Public Policy Quiz: Madison School Closings: The Answers

Answers to yesterday's quiz: Public Policy Quiz: Madison School Closings

1. As Dave said:  "Selling off its land is a lousy way to fund a school district.." Selling capital assets in a one time sale to fund the operating budget is horrible public policy. What do you do in Year Two? This is a classic right-wing ploy to simultaneously weaken government and lead to privatization - sell off everything from highways to water systems.

2.  If the offer was accepted, it would have been a no bid contract. In a way that is Dave's observation, as we learned from the Bush Administration, " Making policy based on who shouts the loudest is bad."

3. If the District were to sell land, rational public policy would demand first an inventory of all school assets and then a decision as to which should be auctioned, rather than just examining the four corners of one school yard.

The offer was made in good faith and it shows the deep commitment to community schools. The lesson: you cannot solve a funding crisis created by the state legislature withOUT (ty) changing the state law.

Comments

[Cliff]

"Selling capital assets in a one time sale to fund the operating budget is horrible public policy." Isn't this exactly what Gov. Doyle is trying to do with the DOA building?

Paul, in your final sentence above, did you mean to say "withOUT changing the state law"?

[Paul]

Cliff: thanks for the edit tip, and yes, that is what the state is doing (I think)-I don't know what they plan to do with the money. If it is for operations, it is very, very bad.

[Chris]

The guy that offered it was truly a neighborhood stand-up guy. I'm not sure he actually had $250k -- I bet the check would have bounced. It was to make a point and it appears it has.

Anyway, my perspective as someone in the Marquette district with kids, a school open with less land is much better than a school closed without land. Basically what's the point if MMSD has land that isn't used because the school is closed?

Strictly speaking, that's not quite true because O'Keefe shares the land but you get my point.

Chris

[Jackie]

I am afraid the check should have been printed to look like a bandaid. I think selling capital assets in a one time sale to fund the operating budget is horrible public policy and a bandaid to stop an open hemmorage. My greatest fear is that instead of lobbying their State Gov to help correct the problem, people will waste their energy on bandaid approaches that can only work over the very short term.