Teachers concerned with board’s tax-cutting direction

JANESVILLE — Some Janesville public school teachers might be worried that the school board’s move to pare a tax increase will affect the quality of education as well as their bottom lines.

Teachers are expected to speak at the school board meeting Tuesday night. They’ll likely address the board’s request that the administration come up with a list of ways to cut $1 million from the 2008-09 budget.

Not all teachers might have the same concerns, however.

Teacher Sam Loizzo, president of the Janesville Education Association, said he understands that the board has a job to do at a time when the community is facing major layoffs.

“I’m really in favor of working with people instead of being a thorn in their side,” Loizzo said.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the school board looking at all these different options.” Loizzo said. “My biggest concern, of course is how that is going to relate to teachers and teacher cutbacks as well as to the overall quality of education in this community.”

Raising the issue in an e-mail to teachers-union officials was Ted Lewis, director of Rock Valley Education Professionals, the former Rock Valley United Teachers, which is affiliated with the state teachers union umbrella group known as WEAC.

Lewis was at the table for the recent teacher-board contract negotiations.

Lewis said the board should do all it can to bolster education in the community because great schools are the thing that will help Janesville attract new business and get through the economic difficulties.

Lewis contends that Janesville has a serious problem of losing experienced teachers. He said Janesville’s average teacher salary is lowest among districts of similar size.

Instead of lowering taxes, the district should use its resources to improve education and teacher compensation, Lewis said.

Superintendent Tom Evert noted that the board and union already have a teachers contract, and the district will fulfill its obligations to the teachers under that contract.

“I’m not certain where Mr. Lewis is headed with his concerns, but I would always be interested in talking with him directly,” Evert said.

School board member Tim Cullen said the board’s obligation is to come as close as it can get to a no-tax-increase budget, given the economic situation.

Cullen said, however, that he would not vote to cut teaching positions and is most interested in examining mid-level management for possible cuts.

Evert said teachers is the last thing he would cut as he looks to find the savings the board has asked for.

Cullen noted that whatever Evert comes up with is not necessarily what the board will do.

“Some of these more activist teachers ought to just wait to see what the proposals are, and if board starts to go in a direction they’re not happy with, then I’d expect them to react, but to react now seems premature,” Cullen said.

“I don’t see anything wrong with exploring different avenues as to how the district can save money or help the taxpayer out in a time when there’s a great hurt in this community and we can do something to help each other out,” Loizzo said.

Loizzo said he would attend Tuesday’s board meeting but would not necessarily speak.

“I think everyone is entitled to air their views, and I definitely would never squelch anyone from trying to present something to the board,” Loizzo said.

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The issue: The Janesville School Board, looking for ways to give taxpayers a break during difficult economic times, asked Superintendent Tom Evert on June 29 to come up with a list of ways cut the 2008-09 budget by as much as $1 million.

What’s new: Teachers and a union official are upset that possible cuts would affect teacher quality, the quality of education and the district’s ability to pay teachers. They say great teachers and programs are needed to bolster the community’s attractiveness during these difficult times.

What’s next: The Janesville School Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Educational Services Center, 527 S. Franklin St. Comments from the public are allowed and generally are limited to three minutes. Superintendent Tom Evert plans to reveal his list for the board’s Aug. 12 meeting. The board is scheduled to consider approval of the 2008-09 budget Aug. 26.

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BATTLING STATISTICS

Ted Lewis of Rock Valley Education Professionals sent out statistics to Janesville teachers to bolster his arguments that cutting taxes would harm education and the community. Those statistics reflect two major issues:

Teacher quality

Lewis: The school district should improve education and help the local economy by paying good wages and benefits to retain good teachers. Teacher quality is already threatened, as shown by the average years of teaching experience, which dropped from 15.88 years in 1997-98 to 13.37 years in 2005-06. “If the district uses fund-balance (reserve fund) dollars to lower taxes, then the outflux of great teachers from Janesville will continue.”

Angel Tullar, manager of employee relations: The decline in teaching experience is mostly due to lots of people retiring during these years. “Because we are replacing them with many teachers just joining the profession, our average years of experience is going to be reduced. I don't believe Janesville has a worrisome problem with teacher retention.”

Lewis: All or most districts are seeing a decline in experience due to retirements, but Janesville’s average experience level is lower than others. Contributing to the problem is Janesville’s average teacher salary, which is the lowest among similarly sized districts.

Superintendent Tom Evert: The school district recently surveyed teachers who had left the district recently and found that pay levels was not a major concern.

Taxes vs. educational quality

Lewis: The tax levy for district operating expenses actually decreased, from $31.6 million in 1994 to $27.3 million in 2008. “Revenue caps have reduced the amount of money that is available to the Janesville School District. It would be reckless for the district to add to the damage that the revenue caps have already inflicted by further reducing the amount for programs and staff contracts.”

Comptroller Lauri Clifton: The state made a commitment to fund two-thirds of education costs starting in 1993-94, along with imposing revenue caps that limit the school board’s taxing ability. This has kept most of the cost of education off the property tax rolls. Another way to look at dollars dedicated to education is the actual general-fund budget, which increased from $58.4 million in 1993-94 to $104 million in 2007-08.