We’ll discuss a new bill that would make it easier to sell municipal water or sewer utilities in the state. We’ll also explore schools in rural Wisconsin that are seeing lower enrollment rates and less funding, as operational costs continue to grow. An education researcher explains why the state’s schools are facing a perfect storm, and discusses what can be done to help. We also hear an argument for converting all our utilities to clean energy.
Featured in this Show
-
Study: Wisconsin's Rural School Districts Face Declining Enrollment, Less Funding
Wisconsin’s rural school districts face a “perfect storm” of declining enrollment and uncertain funding, posing tough questions about their future, according to a new report.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher said that the information she compiled in her report are the kind of problems that won’t go away any time soon.
“Rural districts have definitely seen a dramatic decline,” said Sarah Kemp, an education researcher. “Close to 73 percent of these districts over the last five years have seen decreases in their enrollment.”
Kemp said she expects the declining trend to continue into the foreseeable future as rural areas, particularly in northern Wisconsin, have seen decreasing birth rates and an overall aging population.
Enrollment is a key component used to determine how much funding a school district receives.
“If you have declining enrollment, you have declining funding,” Kemp said.
With shrinking budgets, school administrators are forced to look at cost-saving measures. Kemp’s report found that rural districts are particularly vulnerable to higher fixed costs compared to their urban counterparts.
“Unfortunately, districts have to look at places where they need to cut and when we have fixed costs like transportation and food, those are increasing overtime and have to be incurred. So, the district has to look at other ways to do that, and one of those ways might be in teacher cuts,” said Kemp.
Kemp said there’s been a lot of discussion over the years to modify the school funding formula to direct more money to rural districts. It’s a conversation that she said is needed.
Looking ahead, Kemp said rural school districts could face a 3 to 5 percent enrollment decline in the next five years. It could be even worse for early year education. Some rural districts could see an 8 to 10 percent decline in elementary school enrollment.
-
A New Bill Would Make It Easier To Sell Municipal Water & Sewer Utilities
A new bill being considered in Wisconsin would make it easier to sell municipal water or sewage treatment utilities to out of state private parties. We’ll learn more from a state capitol reporter.
-
How To Achieve An All-Electric Energy Future
A long-time energy policy expert explains what he thinks America needs to do in order to transition to an all-electric energy future, and why it’s important.
-
Many rural schools are facing declining enrollment, uncertain funding, and fixed costs that won’t go away any time soon. A researcher describes the “perfect storm” facing these districts–and the tough choices they face in the future.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- Rob Ferrett Producer
- KP Whaley Producer
- Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
- Sarah Kemp Guest
- Steve Verburg Guest
- David Freeman Guest
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
