Q4: Open Enrollment Impact on the District Revenue

Question 4:  Open enrollment policy in Wisconsin continues to expand the opportunities for students to attend public school out of their resident district. What, if anything, would you do to encourage your fellow board members to take advantage of this opportunity to increase district enrollment and revenue? (Published on page 8 of the February 27th issue of the Evansville Review).

 

Public education in Wisconsin has undergone a revolution in the last decade and now includes virtual schools, charter schools, voucher programs and open enrollment in addition to traditional brick and mortar options. Many of us who were educated more than twenty years ago struggle to keep informed of these modern educational concepts so we may best provide for our own children’s education. Folks might already know that Wisconsin families can apply to send their children to any public school district through open enrollment during a narrow time frame in February. The legislature recently expanded open enrollment opportunities to year-round for parents who apply and cite “the best interests of the child” on their petition to attend a non-resident district. The state aid portion of the per-pupil revenue becomes portable and follows students to their new district. The dollar amount changes annually and is based on state aid calculations. This year, each student attending a non-resident district brings with them $6447 in revenue to the new district, which is paid for by the resident district. Open enrollment presents an opportunity for the Evansville Community School District (ECSD) to decrease next year’s potential $750,000 shortfall in a student friendly way that helps preserve programs and teachers.

 

District business manager Doreen Treuden presented this steep deficit scenario to the board in January. The loss is predicated on a number of realistic assumptions: 3% salary increase, 8% benefit increase and 1-2% increases in all other areas. It also presumes that open enrollment figures for the ECSD will remain stable at the current levels of eighty-five resident students enrolled out of the district and 42 non-resident students enrolled in. Enrollment out has increased 37% since last year and 77% since 2006-2007.  The number of non-residents enrolling into ECSD has not changed significantly in the same time frame, causing the net loss of students through open enrollment to increase from 3 to 43 in six years. The net loss exceeded the number enrolling into the district for the first time this year. These trends suggest that the net loss due to open enrollment will not remain stable but rather increase.   If they do remain stable and if we presume a constant value for per-pupil state aid allocation, that imbalance of 43 students contributes over $277,000 to the projected 2013-2014 deficit, or 37% of the total.

A review of historical budget documents on the district website indicates that the deficit attributable to open enrollment has nearly quadrupled from about $78,000 in 2006 to about $280,000 this year. The cumulative funding lost since 2006 amounts to $838,315. Governor Walker’s next biennium budget calls for a freeze on the public school revenue cap, which further increases next year’s ECSD projected deficit to an eerily similar value of $840,000. The board has asked administration to explore this issue in depth on more than one occasion over the years. Last summer the board was provided with data that indicated the net loss of students due to open enrollment was projected to double this year and since the legislative expansion of the program enabled students to enroll out at any time, the numbers could get even worse. At that point, the board directed the new district administrator Mr. Jerry Roth to track open enrollment twice a year and report back to them with his findings. On February 11, the board was apprised of updated figures for this year which showed that the number out went up by two and the number in went down by two, further exacerbating the situation. Board President Kathi Swanson’s reaction to the news was to urge her fellow board members, “to find a way to keep over a quarter of a million dollars in revenue from walking out our doors.” In response to the board’s inquires over the years, the administration has noted that a majority of students enrolling out of the district have never attended Evansville and are not likely to attend under any circumstances. Ergo, it was implied, it is not worth the resources necessary to comprehensively explore the issue. That may be true, but it needs to be documented beyond word of mouth and gut instinct. The fact that the gap is widening over time shows there is some stress on the system causing change. An unbiased investigation could be very useful.

Gathering data through exit interviews and detailed tracking of programs to which students are going would be just the first step in reversing ECSD enrollment losses. The board has yet to focus on the “open enrollment in” side of the equation. In 2006, non-resident families enrolled 45 of their children into the ECSD and 28 of them had never attended Evansville. This year, 42 non-resident children have been enrolled into the district with only 8 new faces. The stories of people willing to go out of their way to enter the district year after year could inform the board as to which programs are attracting families. Once the data for open enrollment both in and out of the district is fully evaluated, trends and opportunities may come to light.

