Progressive Thinking

In the past, schools used referenda primarily for building and maintenance projects, but state cuts to school funding are forcing more school districts to use them to pass the cost of educational programs to local property tax payers.

MADISON - “School districts these days more or less live and die by these referendums in terms of their ability to sustain programs and staff,” Dan Rossmiller of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) recently said as reported by the Isthmus.

So far in 2016, voters approved more than three-quarters of the 85 ballot referenda to raise property taxes to send more local dollars to schools. The nearly 77% pass rate is much higher than a few years ago.

People are voting to raise property taxes to keep their schools alive.

Recently I met with officials from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to understand school funding trends. I learned there was a big shift in the success of referenda. Prior to 2011 (and the deep school cuts that year) about half of school referenda passed. In the past five years about two-thirds passed.

Historically, communities voted to raise school property taxes to build buildings. Prior to 2011, nearly two-thirds of referenda votes were for the purpose of raising debt for building projects.

After 2011, over half of the votes to raise school property taxes are to fund current educational costs. But there is a limit to how much people can raise their property taxes to pay for current operations.

Back in 2012, the community of Gilmanton raised the school portion of their property taxes by over 40% to keep their beloved school alive. After the vote, many constituents told me “voters will never again” be able to afford such an increase in property taxes.

At a recent legislative breakfast, local school officials pleaded with lawmakers to increase state aid. School officials spoke of local “referenda fatigue” meaning people just can’t afford to raise their property taxes even though they want to keep the school district afloat.

Superintendent Dr. Connie Biedron reviewed the different ways the state cut funds to schools: cuts in state aid, local school districts paying for Milwaukee charter schools, local school districts paying for private school vouchers.

“I’m so grateful people are supporting schools by passing the referendum, but we are facing a continual decline in state funding”, said Dr. Biedron, “Communities can’t continue to tax more. They just can’t support taxing more.”

Prescott is a community that recently voted down a referendum for “existing educational programs and staff”. The February loss means the district is facing cuts of nearly 10% of its budget.

Just over river from Prescott, in Minnesota, voters do not face the same harsh realities of raising property taxes or facing deep cuts to schools.

Minnesota funds about two-thirds of school budgets with state aid. Only 30% comes from local sources like property taxes. Todd Langenfeld, a Prescott resident active in the referenda discussion, told me, “Wisconsin made a commitment to fund schools with two-thirds state funding. But we are well below that.”

The state of Wisconsin contributes about 45% (compared to Minnesota’s 64%) of the cost of schools, while locals contribute almost half.

Mr. Langenfeld continued, “To make up the difference, Prescott goes to referendum. If the state kicked in more, people would pay less in taxes.”

When the state pays less, people face awful choices; raise property taxes just to stay even with the cost of educating children or keep property taxes the same and cut children’s educational opportunities.

For Prescott, state funding this year covers about 53% of students’ costs. But two years ago, the state aid covered about 55% of the school district budget. Given rising costs and the expiration of a “non-recurring” referendum (renewed since 1999), it is not surprising voters faced a hard choice.

Prescott voters will get another opportunity to support their schools on May 25, 2016 when a special election will be held on another referendum. This time voters will be asked to make permanent (or recurring) the expiring referendum.

The immediate lay-off of teachers, cuts in student activities, cancelling bus routes, and closing buildings may be averted with the passage of the May referendum.

However, voters all around the state must solve long-term problems by electing a Legislature willing to tackle the tough questions of how to increase permanently the state share of money for our children’s education.

State budget cuts have forced UW Extension administrators to rethink their commitment to 100-years of county-based services, putting at risk such popular programs as 4H. County boards are passing resolutions calling for the UW President and Board of Regents to reject the plan.

MENOMONIE, WI - “We can’t do more with less,” UW Extension Regional Director Julie Keown-Bomar told people gathered at a recent Menomonie meeting. “We have to do less with less. We cannot be the same cooperative extension service that we used to be.”

The news hit hard. Downcast eyes, people with hands over their mouth, and long pauses after Julie asked the group for questions.

Julie explained how budget cuts forced UW Extension administrators to rethink their commitment to 100-years of county-based services. Wisconsin has a valuable partnership between the UW System and local counties.

