"It's for the kids"

David Blaska writes about his not so fuzzy feelings for the Madison referendum in "It's for the kids, dammit!"

The school district wants voter permission to permanently exceed the revenue cap for operations money by $13 million a year. Because the state’s school funding formula punishes profligacy, Madison will have to pony up a total of $27 million over the next three years. (I explain that at the end of this blog.) That will add$92 a year to the property tax bill of a $250,000 home.

Even though:

• Total K-12 enrollment has declined from 25,087 in 2000-01 to 24,540 in 2008-09.
• The district’s annual budget has increased from $183 million in 1994-1995, the first year of revenue caps, to approximately $368 million (2008-09).
• Its annual cost per pupil is the second highest in the state at $13,280 for the school year 2007-08.

Blaska gets these facts from Don Severson, "who pretty much IS Active Citizens for Education."

And by the way Mr.Blaska, my blog posts are also a part-time endeavor... and I write them for FREE... for the love of it.