Current enrollment out data provides some insight, but more detail is necessary. For example, the number of outgoing students seeking virtual learning opportunities more than doubled this year from 7 to 15, with a tenfold increase in grades K-8. If this kind of growth out to virtual schools continues, it may behoove the district to investigate offering its own virtual school option to serve those students and attract even more families with alternative programming needs. Board Vice President Nancy Hurley noted at the February 11 meeting that it’s important to know why virtual learners are seeking this opportunity before the district spends money to create its own virtual school. If parents are unsatisfied with the district as a whole, simply providing a virtual option will probably not recapture this demographic.  However, if virtual schooling is ideal for the child and parents are otherwise happy with the district, then creating this new educational option could recapture some lost enrollment.  

“If you build it, they will come,” does not apply in today’s public education landscape. Parents who are determined to provide an education tailored to their children’s needs are no longer a captive audience obligated to remain frustrated with an unresponsive district. Districts that offer cutting edge programs accompanied by an unwavering commitment to excellence and community partnership will thrive as will their students. On the other hand, districts unable to keep pace with the rapid evolution of public education will continue to shrink, lose funding and descend into a self-perpetuating downward spiral, ultimately failing the kids. If I am elected, I will encourage the board to independently explore why students are enrolling out of the district at twice the rate they are enrolling into it. A comprehensive analysis of that information would enable the board to identify and actively support initiatives that will help recoup outwardly bound students. This in turn would make the district more attractive to non-residents. If the board applies their vision of excellence to this endeavor, the open enrollment deficit can become a surplus and everyone wins, especially the kids.

Note: I am very passionate about this. I am holding a “Meet the Candidate” forum on March 2 to explore this issue (see my ad in this week’s Review).

Review Q 3: Budget considerations to save money.

Question 3: The budget challenges of the last few years could continue to be an issue for ECSD in the coming years. What one idea would you propose to the board to minimize the impact of the drastic reduction in state aid experienced in 2010? (Published on page 3 of the February 13th edition of the Evansville Review).

The state of Wisconsin spent 26 billion dollars in fiscal year 2012, 6.24 billion dollars of which supported public schools (1).  School funding represents the second largest expenditure in the state budget and as such is open to scrutiny during budgetary droughts such as we have endured since late 2007.  In an effort to balance the last biennial budget, Governor Walker cut public school aid by $550 per student in 2011-12. This slashed nearly a million dollars, or about 5%, from the ECSD budget. The district ended that fiscal year about $160,000 in the red. This year’s budget was the first balanced budget presented to the board in five years and was achieved only after a lot of sacrifice on the part of many. The administration recently presented three budget scenarios for next year, the worst of which predicts a shortfall of $750,000.  This is not a sustainable financial model.

Following the state’s model of seeking savings from the largest piece of the spending pie, one must first evaluate the district spending. Salaries and benefits account for over 70% of the ECSD expenditures and creative ways to deliver this part of the budget will likely be the only way to make a significant dent in this potential deficit. Currently there is a committee investigating lower cost insurance alternatives which could result in significant savings.  Another committee is looking at the co-and extra-curricular activity contracts compared with conference averages. The teachers’ union agreed to contract concessions last year that leave little to achieve here. The business management of ECSD has exhausted the traditional routes for fiscal responsibility in the area of salary and benefits since the recession started.

An idea that was rejected by the district about five years ago may be worth revisiting in these tight economic times.  School districts across the country have considered a return to the traditional seven-period day from the block schedule as a way to reduce costs.  Closer to home, Edgerton recently switched from the block to the traditional schedule to contain expenditures. A brief literature review suggests that a school can realize an average annual savings of 5-10% in this area, depending on the schedule used (2). Another advantage of the traditional schedule may well be in the area of student achievement. A number of studies demonstrate that a seven-period day enhances student achievement on the ACT and SAT. Edgerton has seen a gradual increase in ACT performance since 2009. I did an analysis a few years ago that also supports this conclusion. Among ten Wisconsin high schools with enrollments similar to ECSD, those that maintained the traditional schedule showed higher average performance on the ACT from 2000-2007.  Conversely, other studies indicate that block schedule enables increased student achievement. This was a primary reason touted in the 90’s to switch to a block schedule format in the first place. The contradictory literature suggests there is more to learn about the possible link between student achievement and schedule.