Under the “Multicounty Reorganization Plan”, new regions would be created. Many staff would move or lose their jobs. Forty open positions would not be filled and another 40 would be cut. Some staff may remain local but a lot seemed to depend on the ability of counties to pay for lost state funding.

Local programs and support are at risk.

Farmers and rural residents rely on UW Extension for many services. Generations of youth explored life-changing opportunities and developed their skills through 4H projects. A multitude of pest, crop and disease crises were averted through the work of local Ag agents who provided immediate communication between UW experts in Madison and farmers hundreds of miles away. Family living and economic development services affected every community.

Counties invest heavily in extension. Locals are not happy with what they see as a “top-down” process. For example, Buffalo County recently passed a resolution, calling the planning process “flawed, not transparent… reorganization plan imposes a drastic and reckless change…” The board calls on UW Extension administration to retract the plan and “engage Counties/Tribes as equal partners.”

Dunn County passed a different resolution, calling for Dunn to be the hub of a region to include Eau Claire and Chippewa counties. Being a hub would put resources in Menomonie. It was unclear how to accomplish this with Eau Claire and Chippewa residents likely wanting the same.

Dunn County Supervisors at the meeting expressed concern about supervision of Extension staff through county board committees. One board member said, “We now have monthly meetings with staff. How do we maintain relationships? Now we have constant feedback. That will soften.”

Julie’s answer was not comforting. “Reality is things will change,” she said, “There is a sense of loss and [loss of] a really good relationship.”

Most of us take for granted services that have existed for a century. Few realized deep cuts to the UW System could mean no local staff person to help organize 4H clubs or provide support for county fairs - so much a staple of Wisconsin rural life.

Julie told the crowd, “People didn’t know Extension was connected to the UW.” She added, “If anything, this budget has taught us that people’s first entry into the UW System is a [county] fair or 4H.”

Cuts to the UW System are deep. Majority lawmakers voted last summer to make $250 million in cuts to the UW System’s base budget. Cuts came on top of tuition freezes and many prior losses of state support. Every UW campus is struggling with fewer staff, programs, and money for maintenance and facilities.

For some in the Menomonie audience, cuts to the UW System had seemed distant. Until they realized this could mean an end to 4H, as we know it now.

I talked with local residents after the meeting. A Menomonie schoolteacher who asked about youth being a part of the decision-making told me, “I’m tired of going to meetings that feel like wakes.”

One supervisor summed up things best, “We’re just not investing our resources in the right places. The general public is not paying attention. They don’t realize what’s happening until it touches them.”

As I left, I admired the youth art hanging in the halls. I walked past a conference room bustling with noisy, happy adolescent girls working together. The sign on the door said “Horse Project 4H Meeting.”

I wondered if any of the girls or their parents knew of the meeting I attended about cuts affecting a program about which they are passionate. If they had the opportunity to choose a budget priority, would they have chosen differently?

The yearly nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) review of state agencies, known as the Single Audit, was recently released and like a football game film it's a good place to evaluate performance. You might say, after watching the game film, experts gave Wisconsin a failing grade.

MADISON - When the game is over the coaches go into the film room to see where the breakdown was in play execution. The best game plan in the world is not any good if the team does not execute it.

The “game film” for the State of Wisconsin was recently released. This is a good place to start for anyone evaluating the state’s performance.

Every year the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) conducts a review of state agencies. Known as the Single Audit, auditors examine Wisconsin’s financial accounting of federal dollars.

State computer systems are a bit like the football team’s offensive line. These systems do the grunt work so the star players can score.

Computer systems must work well for everyone else in state government to do their job. Watching the film – or in this case reading the audit – I learned about computer problems so great that the details, according to the LAB, “were too sensitive to communicate publically.” In other words, by describing the problems, auditors would open the state up to more problems making it easier to “maliciously” expose personal data of employees and students’ information, and deliberately introducing financial misstatements or fraudulent payments.

Auditors found significant deficiencies in computer systems run by the Department of Administration (DOA) and systems run by the University of Wisconsin (UW).

With so many potential holes in the offensive line, it is no surprise our quarterback has been sacked an awful lot.

