UW Professor Predicts $9.1 Million Loss in Funding for Waukesha Schools

The Waukesha School District could lose $9.146 million if revenue limits to Wisconsin school districts are decreased by $500, according to a study conducted by Dr. Andrew Reschovsky, a professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is being introduced this afternoon but Reschovsky calculated the reduction in revenue limits based on widely reported reductions of $900 million in state aid and reductions to district’s revenue limits, according to a news release from State Superintendent Tony Evers.

That means the district could be facing cuts in the 2011-12 school year of 6.9 percent. Districts across the state on average a 7 percent cut in funding, according to the study.

School districts’ revenue limits include state aid figures and local property taxes.

“Even with sharp reductions in the costs of employee benefits, over the next two years school districts across the state are likely to face rising costs elsewhere in their budgets,” the study states.

On Monday, Evers released a statement in response to Reschovsky's working paper. In his release Evers compares the cuts to the Great Depression and describes that impact of school cuts and teacher layoffs.

“When you make unprecedented and historic cuts like these to schools, it means teachers are laid off, class sizes are larger, course offerings are reduced, extracurricular activities are cut, and whole parts of what we value in our schools are gone,” Evers said. “These cuts to public education will do substantial damage to Wisconsin’s schools and the students and communities they serve."