The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released the
second half of its 2017-19 state budget request Tuesday. This request will be
used by the Department of Administration and the Governor’s office to craft the
2017-19 state budget bill, which will be introduced in February. Many of the
DPI funding items related to school library programs were included in the first
half of DPI’s request, which was released in September. You can read our update
on that portion of the request
here.
DPI’s proposal would increase school funding by $707 million over the two-year budget (a 2.7% increase in the first year and
another 5.4% in the second).
The budget focuses on four key areas:
- Funding and Finance Reform
- School-based mental health supports
- Investing in Rural Schools
- Summer learning and other innovative approaches
The following is a summary of items contained in the second
half of DPI’s request:
School Library Aids (CSF) Re-Estimate
Since DPI submitted their first budget request in September,
the projected state aid for school libraries (Common School Fund payments) have
decreased. DPI is lowering their original estimates by $3 million in the first
year of the biennium and by $1 million in the second year of the biennium. The
updated estimates are $35 million in Fiscal Year 2018 and $37 million in
Fiscal Year 2019.
School Funding and Finance Reform
DPI’s budget request includes a school finance reform
proposal called Fair Funding for our Future, which modifies the current school
funding formula to provide minimum aid to school districts across the state
($3,000 per student), adds a hold harmless provision so that no school would
lose money based on the funding formula changes, incorporates a poverty
factor into the equalization aid formula that takes into account the number of
students in a district receiving Free or Reduced Price Lunch, and makes other
technical changes to the formula. The request also increases the per
pupil revenue limit adjustment to $200 per full-time equivalent (FTE) pupils in
2018 and $204 per FTE in 2019, and updates state statute to increase that
figure by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) each year, beginning in 2020. In 1996,
the state established a per pupil “low-revenue” ceiling amount that allows
districts to increase their per pupil revenues up to a state-determined figure
per pupil without having to go to referenda. DPI is proposing to increase the
current low-revenue ceiling from $9,100 in 2017, to $9,500 in 2018 and $9,900
in 2019. DPI is also proposing changes to the way summer school students are
counted for revenue limit purposes.
Per Pupil Aid Weighting
DPI requests an additional $37.5 million to maintain per
pupil aid of $250 and create a new weighting factor that would provide schools
with additional aid for students in certain demographics (students in
foster care, English language learners and economically disadvantaged
students). For each student in one of these demographics, schools would get the
$250 per pupil aid plus $50 for each weighting factor.
Investing in Rural Schools/ Rural Teacher Retention
DPI proposes a new annual $5.5 million Rural Schools Teacher Retention Grant. Districts eligible for sparsity aid could apply for the grants, which are meant to help with teacher retention issues and could be used for things like tuition reimbursement, professional development or increased compensation. DPI estimates that eligible districts would receive a minimum grant of $5,000 (with payments of about $750 per teacher).
DPI an increase of $7.7 million to fully fund sparsity aid and expand sparsity aid eligibility to additional districts. Under DPI’s proposal to create a second tier of sparsity aid, school districts that have between 746 and 1, 000 students (averaging out to not more than 10 students per square mile) could get sparsity aid payments of $100 per student.
DPI also requests increased transportation aid for school districts that transport students 12 or more miles and increased transportation reimbursement rates for summer school and high-cost transportation.
Peer Review and Mentoring Grant Program
DPI does not request increased funding for this grant
program, which provides peer review and mentoring support to new
teachers, but does request a statutory change to expand eligibility to all
school districts. They also request increasing the allowable grant amount from
$25,000 to $100,000. Priority would be given to schools in the Teacher
Equitable Access Program.
Allowing MPS to Start Classes before September 1
DPI is requesting a change to state statute that would allow
Milwaukee Public Schools to begin classes before September 1 in an effort to
prevent the “summer slide.”
School Based Mental Health
DPI proposes three school-based mental health
initiatives. The first would create a $3 million annual appropriation used to
partially reimburse schools that increase spending on social worker positions
(76% of Wisconsin school districts currently do not have a social worker). The
second is a $2.5 million annual grant program that would help fund school
mental health efforts done in collaboration with community health care
providers. The third is increased funding for DPI to scale up mental health
training for schools around the state.
Special Education/ Transition Funding
DPI requests an $88 million increase for special education
funding and a $4.2 million increase for high-cost special education funding as
well as a statutory change that would reimburse 100% of eligible costs for
districts that exceed the $30,000 per pupil threshold. As part of its
request to increase high-cost special education funding, DPI requests that
current law “special education supplemental aid” funding be folded into the high-cost
special education program.
The budget request also provides funding to support youth
with disabilities that are transitioning into college or careers. DPI
requests an additional $6.3 million to fully fund the Transition Incentive
Grant Program which provides schools districts with $1,000 for each student
with a disability graduating college and career ready based on the Wisconsin
Post-School Outcomes (WiPSO) survey. They also propose a new program
called the Special Education Transition Readiness Investment Grant which would
make $1.5 million available to school districts to create new competitive work
opportunities for students with disabilities.
Bilingual/Bicultural Aid
DPI requests an additional $9.1 million to increase the
reimbursement rate paid to school districts that are required to offer
bilingual/bicultural programs to 12%.
They also request $4.3 million to create a Supplemental
Bilingual-Bicultural Aid program that would provide $100 per English learner in
any district that is not served by a bilingual/bicultural aid program.
In addition, they request funding to create two new grant
programs. The first would create a $4.4 million grant program that provides targeted
funding to districts with English learners. Districts, including those eligible
for the two Bilingual-Bicultural Aid programs discussed above, would receive
$100 per English learner that is assessed at proficiency level 1, 2 or 3.
The second is a $750,000 ESL and Bilingual Capacity Building Grant to
help schools increase the number of existing teachers and paraprofessionals
that are certified English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education
teachers.
Dual Language Planning and Start Up grant
DPI requests $750,000 to create a Dual Language
Planning and Start Up Grant that would provide start-up funding for school
districts that want to create a dual language immersion program.
Gifted/Talented Programs
DPI requests $1.5 million in additional funding for gifted
and talented programs. They hope the increased funding will help serve students
that have been historically underrepresented in gifted and talented programs
(such as economically disadvantaged students, students of color, students with
physical or learning disabilities, and English Learners). The request also
expands eligibility to all school districts in the state.
Tribal Language Revitalization Grants
DPI Requests $562,200 to create a new Young Learners Tribal
Language Revitalization initiative. This initiative will begin the exposure and
development of the tribal heritage languages starting with Head Start and 4K
and continue implementation of the program in Kindergarten through eighth grade
in future biennia.
School Breakfast Program
DPI requests additional funding in order to fully fund the
$0.15 reimbursement rate for each breakfast served. DPI also proposes expanding
eligibility for the school breakfast reimbursement program to several new
entities: independent charter schools, the Wisconsin Educational Services
Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Wisconsin Center for the Blind
and Visually Impaired, and residential care centers for children and youth
(RCCs).