A key role of the state is oversight. The “watchdog” role is critical. Watching over health facilities, including nursing homes, and hospitals, is one job of the Department of Health Services (DHS). Audits found DHS officials identified problems at health facilities but failed to refer any of the two years’ worth of cases of caregiver misconduct to the Department of Justice for prosecution. When asked why, the department blamed staff turnover.

That’s like saying we forgot to tell the new blocker to block!

Auditors found the DHS did not have proper procedures in place to stop improper use of federal money in “Money Follows the Person”, a program to help people move from nursing homes to the community. Errors were so great, auditors “qualified” – in auditor language – their opinion of the program.

You might say, after watching game film, experts gave a failing grade.

At the Department of Administration, auditors reported many problems with the administration of two programs to provide housing and other local assistance. Auditors found improper payments; contracts not properly executed; a backlog of incomplete monitoring activities and required site visits not completed. Required performance and evaluation reports had not been done for at least two years.

These findings are disturbingly similar to those auditors found at Wisconsin’s Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). Ironically, the Governor moved one of these programs from WEDC to the Department of Administration at insistence from the feds because previously the state was not following federal requirements.

Watching the film – or reading the audit – I was struck by repeat bad performance.

Almost two-thirds of the auditors’ recommendations were made in previous Single Audits.

If mistakes are not fixed, the team is never going to get better. Persistent problems lead to penalties – in football and state government.

For example, an estimated $62 million in federal funds since 2003 had to be sent back to the federal government because of improper actions taken by the Department of Administration.

The first goal of government is getting the job done right. Proper training, policies and procedures, oversight, competence, accuracy, and compliance all matter.

A few months ago, the Governor created a new Governor’s Commission on Government Reform, Efficiency and Performance. Commission members would do well to start by watching the film.

If the front line does not perform, the quarterback is sacked, the running back loses yards, and the coach is fired.

Recently passed Republican legislation changes absentee/early voting rules in Wisconsin, making the window for early voting very small and more difficult to use for many working people.

LA CROSSE, WI - “We’ve got to go to the clerk and get your ballot sent to college,” I said to my son.

“Aw Mom. Is this election really that important?” he asked. “YES!” I answered. Maybe I added a little too much emphasis.

Spring elections are April 5th. Voters will choose, among others, all county board supervisors, a Supreme Court judge and their preference for President.

Voters are required to show an ID card. For folks not home on Election Day - the truck driver, college student or traveler - the absentee voting window is closing much faster.

To explain voting changes, I will take the perspective of an over-the-road truck driver named Joe.

The window for voting used to be fairly long. Joe could vote at his rural clerk’s kitchen table over the weekend. He had three weeks to get to the clerk’s home. Most town clerks work full-time out of the home. Usually, the best times for the clerk and the driver was on the weekend or later in the evening. Recently enacted law changes removed both of these options.

The new early voting timeframe opens later and closes earlier. Joe can only vote in person two weeks before Election Day. And he can only come to the clerk’s home (or municipal building in a city) Monday through Friday during limited hours. Voters can no longer vote absentee on the weekend or the Monday before an election.

Joe drives all week. With these changes, his only option is to ask for a ballot by mail.

To do this he must obtain an application, either by mail from the clerk or download the application from a website. Joe must fill out the application and make a copy of his ID. Then he must mail the ballot application and copy of the ID to the clerk. Or, like my son and I, deliver the application in person. The clerk holds the application until the very limited voting window opens. She then mails the ballot to Joe. He fills out the ballot, has it signed by a witness, and mails it back to the clerk. She delivers the ballot to the polling place.

If Joe had a scanner, an Internet connection and email, he could scan the ID and the ballot application (after he had downloaded it) and email the whole package to the clerk. He might shave off a few days in the process.

Shaving days off the process is critical because the ballot will not be counted unless it arrives by Election Day. The window is tight.

A bill (Senate Bill 295) changing voting rules recently passed the legislature. This bill was the 32nd new law making changes to voting and elections since the GOP majority took control in 2011. The new law requires the clerk receive absentee ballots by Election Day.

The new law also requires clerks to log in a statewide computer system every action they take in the absentee ballot process I described. Clerks must make five separate entries. This information will connect Joe’s name and address with the date he applied for the ballot, the date the clerk mailed the ballot, the date he returned his ballot and the polling place at which he would have voted.

