Figure 5.3
The PPSCP program is funded in a simpler manner than the MPCP. Equalization aid to the Racine district is reduced to fund 38.4% of the program ($594,000 in 2011-’12), and the rest, $1,546,875, is funded from a direct appropriation from the general fund. 97 Because the PPSCP was capped at 250 pupils in 2011-’12, but is no longer capped beginning in 2013-’14, those numbers are likely to grow.98
Independent Charter School Program Wisconsin’s Independent Charter School program allows three independent entities — the city of Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Milwaukee Area Technical College — to authorize nondistrict charter schools in Milwaukee. One independent authorizer, UW-Parkside, is authorized to charter a single public school in Racine. Even though independent of public school districts, these independent charter schools are public schools and may not screen students prior to admission. Parents apply directly to the school they wish their child to attend, and schools accept students via random lottery. Each student attending a charter school generates $7,775 in program specific funding for the school he or she attends. In 2011’12, 6,863 students (membership) generated $53,398,700 in payments to 19 independent charter schools.99 Independent charter schools are funded through an equal percentage aid reduction for every Wisconsin school district. School districts are empowered to offset the aid reduction through their property tax levy, which the majority of school districts do. In 2011-’12, the equal aid reduction was set at 1.3%, meaning every school district in the state had its equalization aid reduced by 1.3% to fund the independent charter school program.100 Notably, students in these schools are not counted by any school district for aid or revenue limit purposes.
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Milwaukee Funding Flaw The “funding flaw” in Milwaukee is commonly understood as the impact on Milwaukee property taxes of not counting students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) and Independent Charter School program as part of MPS membership for purposes of property valuation. Counting these students would result in a lower per-pupil property valuation, which would increase state education aid to MPS, and correspondingly lower the MPS tax levy. Originally, the funding flaw was defined by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as the higher per-pupil Milwaukee taxpayer cost of students using the MPCP compared to students using MPS. However, since 2008-’09 the cost to a Milwaukee taxpayer of an MPCP pupil has been less than the cost of an MPS pupil. In 2011, the net impact of the flaw as currently defined was $35.6 million. Below is specifically how that number is calculated: 1. When a student transfers to the MPCP from MPS, there is an initial savings to the Milwaukee taxpayer, because the per-pupil local property tax for a MPCP pupil is lower ($1,994 in 2010-’11) than the per-pupil local property tax for a MPS pupil ($2,951 in 2010-’11). In other words, each student switching from MPS to the MPCP saves Milwaukee taxpayers $957. So initially the choice program saves Milwaukee taxpayers $19.4 million (20,300 students X $957). 2. However, once students are in the MPCP, they are also no longer counted in the district’s per-pupil property valuation calculation despite being supported in part by the MPS levy. Counting these students for purposes of property valuation would lower MPS’ per-pupil property WPRI Report