Of the 16 school districts in Dane County only one performs worse than Madison.
To quote a Wisconsin State Journal story on test scores that were released yesterday: “The four specific categories used to calculate the district’s overall achievement score all declined in comparison with last year’s school report card. Graduate rates fell slightly, while chronic absenteeism, or the percentage of students that miss at least 10% of school, increased. Performance and growth among the district’s target student groups also declined.”
None of that is really news. MMSD has been way underperforming for years. And yet, Madison voters overwhelmingly approved two referendums that will authorize $507 million in capital improvements and another $100 million in operational spending, which will continue forever. The average taxpayer will shell out another $1,300 or so in a few years.
I wasn’t surprised that the referendums passed, but I was surprised at the margins. At around 70%, that’s about the same as the last set of referendums from a few years ago, despite the poor performance and despite the fact that these represent record property tax increases at a time when affordable housing is a top issue.
It’s hard to get your head around. A community with a high education level, a community with what you’d think would be informed voters and a community which highly values education just keeps pouring money into a failing system without demanding any accountability. All that new money came without any strings attached.
But this is central to the philosophy of the public schools establishment. Just throw money at schools and don’t bother about asking for anything in return. In fact, state schools Superintendent Jill Underly just proposed using every dime of the state’s $4 billion surplus to increase funding for schools. Never mind other priorities the state might have and never mind how that would be sustained after the one-time surplus was spent. And, of course, never mind how those schools are actually performing.
You ever hear that phrase, “a voice in the wilderness?” Despite my hammering away at this topic for years, despite all the evidence that keeps accumulating, it’s made not a dent. It’s not so much that I think that I’ve had no impact. In this little blog I don’t expect to have any impact. What I struggle to understand is how — regardless of what I might say about it — all of these data points aren’t being absorbed and acted on by a pretty well educated Madison electorate.
Because pouring more money into a failing system and expecting better results is the definition of insanity.
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 
What I struggle to understand is why not command the attention of voters by running for school board next spring? You may well lose? (Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.) But you will educate.
LikeLike
Seems to me that you tried that yourself a few years ago and I even supported you. How has that worked out?
LikeLike
Blaska was a known and reviled Republican who brought lawsuit against the teachers union and the school board to enforce Act 10. Also, a cop lover. Cieslewicz is a beloved former mayor, Democrat, and owner of a bicycle — is how that worked out.
LikeLike
Yeah well, still own a few bicycles, but not exactly so beloved anymore. Anyway, I wouldn’t be after a few selected YSDA blogs got passed around. It might improve readership though.
LikeLike
The problem begins with the school board which has failed miserably at making the schools safe for students, teachers and staff.
The entire board should be replaced with centrists who will establish measurable goals for performance improvement in key academic areas and tie teacher employment and compensation to achieving those goals.
The school board policies should be rewritten from scratch with all LeftSpeak deleted., including.zero tolerance for violence anywhere in or adjacent to the schools. Policies should be absolutely colorblind.
Finally, let’s return police officers to the schools. It was a successful program that was terminated for no good reasons and supplied both improved security in the schools and fostered a good relationship between kids and police. Removing them was a mistake.
LikeLike
Well, I suppose some people think that more money is just what they need to fix things. And then there are those for whom the schools are working. The kids and families that apply themselves are doing well. The kids and families that don’t are what is affecting the overall numbers. I know from friends and family members who are teachers and administrators that sometimes the testing results can be skewed to achieve certain outcomes and sometimes special needs children can adversely affect the entire class. Maybe Madison is the only district being completely honest with their results. Or maybe they have more than their fair of students and families that aren’t applying themselves or are special needs. It’s so complicated. I voted no on the referendums too, because I agree with you. Lowering our standards for basic behavioral expectations was a bridge too far for me.
LikeLike