Under Senate Bill 295, all this information is sold by the state as a subscription service presumably to groups who want to influence Joe during the time prior to completing his ballot. For Joe, or any other absentee voter, this means voter harassment targeted specifically at him.

Senate Bill 295 made many changes in voting laws. Some are useful, like allowing on-line voter registration by 2017 and allowing veteran’s IDs for voting purposes for the April election. Some are very harmful like shortening the voting window. And the absentee ballot tracking system seems like a tremendous, unnecessary invasion of voter’s privacy.

My son and I drove over to our clerk’s home late Friday night and got his ballot sent to college. We chatted about his friends from high school. More became truck drivers than any other occupation. For these folks, voting became harder.

And the importance of voting never greater!

Sen. Vinehout shares the problems some Trempealeau County residents had to deal with after a sand mine and processing plant began using an old agriculture high capacity well as its water source. They clearly demonstrate the need to balance the impact on everyone when considering changes to high capacity well laws.

LINCOLN TOWNSHIP, WI - “I feel like the state failed to protect the people,” Stacy told me. “Nobody really cares because it’s not affecting them.”

Stacy is one of several Lincoln Township residents in Trempealeau County who lived through two years of well problems. An industrial sand mine and processing plant set up shop in the neighborhood.

Mine owners wanted to avoid county zoning rules. The owners negotiated with the cities of Whitehall and Independence – some say pitting one city against the other – to annex the mine into Whitehall and the processing plant into Independence.

The residents of Lincoln Township were left out. They had no voice in the rules placed on the mine and processing plant by the City Councils.

The mine negotiated with Whitehall to provide water for sand processing. Industrial sand mine processing is a very water intensive process. The city’s pipes were unable to handle the high pressure needed to pump water miles away to the mine. Residents told me the city tried to drill a well just for the mine but couldn’t find water.

The mine needed water to operate. Locals said the mine made a deal to use an old nearby agriculture irrigation high capacity well to supply water to the sand processing plant.

Water use escalated. By 2015, three and a half times the water was removed from the agriculture well compared to 2013. Almost immediately after the mine began operation, residents experienced problems. Neighbor’s water pressure dropped dramatically during blasting; a well went dry; water filters normally changed every 30 years had to be changed every two or three months; chicken watering devises clogged with sand; chickens died and heavy metals appeared in drinking water.

As one local county board supervisor told me, “There was a clear connection between well degradation and sand mine activity.”

Stacy lives about a half mile from the mine. She sent me photos of her water, which was a murky brownish orange, and photos of her scooping handfuls of sand out of her toilet tank. She has gone through three or four washing machines in the past few years.

But the worst came in January. Stacy lost Apples, her horse. Stacy said, “I took it very bad.”

Apples died of liver failure. The horse had heavy metals in his tissues. Stacy told me the metals were “too much for his body. He can’t process or get rid of it.” Her vet said her water “was the worst water he’d ever seen.”

County officials started a well testing program. They contacted the state and asked if conditions of the farm well permit used by the mine were violated. When the county couldn’t get answers they called me.

Ironically, the Senate was considering a bill to change high capacity well laws. The bill would have made permanent – unless a court took action – every high capacity well in the state.

During the Senate debate, I asked colleagues to support amendments to review well permits when there is a change in use, i.e. from agriculture to mining; when there is a dramatic increase in the water removed, and when water is piped away from the property. Had these requirements already been law the locals might still have good wells. The Senate majority voted down all my amendments.

GOP Senators did pass a bill that differed from the bill passed by the Assembly. This means, unless the Assembly comes back to act on the bill, it will die.

The high capacity well law does need to change. Residents in Lincoln Township and across the state are vulnerable.

Mine operations in Stacy’s neighborhood are winding down. But local news reports a mine annexed into the nearby City of Blair will soon begin operations. I talked with a Whitehall business owner, Linda Mossman, who worries Blair residents will soon face similar troubles.

She asked me to encourage residents to act now by measuring the depth of wells to document – through video or photos – their foundations and to use the well water-testing program available through the county extension office. For under $30, residents can get a comprehensive water test that usually runs about $100.

“People need to know,” Linda told me, “This WILL happen in your neighborhood.”