Don Severson, President, 608/238-8300, Madison
http://activecitizensforeducation.org
Following is a proposal for
cost analysis of programs, services, positions and operations in the Madison
Metropolitan School District.
- The District Board of Education (BOE) should move
to establish a policy to conduct continuing cost analyses of all programs,
services, positions and operations within the district.
·
It is a standard way of
doing business
·
It provides clear and
adequate information for the board and the public about which to make informed
decisions for the allocation of funds
·
It provides the homework
for ‘due diligence’ on real costs of educating our children
- Points of interest and background
·
Cost analysis approaches
have been used in Arkansas, Ohio, Wyoming, Alabama, Alaska, California,
Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Massachusetts, North Dakota,
Tennessee, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon
·
In 2004, such cost
analysis approaches are underway in New York, Vermont, Arizona, Minnesota,
Texas and Hawaii
·
The Wisconsin Alliance
for Excellent Schools presented “The Wisconsin Adequacy Plan” regarding
education finance reform to the Governor’s Task Force on Educational Excellence
in January. Explore their website
at www.excellentschools.org
·
A comprehensive data
base of information about costing approaches may be found at www.accessednetwork.org under
research, etc.
- Additional information and assistance
·
The National Association
of Boards of Education (NASBE) has information available on the subject
·
The Review of
Educational Research shows a variety of resources available regarding the state
of Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness analyses in education
·
An array of research and
models are available from various universities, including UW
·
Active Citizens for
Education offers its assistance to the district for the review and access to
resources and development of a model appropriate for the Madison district
Thank you.