LEGISLATURE FAILS TO REACH COMPROMISE
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 -- 2:27 PM
For weeks, we've been hearing that if a budget wasn't passed by October 15th, property taxes could go up.Monday, we learned it wasn't a bluff.
State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster issued a statement explaining statute directs the Department of Public Instruction to certify state general equalization aid for school districts by October 15.
Because there was no new state budget, the aid amount stays unchanged.
That's not good according to Neillsville administrator John Gaier.
Most districts put their budgets together using "guesstimates," or projected aid increases. Seeing those increases won't be realized, Gaier says the Neillsville school board will have to decide between budget cuts, property tax increases or a combination of both.
"It doesn't jive well at all," Gaier says of the projected increases and the status quo. "It's about a $240,000 loss of aid for the school district of Neillsville."
Gaier is sending an update to school board members. They are scheduled to meet next Monday. They're considering holding a public meeting to explain the situation.
As Democrats and Republicans blame each other in Madison, local officials are just frustrated. The state puts budget deadlines on local governments, but can't seem to meet their own.
"Hypocrisy seems to run wild sometimes at the Capital. I know they have difficult work to do, but they have people that are dependent on them as well. They need to take those people into consideration," Gaier says. "In my opinion, this should have been a priority much earlier than now."
Gaier suspects the legislature may try to avoid further bad press by passing a budget in the next couple weeks. While it might put extra stress on the DPI, it's possible a major property tax increase could be avoided, or, Gaier says, the legislature may try to send two-years' worth of aid increases to schools next year. The result would be increased property taxes this year, a big dip next year and a big increase in the third year.
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