There are some drawbacks with the traditional schedule as well. Students in a block schedule can double up on their math and science classes, best preparing those that are college bound to take the PSAT in early fall of their junior year.  Students can only take one math and science class a year on a traditional schedule and any transition to a seven-period day would need to equally prepare students for the PSAT. Another downside to the traditional schedule is that more textbooks would be required because kids would all be in class year around.  Any change of this magnitude would cause growing pains in any district, but if returning to a seven-period day would cut expenditures AND could help kids improve their academic achievement at the same time, this is one idea whose time may have come. It is certainly worth further investigation.

(1). ftp://doaftp1380.wi.gov/doadocs/2012%20CAFR_Linked.pdf

(2). http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/intern-research/reports/blockschedule.pdf

I'm posting my answers to the Review Qs here.

So, I thought I'd get the word out on my platform here. I'm going to post a series of answers I put in the review. I don't have access to my opponents answers, but you can see the Review date and look it up at the library if you want. I was also sent a list of six questions from the Teachers's Union a few weeks ago. I'm going to post those too in second series. So here's the first two Qs with my answers that ran on page 7 of the Evansville Review:

Q1: Background information and motivation.

Name:

Work Experience:

Education:

Age:

Spouse:

Spouse’s Occupation:

Other family members:

Volunteer Service:

Previous Public School Affiliations:

Previous Public Service or Elected Office/Years Served:

Recreational Pursuits:

Answer 1:

Name: Melissa Hammann

Work Experience: I worked for fifteen years in the chemical industry, first as an organic synthetic chemist producing photoactive compounds for a novel new imaging system and then as an analytical chemist for Wisconsin Energies. I became a homemaker in 1997, after our second child was born and my husband Bill took a job that required more than half of his time on the road.  The Review needed a reporter to cover the school board proceedings in 2010. My previous three years as school board clerk uniquely qualified me for the job. I stopped covering the school board to run for this office. 

Education: I earned a BA in Chemistry and an MS in Organic Synthetic Chemistry.

Age: I turned 54 last September.

Spouse: I’ve been married to my husband Bill Hammann for almost 24 years.

Spouse’s Occupation: Bill specified and built a coating facility for D&K Coatings in Janesville, where he continues to serve as the plant manager.  We moved to Evansville in 1998 as the plant was completed and have embraced the many opportunities available to give back to the community. 

Other family members: We have three great kids. Sarah is 18, graduated EHS in 2012 and attends UW-Madison. Holly is 16 and is a sophomore at EHS. Will is 13 and attends 7^th grade at JC McKenna Middle School. 

Volunteer Service: I began volunteering in the school system when our oldest started kindergarten. I helped with learning stations and acted as a reading buddy. I provided assistance as needed for classrooms such as food or supervision for parties. Once our youngest was finished at the elementary school we focused on other community volunteer opportunities as a family.

I served from 2006-2010 as co-chair for the publicity committee of the Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree, the largest K-5 PTO fundraiser in the district. This became a chance for our entire family to volunteer. The kids baked goodies and as they got old enough, ran games and volunteered to run the café.

The Eager Free Public Library provided foundational preschool programs for our kids from the day we moved here. We began volunteering for the summer fundraisers sponsored by the EFPL Friends group as a way to show our appreciation. The kids bake cakes and scoop ice cream while Bill and I do our best to outbid others at the Ice Cream Social auction. We provide muscle to help move what seems like a ton of books in preparation for the annual Sidewalk Days used book sale in early August.

Along with other swim team parents, I provided transportation to and from Edgerton for daily practices, since the school board could not provide the funds necessary to support the new sport this year. 

Previous Public School Affiliations:  ECSD volunteer 1999-2010.

Previous Public Service or Elected Office/Years Served:   I was honored to serve as clerk of the Evansville Community School District Board of Education from 2007-2010. 

Q2:  A few years ago, the ECSD produced its Vision Statement in collaboration with the community:

“Creating a culture of excellence in:

• Academic achievement

• Character development

• Pursuit of arts, athletics, and other activities

• Community engagement

• Highly effective staff”

The Evansville Board of Education must balance the needs of many stakeholders in pursuit of this Vision. Who do you view as the primary customer of the school board and why?  How would you provide excellent service for this customer?

