Madison School Board gets proposed $405.5M budget for next school year

Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

April 27--Madison School District Superintendent Jen Cheatham on Friday released a preliminary budget proposal for next year that would modestly increase teacher pay and for the second year in a row avoid staff cuts, while raising property taxes on an average home by about $82.

The budget plan, which increases the tax levy by 4.58 percent to nearly $311 million, also includes several "strategic investments" aimed at accelerating academic performance by minority students, students from low-income families and high school students "most at risk of not graduating," Cheatham said.

"We are in a sound financial position to make our vision a reality," she said in a statement. "Despite uncertainty on state and national fronts, we are able to remain focused on our daily work to ensure every child is academically challenged in a safe and supportive environment."

Other spending will be directed to help keep classroom sizes manageable, Cheatham said, and to help fund a new safety and security plan under development now to ensure "our buildings are both welcoming and secure." Some money for that would come from district reserves and the rest from the district's share of a new $100 million safety grant program approved by state lawmakers after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a Florida high school.

District budget director Mike Barry said it wasn't known yet how much the district will get from the state or how much might be spent from reserves. The grants, for which districts must apply, would pay for improvements such as more secure doors and locks, shatterproof glass, automatic door alarms and video-intercom systems at public and private schools across the state.

Overall, the district's operating budget for the 2018-19 school year would rise $12.4 million over the current school year, to $405.5 million, according to the budget proposal, an increase of just over 3 percent.

State aid for next year's budget will increase by $204 per student, representing a 1.5 percent increase in revenue growth for the district, Barry said. But local sources will sweeten the pot even more, through strong growth in the district's tax base, increased revenue limit authority approved by taxpayers in November 2016 and $9.27 million from the closing of a Downtown tax incremental financing district, split over four years.

"The budget (for next school year) is a stable and solid proposal," Barry said. "You don't see staffing reductions, and it's all really driven by those local factors."

A one-time windfall of federal funds through a rebate program also will help cushion next year's technology spending, with $3 million provided to help the district upgrade its IT network. Students at 13 district schools also are to receive their own Chromebooks to use in the classroom, as part of a six-year districtwide plan to gradually equip all students with such devices. Now in its third year, the plan will be complete in 2020-21.

Overall the budget plan produces an estimated tax levy increase of 4.58 percent, driven by key variables including stable district enrollment and staffing, district spending and estimated payments of $1.5 million by the district to two independent charter schools expected to be approved by the state and operating during the next school year.

The levy increase also reflects what's expected to be a 13.5 percent cut in the district's state equalization aid for the next school year, due largely to the district getting more money locally through the rising tax base and the 2016 referendum that permanently increased the district's annual revenue limit authority by $26 million.

That increased authority is being phased in over four budget years: $5 million the first year, $5 million the second year, $8 million in year three -- which is next school year -- and a final $8 million the year after that.

Teacher pay up

For next school year, teacher pay would increase across the board by 2.5 percent, although that could increase as School Board members consider the budget over the next eight weeks and as union negotiations begin May 2.

Additional targeted raises of $1.5 million are proposed, including $1 million more to recruit and retain hard-to-find cross categorical special education and bilingual teachers, and $400,000 for educational assistants' raises. Also proposed is an additional $150,000 to increase the daily rate for long-term substitute teacher pay, which is now lower than surrounding school districts provide.

At the same time, district employees would not see increases in their contribution toward health insurance premiums. The budget proposal would continue requiring district employees to pay between 1.25 percent and 10 percent of the insurance premium, based on employee job title, with next year's estimated rate increase of under 4 percent for the district's two HMO plans -- GHC and Dean -- to be covered by a budget allocation for employees. A third HMO option was dropped last year, generating over $3 million in savings that was spent on wage and salary increases, Barry said.

Funding 'priority actions'

Finally, the budget plan proposes to pay for four "priority actions," or programs designed to better support struggling, at-risk, under-served or under-represented students or their families. Those programs are:

--Early College STEM Academy: $175,000 to enroll 25 high school juniors, with a focus on girls and students of color, at Madison Area Technical College for courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics that both fulfill graduation requirements and earn college credit.

--Community Schools: $297,000 to expand the community school model to an additional two schools, up from two now. The money would pay for staffing and equipment to use the school buildings to provide access to community-based programs and services for students and their families.

--Youth and Family Engagement for Middle Schools: $240,000 for wages and benefits to hire three minority services coordinators for Toki, Sherman and Jefferson middle schools. The coordinators are to develop youth leadership and better support students transitioning from fifth to sixth grade and from eighth to ninth grade to try to prevent behavioral and academic problems associated with those phases of youth development.

--Youth Re-Engagement: $120,000 in wages and benefits to hire a leader for a team of people trying to help high school students critically at risk of not graduating through alternative education options, concentrated academic support and other services.

Board members must approve the budget plan by June 30, with the tax levy to be adopted in October.

The budget proposal released Friday serves as Cheatham's formal recommendation for a spending plan for the 50-school district for next school year, effective July 1. It's supposed to include no surprises for board members, being based on feedback they've given administrators in a series of budget discussions over the past few months.

The board will begin reviewing the budget proposal at Monday's meeting, with several opportunities for changes driven by board members' ideas and public comment prior to the June 25 vote. The proposal also will be available for anyone to review online on at www.madison.k12.wi.us, with a web-based portal for community input.

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