Stop throwing money at public education

It will come as no surprise to weary taxpayers that Wisconsin has one of the most expensive public school systems in the country.

We rank eighth in per-capita spending for elementary and secondary education. The seven states above us tend to be either high-cost states, like New York and Connecticut, or states with very small populations, like Alaska and Wyoming. Taxpayers shoulder this burden by paying high property taxes and high state income taxes.

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In fact, on average, 44 percent of the property tax bill goes to fund public schools and 40 percent of the state budget is devoted to funding K-12 public education in Wisconsin.

So how do educators respond to the generosity of Wisconsin taxpayers, who spend about 42 cents of every tax dollar on K-12 education?

By demanding more. Art Rainwater, superintendent of the Madison School District, went so far as to say Wisconsin corporations are "eating their own young" by not contributing more tax dollars to public education.

Superintendents from one end of the state to the other are complaining that the state isn't providing enough support and that revenue limits don't allow them to raise property taxes enough. They argue that without more money, educational quality will suffer.

For the most part, their arguments are falling on deaf ears because there is simply no demonstrable correlation between spending and educational quality or outcomes.

For example, our neighboring state of Iowa spends about $2,500 per student less than Wisconsin and consistently ranks at or near the top in SAT scores. If you look within Wisconsin, you'll find many school districts like Madison's that spend 20 percent more than the statewide average, but have below-average results to show for it. The percentage of students in the Madison School District who pass the 16 standardized tests administered to K-12 schoolchildren is at or below the statewide average for all but one of the tests.

A thorough analysis of the statewide data concerning spending and outcomes shows that some districts like Madison spend above average and get below-average results, and others spend below average and get above-average results. Taken together, the data show no trend or correlation between spending and outcomes.

Madison, like many school districts around the state, has seen its enrollment decline in recent years, yet its spending in absolute terms has increased. School administrators often point to rising teachers' salaries as the culprit. But in Madison, as elsewhere, teachers represent only half of the employees of the district. The other half are administrators and support staff.

A very substantial portion of the cost of public schools is not tied up in front-line teachers, but rather counselors, program coordinators, public-relations specialists and other support staff, and they don't come cheap.

In the Madison School District, there are 86 administrators of one sort or another who have a salary and benefit package in excess of $100,000 a year.

At the end of the day, public schools are about educating kids. When you are a school district that spends above the statewide average and does a below-average job of educating, it might be time to take a hard look at your program and your priorities rather than simply asking taxpayers to shell out more money.

A first step might be to take a field trip to some of those successful school districts that get above-average results at below-average costs. There are examples all over the state of districts doing a great job educating their students without punishing the taxpayer.