Mailbag; Melissa Writes on Proposed Aid Formula

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Mailbag: Hammann writes RE: New Wis. Aids Proposal: Impact on Evansville

I too was cautiously optimistic when I saw this article. However, when I researched the Committee reports online yesterday, I was somewhat exasperated. The transportation aid proposal is to bolster aid to the schools whose transportation costs (standard, not including special education costs) exceed 4% of their total costs. This often happens with widely spread districts. Evansville's current transportation costs are equal to 2.58% of total spending (total aid received $37,973 based on most recently audited 04-05 data). Under this reallocation, since we have been thrifty in this area, we would lose $28,129 in aid for a total proposed transportation aid package of $9843.


The second arm of the proposed change in legislation includes an option for School Boards to vote to increase their Revenue Limits by 1% of the statewide average allowable Revenue per pupil. For 2006-07, that would have given Boards the authority to increase their Revenue Limits by $88 per pupil above and beyond the allowable Revenue Increase based on the 3 year rolling average enrollment. That would have meant an additional $153,296 in allowable revenue in Evansville. But it would have also meant an increase in the mil rate to fund the increase.


The third proposal alluded to in the article in the paper would not affect Evansville at this point. It has to do with bolstering aid to those districts that have per pupil allocation that is below state average.

Melissa Hammann