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PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ASSOCIATION of STEVENS POINT Minutes
of the September 27, 2000 meeting Present were: Bill Hettler, President, Wendy Berg, vice President, Collette Swiech, Treasurer, Michele Bjella, secretary, Media /past president, Carol Weston, Jeanne VerHagen, Dennise Brennecke, Linda Greene, Heather Nelson, Mary Beth Anday, Susan Zach, Judy Pflugradt, Susan Morrison, Ian Morrison, Mahaelia Morrison, Emery Babcock, Ed Morganrath, Tom Beebe and Karen Gruchowski. Introductions were made. No additions to
the minutes were offered. The minutes of the last meeting of the 1999-2000
year were approved. Treasurer’s report: Collette Swiech reported the current balance at 2,203.00. current member list was at 31. President’s report: Bill Hettler encouraged
all to check the PTSA web page at: http://ptsa.org
for updated information. Committee reports and other topics: Reflections Cultural Arts Program will again be
hosted by state and local PTSAs. Elementary, junior high and secondary
students may enter in music composition, literature, photography or visual
art contests. Carol Weston
reported that the theme for this year is “Wouldn’t it be really
strange if…” Information and registration will be out soon and can be
obtained from your local school or Carol Weston. Liaison with the District Administration has again
been requested by Emery Babcock, our superintendent, as last year’s
cooperative relationship was successful. This year, Carol Weston, Chris
Scott, Judy Pflugradt and Susan Zach have volunteered to attend the Monday
meetings. Status of the P.T.O council: It was clarified that
due to lack of parent interest, the PTO council as it was in the past is
dormant. In the meantime, PTSA is trying to provide a forum for sharing
concerns and goals. Our hope is to get a representative from each school,
as well as welcome all staff, administrators and Board members who are
able to be involved. Technology: In spite of the passage of the last referenda our district is still very behind in the Technology area, according to Bill Hettler. When the revenue caps went in (1993) we were essentially frozen at that level and the problems with funding this area persist. . A presentation followed by invited speakers, Karen Gruchuski and Tom Beebe of the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF), summarized as follows. Karen is a past PTSA unit president of PTSA and current full time Federal Legislative chairperson for Wisconsin PTSA. Karen’s goal is to help parents understand school funding issues and to bring about changes in school policies. She addressed the history of the state funding revenue caps. Between l975 and ’90 there was a steady increase in property taxes; special education programs were also increasing in cost due to least restrictive environment issues. This shift increased taxes to homeowners, but also businesses, affecting support to schools. However, businesses were allowed to exempt the value of equipment (e.g. the value of computers and other machines) in what they were assessed for. This bumped up the amount residential tax payers had to pay resulting in an outcry from taxpayers. The result was to freeze school spending at what it was in 1993. The only way to exceed was to go to the taxpayers and ask to exceed the caps. These revenue limits were only to be in place for 5 years and then to be re-examined. But, in 1995 Revenue caps became permanent in Wisconsin. The state agreed to fund two-third the cost of public education. Benefits really went to the property tax payers, to lessen their burden. The amount schools were required to place in special education and declining enrollments were discussed as major factors. Following Karen’s talk, Tom Beebe, presented “Steven Point School District -Standing Alone? What you can do to help ”. Tom shared that the good news is Stevens Point is not alone in its funding difficulties; the bad news is the rest of the state is suffering too. IWF is in the process of gathering evidence from groups and coalitions all around the state in an effort to get some crucial things in the law changed. If one studies state aid distributions they are generally not designed to aid individual schools. The primary problem with revenue limits is declining enrollments. Stevens Point is #96 on the list. Our enrollment decline mirrors the state trend, which peaked in the 90s and will decrease from now until 2008. Tom explained the QEO (Qualified Economic Offer), a basic policy set, in part to address teacher strikes and offering 3.8% increases to eliminate binding arbitration. Tom also covered a history of referenda in our state and shared the “Districts in Trouble” list, of which we are a part. Tom delineated that districts such as ours may benefit from things to do in the long and short run. He urged us to contact our legislators and to consider either taking part in a forum in another region in the state or hosting a central Wisconsin Forum to address the negative impact of the Revenue Caps, where districts could tell their stories and send testimony to the governor and legislature, scheduled for Jan. 25, 2001. The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM. The next
PTSA meeting is scheduled for Nov.8th, 7 PM at P.J. Jacobs Respectfully submitted, Michele Bjella
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