To the editor,

According to the April 17 Journal, many referenda to fund public education were on the ballot this spring. Any trend that has people choosing to increase their property taxes deserves a closer look as to why this is occurring at an ever-increasing frequency.   

One reason is related to tax cuts passed by the Republican dominated legislature in 2010. Most of that legislation was aimed at public education funding. That policy decreased property taxes from 2010-14. However, the annual accumulative impact of a tax cut focused on public education has resulted in a greater reliance on referenda and local taxation (property taxes). A second reason for the increasing need for public school referenda appears to be ideological. Republican legislators are promoting increased state funding for parochial/private (p/p) schools thus shrinking the funds available for public schools.

Case in point, when the last education budget was signed in the summer of 2023, Pierce Co. GOP Chair Stephanie Brown used this page to praise the education budget's increased spending on p/p schools passed by GOP state and was "wisely signed" by Gov. Evers, so that "many parents" have more choices. That bill favored significant spending increases for p/p schools. Consequently, public school districts faced more economic pressure to seek public approval for operational referenda. Two points are worth noting.

First, Evers begrudgingly (his characterization) signed the bill due to budgeting school deadline pressures, and realizing some increase for public schools was better than none. Second, the reference to "many parents" in advocacy for p/p funding is relative. According to the most recent DPI fully completed enrollment figures (third Friday September 2022-23 school year), 92.4% of the 93rd Assembly district students attend public schools. In the 31st Senate District, 93.1% attend public schools. Neighboring assembly and senatorial districts are similar. Statewide, 93% of students attend public schools. "Many" appears more applicable to the choice the parents of public school students have made.  

Though school and legislative districts do not exactly correspond, a specific local example of the ratio of public to p/p students based on school district enrollment in the 93rd Assembly district (represented by Warren Petryk) was 8,074 public and 620 p/p students in 2022-23. (DPI website)

Therefore, it gives one pause as to why our area reps, Republicans Stafsholt, Petryk, Zimmerman, and Moses (SPZM) voted to promote a greater funding increase for 8% of their constituents' students rather than the 92% majority. This meant, p/p schools received a larger funding increase of public dollars. This is true at a time of increasing calls for more transparency and accountability from public school boards and administrators. Meanwhile p/p schools have no publicly elected oversight, keep the public out of their curriculum decisions and are not accountable to the public while receiving increased public funding. To date the SPZM group has supported this agenda and, have therefore, contributed to the need for more referenda and the resulting property tax increases.

Ron Ginsbach

Elmwood