should increase dramatically. We'll create some cool bar graphs and scatter plot diagrams to prove or disprove the Yes theories that were used to justify this referendum.
We'll be tracking staff levels. How many administrators get added? How many teachers retire and are or are not replaced over the next 5 years? How many custodial staff? How much overtime do they rack up?
We'll track the pool use. How many community members use it? How much revenue does it bring in compared to how much it costs us to keep and maintain it.
All of this, together will many more measures, will become what Marshfield School Watch will call "the state of the district." And just like the president gives the State of the Union and the governor gives the State of the State, each January we will release our report on the district. I think it will be an eye opener for most people.
For example, the Marshfield School Watch group will be tracking a number of key measures over the next 5 years.
We'll be looking at open enrollments. Do they go up, down, or stay the same? Passing this referendum, according to the Yes side, would cause an explosion in open enrollments. We might need to build an addition on to the high school to make room for all of the Auburndale students who, according to the Yes logic, should be leaving that district in droves now that some student programs will be cut there.
We'll be looking at the general enrollment. Does it go up, down, or stay the same? Now that we will have the best schools in the area and offer the most fluff for free, the population of Marshfield is going to grow like mad. Aftter all, it's not low taxes, good jobs, or economic development that brings people to Marshfield, it's our schools!
We'll be looking at administrator salaries. Posting the current levels now, and then watching them grow over the next 5 years. I saw Mr. King on the news tonight. For time, they mist have edited out the part where he mentioned that passing the referendum also lifted the proposed freeze on administrator salaries, and now he and the others can get their raises.
We'll be looking at teacher salaries, benefit packages, looking at what the district does about the rising cost of health care. And we'll be posting as much information as we can about teacher contracts and negotiations.
We'll be tracking the amount of money the district spends per student. As of yesterday, we were spending the least amount, but producing some of the highest standardized test scores. Now with the influx of $13.5 million, we'll see how the test scores get even higher now that we are able to spend as much per student as some of our neighboring school districts.
We'll be tracking the school tax rate. Will the numbers the district told us the tax rate would increase by match each year as promised? Remember, we voted on the amounts of $2 million next year, $2.5 million the year after that, and $3 million for 3 years after that. What happens if the tax base in Marshfield doesn't grow as much as they anticipated? What if our property values decline some over the next 5 years. We voted to give them $3 million starting in 2011. Guess what happens if the 1.26 increase to the tax rate times the declining values or our properties doesn't equal $3 million in any one of those years? The rate would have to increase again, because we voted to give them that amount. We didn't vote on the mill rate. Granted it could also go in the opposite direction. But when has Marshfield ever been known to actually prosper and grow? What are the odds our Director of Economic Development actually fills up Mill Creek Industrial Park in the next 5 years?
We'll be tracking data from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, comparing each year and documenting whether or not our schools are maintaining what they promised they would if we voted this referendum through.
We'll be tracking juvenile crime rates in Marshfield, Auburndale and Merrill. According to the Yes logic, juvenile crime rates in Marshfield should decline because we have so many great student programs and extra curriculars to keep our kids from getting into trouble and, I don't know, maybe vandalizing school property like a wooden tiger or something. And in the communities where school referendums failed, the juvenile crime rates should increase dramatically. We'll create some cool bar graphs and scatter plot diagrams to prove or disprove the Yes theories that were used to justify this referendum.
We'll be tracking staff levels. How many administrators get added? How many teachers retire and are or are not replaced over the next 5 years? How many custodial staff? How much overtime do they rack up?
We'll track the pool use. How many community members use it? How much revenue does it bring in compared to how much it costs us to keep and maintain it.
All of this, together will many more measures, will become what Marshfield School Watch will call "the state of the district." And just like the president gives the State of the Union and the governor gives the State of the State, each January we will release our report on the district. I think it will be an eye opener for most people.
New Watch Group Formed
The community of Marshfield is divided.
Over 4,800 taxpayers voted against the $13.5 million dollar school ultimatum, but it wasn't enough to counter the emotional appeals and underhanded tactics that forced this referendum through.
There are a lot of unhappy taxpayers in Marshfield. There are a lot of unanswered questions, too.
This new web site will provide the counterweight to the skewed, one-sided information we get from the district and our school board. We'll continue to ask the tough questions and get the information you want to see.
