WMUK Story
Local public radio station WMUK did a story on April 30 on the millage. A transcript of the story can be found at http://wmuk.org/election.htt?select_race=t&pkeyElectionRaceID=76 . This link also includes links to an audio version of the story, and links to interviews with: Tim Bartik of Citizens for KPS; Shirley Johnson, President of the Portage School Board; and Ray Wilson of the Kalamazoo County Taxpayers Association.
In his interview, Mr. Wilson repeats an argument that is sometimes made against the millage. The argument goes as follows, to quote Mr. Wilson: “...[I]n the 3 years of the KRESA tax, funding from the state has gone up 7.5%, the foundation grant, which is roughly the cost of inflation. Now, that’s not a huge increase, but it is an increase. And it takes away the original justification that they hadn’t had any increase in funding. The schools have had increases in funding from the state during those 3 years, so it gets rid of the justification for the KRESA tax.”
Several points refute this argument:
1. Inflation during the past 3 years has been 9.8%. 7.5% is not “roughly the cost of inflation”, but 2.3% less than inflation. (See previous post , "The Real Level of School Funding Per Student".)
2. Although most school districts in Kalamazoo County received an increased foundation grant of 7.5% from 2004-05 to 2007-08, Kalamazoo Public Schools only received an increase of 6.3%.
3. Finally, there is a point of logic. Three years ago, county voters decided by a majority that the funding per student received from the state was inadequate, and should be supplemented by the enhancement millage to ensure adequate services to students. Even if the foundation grant increase for all school districts had been as great as the rate of inflation (which it was not), this would imply that the real funding from the state would have been unchanged. The need for the millage funds to maintain adequate services to students would be the same in 2008 as in 2005. Because the rate of increase in funding was actually less than the rate of inflation, the need for millage funds to maintain adequate services to students is greater in 2008 than it was in 2005.
Point 3 can be illustrated by an extreme example. Suppose all prices doubled, and the state foundation grant per student doubled. Could anyone legitimately claim that the schools would be able to afford to provide better services? The schools would have twice as much in dollars, but if prices have doubled, the schools need to spend twice as much to provide the same level of services.
In other words, once one adjusts for inflation, schools have NOT received a real increase in the state foundation grant per student. In fact, the real per student foundation grant has been reduced in the three years since the enhancement millage was passed.