Answer 2: If we consider the district Mission Statement in combination with the Vision Statement above, a clearer answer to this complex question begins to emerge. The Mission Statement for the Evansville Community School District (ECSD) states “The Evansville Community School District, in active partnership with families and the community, will provide a positive learning environment that challenges all students to achieve personal excellence and become contributing citizens of the world community.”  The Mission Statement sets the stage to think of the ECSD as a business with the unique product of graduates who are well prepared to take the next step in their life journey toward becoming contributing citizens of the world community. If competent students are the product of the district and the school board is charged with governance of the school district, the primary customer of the school board is the collective of young adult employers: secondary education, the military and entry level employers. Each of these stepping stones comes with its own set of prerequisites that students must complete in high school. The role of the board of education in this case is to allocate revenue to support the programs and curriculum choices that will prepare students adequately for these challenges. Individual members of the Board of Education are responsible to inform themselves sufficiently so they can work with the board as a team to meet this objective.

I offer four strengths to help the school board provide excellent service to future employers of our students. First of all, my analytical skills are outstanding and are applicable to a wide variety of school board responsibilities from budget analysis to student achievement evaluation. I had many opportunities to scrutinize data as a former board member and, more recently, as a reporter.  I wrote a series of articles featuring the new Wisconsin District and School Report Cards that relied heavily on my ability to evaluate and interpret data. The Report Cards are required as a part of Agenda 2017, Wisconsin’s new school improvement plan that replaces the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. Fundamental understanding of the criteria on which the Report Cards are based will be central in helping ECSD achieve a number of state goals mandated by Agenda 2017.

A second area in which I am proficient is school finance. I have honed this knowledge by following the ECSD budget process for seven years and continue to be an active student of this often convoluted financial process. I will be able to join the board in April ready to help govern in this area. The experienced members of the board will be able to depend on my informed vote from day one. This becomes even more important in light of the recent economic recession, state aid cuts from Act 10 and increasing debt service obligations. It has been my observation that this perfect storm of financial challenges facing the ECSD has forced the board into crisis management mode. Proposed changes in programs and curriculum must be evaluated first in terms of budget constraints and then with regard to their educational value added to the district, students and our customers. This is not an ideal situation. The district vision of excellence will remain elusive until the board can stop reacting to daily budget fires and proceed to outline a pathway to excellence. My presence on the board would provide continuity in board financial expertise and may help the board get to the business of proactively governing for excellence even faster.

The third advantage I offer to enhance customer service in the district is the autonomous viewpoint of one outside of the vast public education apparatus. I am not an educator and I have no financial or familial connection to the school district. That independence helps maintain the concept of impartial governance intended by the legislature when establishing school boards in the first place. It can also provide some unconventional and creative thinking that will be valuable as budget pressures mount in the coming years. The worst case scenario budget forecast for next year predicts a deficit of nearly $750,000 only two years after facing a projected $672,000 shortfall. For a variety of reasons, the fiscal year ending in 2012 had a shortfall of only about $160,000: still problematic but much better. This is not a sustainable financial model for the district. Business as usual is no longer an option and novel ideas to provide funding will be necessary in order for the district to retain a competitive edge. History supports that creative thinking is enhanced when one adopts a new perspective such as I can provide.

Finally, and perhaps most critically, my personality will help serve the primary customers of the school board. I am confident in my abilities and will always seek information to aid in governing the district. My persistence coupled with my training as a scientist compels me to search for answers that can be independently verified. If I am elected, I will use all of my skills to actively partner with the ECSD Board of Education as it pursues its vision of excellence. 

Turnout for my forum was a little more than expected!

I had more people attend my forum than family members who attended, so I think that can go into the plus column as campaigns go in this town. The topic was one that seems to inspire a lot of drama (open enrollment) and apparently not a small concern for retribution and other foolish rebound on those simply choosing to do what they think is best for their kids. I sarcastically suggested on my facebook page that I take the data from the six children represented by the citizens who attended and extrapolate to the 85 who enrolled out. Of course I would not do that in the effort to understand the full extent of the problem. But it would be fun to go to the board with this ridiculous data chart and make my conclusions.

