Schools weigh state aid impact

Shawano County school districts are seeing mixed results in the latest state aid numbers directly impacting how much local taxpayers provide for schools.

State funding is increasing this year for public school districts in Shawano, Tigerton, Bowler and elsewhere, while state revenue decreases are putting a squeeze on districts in Gresham, and Marion.

Under the Wisconsin formula for school funding, local property tax collections fluctuate upward or downward automatically depending on a school district’s level of state assistance.

In most cases, district administrators end up with approximately the same amount of money to run their school systems, with limited flexibility to raise new funds unless they can persuade voters to pass a referendum authorizing increased spending.

Tigerton School District Superintendent Wayne Johnson, whose district is enjoying a $160,809 increase in state aid, up to $1.3 million, said the district will lose local property tax revenue proportionately and will continue struggling to maintain quality programs and services. He called the school funding formula imposed by state lawmakers “totally broken.”

“Our politicians are playing a shell game,” Johnson said. “All it does is shuffle where the money is coming from.”

Tigerton officials are asking voters next month to approve a referendum to allow higher spending limits, or officials say they will consider new spending cuts that could include shutting down the entire district.

Other school districts where state aid is increasing this year agreed that more dollars coming from Madison only means fewer dollars coming locally.

Clintonville School District Superintendent Tom O’Toole said his district’s additional $306,146 in state aid, up to $9.1 million, would not make any impact on the district’s estimated 1,430 students, because of the corresponding loss of local revenue.

“It’s not doing much for us at all,” he said.

The system likewise is a wash for taxpayers, who fund the state’s elevated levels of school aid on one hand, while enjoying local property tax relief on the other hand.

With no referendum planned, Clintonville school administrators are lowering their property tax collections this year from $6.2 million to $6.1 million in response to their jump in state assistance. O’Toole said local taxpayers appreciate when the formula works to reduce property tax bills.

“That’s always a good thing,” he said. “It’s definitely a plus in that regard.”

On the flip side, school districts with dwindling state aid are allowed — some would say forced — to shift a heavier burden to local taxpayers.

Gresham School District is enduring a decrease of $212,964 in state funds, down to about $1.6 million, which officials attribute to a sudden loss of enrollment two years ago when about 20 students inexplicably moved out of town.

Holly Burr, the district’s finance and operations director, said enrollment figures have since rebounded and she does not believe the state aid numbers will stay down. For now, however, the district is raising property taxes by $70,000, up to $1.3 million, while also trimming spending to absorb the lost state aid without hitting local taxpayers harder.

“We tried to lessen the impact to our taxpayers the best we can,” she said.

Gresham’s nearly 12 percent drop in state aid is Shawano County’s most severe this year, followed by 4 percent decreases in both the Marion School District and Gillett School District. Tigerton’s increase of 13 percent is the county’s highest, followed by a 4 percent increase in the Bowler School District and Clintonville’s estimated 3 percent increase.

Shawano School District’s state aid of $13.4 million is increasing by $20,810, less than 1 percent.

Bowler School District Superintendent Faith Gagnon said her district’s state funding increase of $122,526, up to $3 million, will allow administrators to partially roll back a local property tax increase that was planned for this year. Gagnon said that while the district’s bottom line will not change much, it is always good to provide property owners some tax relief.

“It is good news to us overall,” she said. “We don’t take that lightly at all.”