Monthly Archives: December, 2022

(The Center Square) – A new report says part of the solution to the nation’s student loan crisis is for colleges and universities to be more honest with students before they pick a major.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Tuesday released its report ‘Bang for the Buck-y’ which looks at the costs and return on investment for various degrees at various schools here in Wisconsin.

“We make the case that public universities must serve as good stewards of taxpayer money, and those that are putting students on career paths where they’re unlikely to be able to pay their student loans ought to be held accountable,” the authors wrote. “Moreover, universities should aid in solving the growing workforce crisis by steering students towards careers where there are shortages in the state.”

WILL’s report ranks two-year, four-year, technical and beauty schools for loan default rates, and ranks majors at various campuses based on their return on investment.

Beauty schools in Wisconsin have, by far, the worst rate of students paying back their loans. The report notes that 10 beauty schools have a loan default rate above 11%, with the State College of Beauty Culture reporting a 28.5% rate of student loan default. By comparison, UW- Milwaukee has the highest default rate for four-year, UW schools at 6.2%.

“We should not ignore the extremely high default rates at many beauty schools,” the report notes. “Various cosmetology licenses require a certain number of hours at a state licensed school of cosmetology, barbering, or aesthetics.10 Given the default rates, one must question the utility of these programs.”

UW-Madison has the second lowest rate of students defaulting on their loans, at just 0.9%. Only the Nashotah House Seminary has a lower rate of default.

The report also looks at return on investment (ROI) for college majors. And once again there is a massive difference.

“The major with the most negative ROI is dance. All else equal, a student who majors in dance at UW-Milwaukee is likely to have a net negative effect on their lifetime earnings of nearly $250,000,” the authors wrote. “On the other end of the spectrum is perhaps what one might expect—five engineering majors. If a student with the same demographic profile and background chose a computer engineering major over dance, the net effect on their lifetime earnings would be expected to be $712,072.”

WILL’s report makes three suggestions to help turn things around.

One, the report says schools need to be much more honest with students about the return on investment for college majors. The report also suggests schools have students sign informed consent forms for certain majors, so students know just what they are getting into. And finally, the report suggests incentives for colleges and universities which help students get degrees with higher returns on investment, and the schools that see fewer students default on their loans.

(The Center Square) – Public schools in Wisconsin are getting more expensive in the latest round of property tax bills that are being mailed this month.

A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum says taxpayers will pay more than $78 million for K-12 schools on their latest property tax bills.

“Statewide K-12 property taxes will rise for the 11th-straight year,” the report notes.

The Policy Forum calls the $78 million increase “modest,” and says while people will be paying more in taxes, their tax rates will technically fall.

“This year, modest property tax increases for each of [the] four types of local governments will coincide with about a 14% increase in the value of property in the state – the highest single-year increase in recent memory.” the report explains. “So while many taxpayers will see higher bills (depending, in part, on whether their property has been reassessed this year), tax rates will decline because the value of property is increasing much faster.”

The four types of property taxes include Wisconsin’s school districts, counties, technical colleges, and special districts. The report does not look at taxes for cities, villages, and towns because the data on those won’t be available until early next year.

Wisconsin limits local tax increases as an attempt to lower the cost for taxpayers. But the report notes that many school districts have turned to voter-approved tax increases (referendum questions) to get around those limits.

“Since the beginning of 2018, voters around the state have approved 456 referendum questions – more than one per district. That includes 246 for operating budgets and 210 for borrowing for capital projects,” the report states. “Property tax levies increased 3.7% on December tax bills in those districts that have adopted referenda since 2020 while they fell 1.3% in districts that have not. In all, 285 of the 421 (67.7%) K-12 districts have passed at least one referendum in the last five years, with many passing more than one.”

Some of the biggest increases in local taxes have come in Wisconsin’s biggest school districts, Milwaukee and Madison, because of those voter-approved tax referendum questions.

“This year, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) will raise its levy by more than $14 million, an increase of 4.7% that is greater than the statewide average. The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is raising its levy by just under $6 million, or about 1.6% - just above average,” the report notes. “While not the sole cause, it is worth noting that in 2020, both of the state’s largest districts passed operating referenda to exceed levy limits with increases that ramped up over multiple years; MMSD also passed a debt referendum.”

The report ends with a conclusion that lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers have a decision to make on local school funding. The report recognizes that Wisconsin has a record $6.6 billion budget surplus, and questions how much of it can be used to keep property taxes in the state low.

You can read the Policy Forum’s report here.

(The Center Square) – The Green Bay Area Public School District is preparing for a "significant fiscal cliff" for the 2024-25 school year once federal emergency funding for COVID-19 dries up.

Like school districts across the U.S., federal emergency funds have allowed districts to realize an increase in funding during the pandemic.

Federal money for the district's general fund has increased from $12.2 million in 2019 to $33.5 million in 2022, a 175% increase. Total revenues for the district jumped from $275.6 million in 2019 to $304.6 million in 2022, an 11% increase.

But the federal emergency funds are running out. The district is projecting $28.5 million in federal funds in 2023, far more than the pre-pandemic days but a $5 million decrease from the year before.

While the district has had an increase in funding, enrollment has declined over the past six years, peaking at 21,937 students in 2016-17 and dropping to 19,828 in 2022-23.