We're in the process of acquiring documents about the loan and the land deal for the new Washington School. We will also be posting more information about teacher and administrator salaries, contract negotiations, and other information many have asked for, but Central Office is slow to make available.
We'll also post and comment on minutes of school board meetings.
We'll keep you informed about future school board elections so we can elect new people who won't just rubber stamp evrything the school district wants.
We'll sound the alert about future referendums.
In other words, we'll be keeping a close eye on the school district.
And we'll be watching how they spend this $13.5 million that they took from Marshfield's hardworking citizens, our families, and our senior citizens on fixed incomes.
So stay tuned. Check back often for updates. Join our mailing list.
Also, feel free to post your comments or questions.
Over 4,800 taxpayers voted against the $13.5 million dollar school ultimatum, but it wasn't enough to counter the emotional appeals and underhanded tactics that forced this referendum through.
There are a lot of unhappy taxpayers in Marshfield. There are a lot of unanswered questions, too.
This new web site will provide the counterweight to the skewed, one-sided information we get from the district and our school board. We'll continue to ask the tough questions and get the information you want to see.
We're in the process of acquiring documents about the loan and the land deal for the new Washington School. We will also be posting more information about teacher and administrator salaries, contract negotiations, and other information many have asked for, but Central Office is slow to make available.
We'll also post and comment on minutes of school board meetings.
We'll keep you informed about future school board elections so we can elect new people who won't just rubber stamp evrything the school district wants.
We'll sound the alert about future referendums.
In other words, we'll be keeping a close eye on the school district.
And we'll be watching how they spend this $13.5 million that they took from Marshfield's hardworking citizens, our families, and our senior citizens on fixed incomes.
So stay tuned. Check back often for updates. Join our mailing list.
Also, feel free to post your comments or questions.
Scare Tactics Worked
Common sense has little chance when it's up against scare tactics and emotional appeals.
The Marshfield School District and their political machine, the Yes Committee, managed to fool enough people into approving a $13.5 million dollar budget override referendum. Claiming that a quality education could not be provided without a swimming pool or raises for administrators, they managed to find enough gullible parents to vote in favor of raising property taxes in Marshfield over the next 5 years.
The Yes Committee also launched an ambitious and underhanded tactic to mail letters to recent high school graduates, including an absentee ballot application and a postage-paid return envelope. The goal was to flood the ballot box with absentee voters and rob Marshfield taxpayers of their choice.
The school district also spent thousands of dollars on mailings to parents of students and sent skewed information to every household in Marshfield. Students at the high school were recruited to help with these mailings as part of the Yes Committee.
An opposing group, the NO Committee, spent no money, but used common sense arguments to counter the scare tactics and emotional appeals of the school district. But when emotions are so high, common sense goes out the window.
Once again, the "Marshfield mentality" has prevailed, and the taxpayers got shafted.
One of these days, you would think we would learn our lesson.
So for those of you who voted NO and who will now have higher property taxes next year, just remember when some public school kids come knocking on your door for one of their fundraisers, tell them you already made your donation and slam the door in their ungrateful faces.
The Marshfield School District and their political machine, the Yes Committee, managed to fool enough people into approving a $13.5 million dollar budget override referendum. Claiming that a quality education could not be provided without a swimming pool or raises for administrators, they managed to find enough gullible parents to vote in favor of raising property taxes in Marshfield over the next 5 years.
The Yes Committee also launched an ambitious and underhanded tactic to mail letters to recent high school graduates, including an absentee ballot application and a postage-paid return envelope. The goal was to flood the ballot box with absentee voters and rob Marshfield taxpayers of their choice.
The school district also spent thousands of dollars on mailings to parents of students and sent skewed information to every household in Marshfield. Students at the high school were recruited to help with these mailings as part of the Yes Committee.
An opposing group, the NO Committee, spent no money, but used common sense arguments to counter the scare tactics and emotional appeals of the school district. But when emotions are so high, common sense goes out the window.
Once again, the "Marshfield mentality" has prevailed, and the taxpayers got shafted.
One of these days, you would think we would learn our lesson.
So for those of you who voted NO and who will now have higher property taxes next year, just remember when some public school kids come knocking on your door for one of their fundraisers, tell them you already made your donation and slam the door in their ungrateful faces.
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