Rail debate puts budget woes aside

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By Matt Pommer

Wisconsin School Superintendent Tony Evers’ proposals for changing the state’s education finance were dead on arrival, thanks to the $420 million price tag and a projected multibillion budget deficit.

“There won’t be more of anything for the next two years. Everybody’s got to take less,” said Sen. Mike Ellis of Neenah, the senior Republican in the Legislature.

Wisconsin faces a major deficit. Estimates range from $1.5 billion, according to the Doyle administration, to $3.3 billion, according to the incoming Walker administration. The wide range reflects uncertainty over tax collections and federal Medicaid aid.

Other states are in far worse shape. California faces a $26 billion hole, Minnesota’s problem is put at $6 billion and Illinois — which is struggling just to pay ongoing bills — faces an estimated $15 billion hole.

Even Texas apparently faces a $15 billion gap.

Only a few mineral-rich Western states lack ongoing budget problems. You can blame either George W. Bush or Barack Obama, depending on your political bent, for the economic problems facing the nation and the states.

The controversy over a high-speed rail line has stolen the headlines from the budget crisis. At a Republican Governors Association meeting this month in California, Gov.-elect Scott Walker was busy talking about public employee benefit change. He left the specifics for his midwinter budget message that he will deliver in Madison.

As the result of furloughs over the past two years, state employees effectively have taken a 3 percent cut in take-home pay.

Trains and pay freezes are entertaining politics, but the real budget problems lie with two multibillion-dollar programs — Medicaid and state school aid.

Evers made a thoughtful proposal to overhaul state school finance. But without more state money to help, the changes would mean some districts would get less and others would get more.

The conservative MacIver Institute for Public Policy issued a statement that the problem with school financing is a “lack of political will.” What’s needed, according to the statement, is a “more equitable funding formula” using existing state aid.

“More equitable funding” usually means “I want more and you can get by with less.”

Perhaps the MacIver folks would like to see higher state aid levels restored to the suburban districts near Milwaukee. Those areas provided large pluralities for the Republican ticket this fall.

Ellis has suggested the Wisconsin state budget crisis could be met by an across- the-board reduction of 3 to 4 percent in all appropriations. The Medicaid cuts would be made by state government — reducing coverage or services. But cutting education spending would fall to the state’s 424 school boards.

It could be worse for school board members. They could be living in Illinois or Minnesota.

Matt Pommer worked as a reporter in Madison for 35 years. He comments on state political and policy issues.