Once again: School finance is *(&^$)#&&#$ up

by folkbum

(UPDATE: See the Superintendent's full memo to the Board here.)

Quoting just one paragraph:

State aid to MPS has been decreasing in recent years for several reasons, among them declining enrollment. In addition, MPS is losing about $6 million in state aid because the board decided a year ago to not spend to the limit allowed under law, and under the current formula, the more a school district spends, the more state money it gets in succeeding years.

By being responsible to the taxpayers and not jacking up the taxes as far as they could last year, the Milwaukee Public Schools are being punished by the state. I mean, we knew it was going to happen we warned about it last fall. But that doesn't make it any more fair or any more right when it happens.

Also of note, the special-education settlement against MPS, under heavy pressure by the state and the Department of Public Instruction, which essentially requires that MPS do more testing and more diagnosing of expensive students that we don't get paid enough for. Push us to spend more, then cut our funds. Nice.

No, there's no option that will make anyone happy. If I could think of one that would, well, I wouldn't be at at the bottom of the MPS food chain, now would I?