Last year, that's what the district did when they surveyed outgoing families and used the data from 17 families representing an unknown percentage of the students. Presuming a one to one ratio, that is a 20% response rate. It's true that that is how all public policy data is collected, but this very complicated issue seems to have associated with it a big component of fear and desire for complete anonymity, limiting the participation of the ones who have bad things to say about your programs. I have begged, pleaded and otherwise groveled with my friends going out of the district to succinctly tell the board president AND the administrator the straight poop on why they are leaving. Because, you see, the stories I hear are from frustrated and angry people who often feel they wasted years of their kid's achievement gains trying to work within the system. That is never highlighted in a board meeting, never mentioned, never given creedance to. Disillusioned parents are not dealt with in a constructive manner, according to the stories of those who would share their pain with me. I have asked on facebook and will ask here as well: If you or any of your friends have enrolled in or out of the district, please email me with the reasons why! I promise complete confidentiality and representation only as a piece in a pie chart and a contribution in a "why I left" summary or "why we came here." Comments can be made to this blog or you can email me directly at mhammann@charter.net. I really do want data for this. I have never heard somebody come to me and say: We enroll our kid out because it's easier and closer to where we live, or it's near our parents, or it's where I went. I'm sure there are those that fall into that category and my goal is to try to establish the pie chart to begin the conversation about how to reverse the trends. I'd love a signal boost if to those folks if you know more who could help! Thanks blog folk!

Meet the Candidate March 2 at Eager Free Public Library

Melissa M. Hammann, 2013 Candidate for Evansville Community School District Board of Education, invites you to attend a “Meet the Candidate” forum at Eager Free Public Library.

Topic: Open Enrollment

Come explore the topic of Open Enrollment with me! I want to gain a full understanding of this issue with the goal of helping the board reverse the mounting revenue losses attributed to it. Those who have enrolled their children in and out of the district are encouraged to share their stories. Together let’s use your data to transform open enrollment from a district liability into an asset and ultimately position our schools to meet every child’s educational needs.



Date:        Saturday March 2
Time:       10 AM – NOON
Location: Eager Free Public Library Lower Level
                39 W. Main St.
                Evansville, WI 53536 Lower Level

Our first kid graduates from EHS: That brilliant smile was worth all the hard work helping her get to this day.

Media Need to Know Superintendent Applicants a Mystery to Me

Last year Evansville had the same issue as Madison found themselves in this week in which only one candidate ending up passing the board review to the final community meeting. It baffles me why the media wants to publish the names of the ones who don't pass the board's final criteria. Do they want to embarrass the ones who don't make the cut? Do they think they are more qualified to vet the candidates than the board and the search firm that they hired? Or are they just interested in causing drama? The case of the Madison School Board not having a well-vetted candidate is something they need to take up with the search firm and arguably becomes subject to open records because a lot of taxpayer funds were spent for this firm to present viable candidates. However, the names of those that didn't make it to the final cut are not anybody's business and could be problematic for their longevity in their current jobs. I will never see how this becomes an issue of open records.

Thank you blog friends!

I want to take the time to thank my blog friends Chasinthenews and Evansville Observer for generously covering my school board campaign. You guys rock. I don't have the Observer linked on my blog anymore because every time I try to link it, some Indonesian blog gets posted instead. Don't know why and keep forgetting to mention this to my friend. I don't want to post much about my board views on this blog because I don't want to see the fiasco happen that unfolded last year when a candidate opened a FB page and it ended up very controversial. So, check out Chasin's blog and Observer's blog (Evansvilleobserver.blogspot.com) to see some of my views. Kelly Gildner is featuring two questions for each candidate in The Review this week as well! My plea is for all voters to inform themselves regarding the issues facing the district and the candidates' platforms to help face those issues. I do believe that once folks are informed of these things, they will choose me as one of their two choices in April, otherwise I wouldn't be running for the office. Arm yourself with data and then go vote on April 2! This has been a public service message brought to you by Melissa Hammann for Evansville Community School District Board of Education!