Green Bay schools' spokeswoman Lori Blakeslee said the district relied on $12.5 million of COVID-19 emergency funds for operational expenses in the 2022-23 budget. The federal money helps offset no increase in state per pupil aid, Blakeslee said.

"The District is currently planning for a significant fiscal cliff for the 2024-25 school year," Blakeslee said in an email. "Our state legislature will be working on the state budget this next session, which begins in January."

Blakeslee said the district used its federal relief money to hire contact tracers, additional nurses, additional staff to support students, technology and personal protective equipment. The money was also used for all-day summer school programing.

"With the (federal emergency) funds being one-time money, we have been reducing staff back to pre-pandemic levels," Blakeslee said.

(The Center Square) – There will be a Republican-vs.-Republican race for the open state Senate seat in the Milwaukee suburbs.

Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Monday said she is jumping into the race to replace Alberta Darling.

“After long hours of consulting with my family, friends and countless political allies, I have decided that the best place for me to continue to represent the people of Wisconsin would be in the 8th Senate District,” Brandtjen said in a statement.

Darling announced her retirement about two weeks ago. She’s served the area that includes parts of northern Milwaukee County, southern Washington County, and northern Waukesha County for more than 30 years.

Brandtjen is currently the state representative for a third of Darling’s 8th Senate District. She will face the other Republican in Darling’s district, Rep. Dan Knodl. Knodl announced his campaign for the state senate last week.

Brandtjen is on the outs with leadership in the Assembly.

She was disinvited from the Assembly Republican caucus, and is widely expected to lose her committee chairmen position when lawmakers return for a new session in Madison in January.

Brandtjen became a very vocal critic of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos during the investigations into the 2020 election in Wisconsin.

Brandtjen went on to support Vos’ primary opponent Adam Steen.

Brandtjen talked-up her conservative bona fides in her campaign announcement.

“I can guarantee that I will continue to fight for the principles that every American shares. No one has fought harder for Life, Second Amendment rights, keeping your family safe and allowing every family to send their children to a great school,” she added.

Gov. Evers on Friday set the dates for the special election to replace Darling. They fall on the same dates as the previously scheduled spring election. That means the primary will be February 21, and Election Day will be April 4.

Public employee pension systems are some of the largest financial liabilities on state government balance sheets. The 50 states have over $4.5 trillion in cumulative pension liabilities combined, roughly double the amount all 50 states spent in fiscal 2020. For years, state pension systems were woefully underfunded in much of the country, but according to a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, this trend may be reversing.

Driven by higher investment from both employees and employers, state pension systems have largely stabilized as of 2020. Since 2007, states across the country have more than doubled annual pension contributions, often cutting funding for other programs to do so.

Still, some states are better positioned to pay public sector employees in retirement than others. In Wisconsin, estimated pension liabilities totaled an estimated $118.7 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, the state's pension assets totaled $125.0 billion. Considering both assets and liabilities, Wisconsin's pension funding ratio is 105.3%, the highest in the country.

According to 2021 estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Wisconsin state government employs some 91,500 people, or 3.2% of the total private and public sector workforce in the state.

It is important to note that 2020 is the most recent year for which comprehensive state level data is available and that the recent market downturn has all but erased much of the financial gains states have made in recent years. Still, while markets are always susceptible to turmoil, improved policies have gone a long way to improving pension funding in much of the country.

All state pension data in this story was compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts using comprehensive annual financial reports from each state.

RankStatePension funding ratio (%)Total pension liabilities ($B)Total pension assets ($B)State gov. employment as share of workforce (%)50Wisconsin105.3118.7125.03.249South Dakota100.012.312.34.048Tennessee98.142.741.93.047Utah96.640.439.05.046Washington95.1110.6105.14.245Nebraska91.817.015.64.244Idaho89.120.117.93.743North Carolina86.7119.0103.24.442New York86.2229.9198.12.741Delaware85.212.710.87.240Iowa82.942.134.94.339Maine82.518.415.13.938Ohio81.7213.3174.23.137West Virginia80.819.615.96.736Minnesota80.788.371.23.435Wyoming78.612.39.65.134Georgia77.3126.897.93.433Nevada77.060.746.72.932Oregon75.890.168.32.331Missouri75.479.559.93.530Arkansas75.336.827.76.029Florida74.5217.5161.92.728Virginia74.4106.779.43.927Oklahoma73.545.133.24.926California71.8689.9495.53.225Maryland69.978.654.94.224Colorado69.583.958.34.523Indiana69.045.031.13.622Texas67.5288.7194.93.321Alabama67.458.539.45.920Montana67.317.511.85.619Kansas66.331.120.63.618Alaska65.623.115.17.317Louisiana63.255.935.44.616Arizona61.980.249.63.015Michigan60.4108.265.44.114Mississippi59.147.828.25.013New Hampshire58.815.69.23.412Pennsylvania58.5160.093.62.511Vermont58.48.04.75.910Massachusetts55.9103.657.93.49North Dakota55.410.86.05.38Rhode Island54.212.16.64.07Hawaii53.232.717.411.56South Carolina51.760.431.35.05New Mexico50.055.827.96.64Kentucky44.654.824.44.73Connecticut42.674.631.84.32New Jersey38.4208.279.93.41Illinois37.5246.292.32.5