Every Child. Every Day.

Make Public Education a Priority

Information to Share with PTOs
AEF study:
A study was commissioned by the Association for Equity in Funding to
examine if school funding was still constitutional.
A Supreme Court decision in 2000 (Vincent v. Voight) defined what
constitutes a sound, basic education:
An equal opportunity for a sound basic education is one that will equip students for their roles as citizens and
enable them to succeed economically and personally. The legislature has articulated a standard for equal
opportunity for a sound basic education in Wis. Stat. 118.30(1g)(a) and 121.02(L) (1997-98) as the opportunity
for students to be proficient in mathematics, science, reading and writing, geography, and history and for them
to receive instruction in the arts and music, vocational training, social sciences, health, physical education and
foreign language, in accordance with their age and aptitude. An equal opportunity for a sound basic education
acknowledges that students and districts are not fungible and takes into account districts with disproportionate
numbers of disabled students, economically advantaged students, and students with limited English language
skills. So long as the legislature is providing sufficient resources so that school districts offer students the equal
opportunity for a sound basic education as required by the constitution, the state school finance system will pass
constitutional muster.
Findings of the study:

The study concluded that the system is indeed failing to fulfill a moral obligation to provide every student the
opportunity for a sound, basic education.
The current school funding formula places greater reliance on local property taxpayers, resulting in greater
opportunity gaps for students and communities.
Over time, because of the changing demographics of the student populations (i.e., higher rates of poverty, special
needs, English Language Learners), the funding formula in Wisconsin no longer provides equal educational
opportunities for all students.
The study found that the current funding formula has resulted in truly making a difference in opportunities for
your students based on where you live, and this negative effect is getting worse over time.

More information is available at www.waef.net/study.fm, where you can find two videos that explain the study as well as the
full report.

Vouchers
For the 2014-15 school year, a voucher is worth $7,210 for K-8 students
and $7,856 for 9-12 students.
Currently the average public school student receives roughly $4,900 of
general state aid. Over 80% of public school districts now receive less
that the guaranteed voucher amount.
For the 2014-15 school year, 1,000 statewide vouchers were available.
This past spring 3,407 students applied for vouchers. Vouchers were
justified as giving students who attend struggling schools an opportunity
to attend a private school. Instead it has created a second taxpayer funded educational system. Yet, 75% of the students who
received vouchers in the new statewide program already attended private schools.
According to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), who oversees the voucher program, the current cost estimates for
the voucher programs for 2014-15, including Milwaukee, Racine and the statewide program, is $212.5 million.
DPI released test results in April 2014, which showed that voucher students did not score as well overall as their public
school counterparts in math or reading.
Some government officials propose removing the statewide caps on vouchers in the next legislative session (which begins in
January). This could negatively impact public schools, as it may result in Wisconsin funding two separate education systems.

Common Core
Common Core Standards are the framework upon which the school
district develops its curriculum.
They do not dictate the school districts curriculum.
They do not tell teachers how to teach.
They do not prescribe all that can or should be taught.
Common Core Standards were created to do the following:
Prepare students to be college and career ready.
Enable students to compete globally.
Create consistent expectations for all students moving from
one district to another or one state to another should not
disrupt student learning.
Encourage both educators and students to collaborate.
Require students to be able to apply their knowledge (not just memorization).
The Smarter Balanced Assessment will be the standardized assessment used this spring in grades 3-8 to determine students
proficiency in math and English Language Arts. It replaces the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE),
although students will still take the WKCE for science and social studies this fall.
This fall the students in 9th and 10th grades will be taking the ASPIRE tests, while 11th grade students will all be taking the
ACT this spring.

State Report Cards

The Green Bay Area Public School Districts report card finds that
the school district meets expectations for the second year in a row,
with the overall score increasing from 63.8 to 64.5.
Out of the four priority areas, GBAPSs district score increased in
student growth, closing gaps and on-track and postsecondary
readiness from the 2012-13 report card.
The District believes student growth is a critical measure and that it
is important that all students demonstrate growth. The District had a
significant 5.3 point increase (57.9 vs. 52.6) with growth in both
reading and math.
The District is making gains in the achievement gap, with an overall
score of 63.5 vs. 62.7 in 2012-13.
The Districts on-track and postsecondary readiness score increased
to 80.7 vs. 80.2 in 2012-13. The two areas where the District
demonstrated improvements were in attendance and graduation scores.
Each of our schools is implementing a continuous school improvement plan with a focus on literacy, math and student
engagement.
The report cards provide a snapshot of the Districts performance based on the Department of Public Instructions four
priority areas; however, it does not convey the full extent of student learning and opportunities in the Green Bay Area
Public Schools.
The District will continue to use the information provided by the state report card to inform our work as we continue to
develop and implement interventions, align curriculum and work to ensure all students are college, career and community
ready.