Notes on Milwaukee Public Schools' Fiscal Challenges
Mike Ford:
The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute today released a new article by me, titled "MPS' Looming Fiscal Crack-Up." The basic point is that the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) face a near impossible fiscal challenge over the next ten years. The problem is that retiree health benefits costs are growing at a faster rate than the district's capacity to raise revenue through state aid and property tax.
In English, this means MPS as an entity will be receiving more public support, but will have less money to spend in the classroom. The scariest aspect of this situation is that there is little MPS can do to fix the problem. A few points:
First, this article is not meant to be anti-MPS by any means. In fact, today's quote from MPS superintendent Greg Thornton shows he gets the problem. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"The cost of doing business for Milwaukee Public Schools and Wisconsin is relatively high," Superintendent Gregory Thornton said. "But because of legacy and structural costs, we were not geared toward driving those dollars back into the classroom."
Much
more, here.
Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 25, 2012 2:48 AM
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