For 24 consecutive years, the Public Policy Forum has compiled and analyzed data from southeastern Wisconsin’s public school districts in order to better inform policymakers and the public about the effectiveness of the region’s K-12 education system. This analysis of the 2009-10 academic year, like many of our previous reports, indicates cause for concern. Despite a consensus on the importance of quality schooling to the region’s economic growth and quality of life, the data reveal a continued need for better educational outcomes.
The purpose of this report is to highlight the gaps and trends that reflect the region’s educational progress and achievements, as well as areas that require renewed emphasis and improvement. The report examines several data sets that provide insight into the characteristics and achievement of school districts throughout the southeastern Wisconsin region, providing corresponding tables and charts for comparison and tracking. We hope this information is widely utilized by school administrators and policymakers in the new academic year.
For the past several years, the Public Policy Forum has produced reports analyzing the Milwaukee County executive's recommended budget shortly after its introduction in late September. This year, we add a new research product to our analysis of Milwaukee County's fiscal condition: a budget preview report that analyzes the county's immediate fiscal challenges at the onset of its budget process.
The 2011 Milwaukee County Budget Preview not only provides perspective on the specific fiscal issues facing the county as it begins to assemble next year's budget, but also explores the consequences associated with the county's persistent budget gap. It finds that while the 2011 projected deficit of $44.9 million is considerably smaller than that faced by budget officials at a similar juncture last year, it is sizable nonetheless. Furthermore, the report illustrates how several successive years of budget-cutting have left the county with few easy options for 2011.
For the past several years, the Public Policy Forum has produced annual reports analyzing property values and property taxes within the seven-county southeast Wisconsin region. Our purpose is to shed light on an important indicator of regional economic health and how it impacts
the fiscal health and capacity of local governments and school districts.
This year’s report first examines 2009 property values, with specific consideration of multi-year
trends. We then analyze 2010 budgeted tax levies and tax rates of southeast Wisconsin counties and municipalities to explore the relationship between valuations and taxes.
The Main Street Milwaukee (MSM) Program is a highly touted economic development program designed to promote economic growth and revitalization in selected city neighborhoods. Milwaukee’s Main Street program is a partnership between the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development (DCD) and the local chapter of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), who have tailored the national Main Street program for use in six local districts.
Established in 2005, MSM has been cited by city officials as a key component in the city’s overall economic and community development strategy.
This research project, which was launched in September 2009, originally set out to explore the strengths and weaknesses of several MSM districts in an effort to explore why this particular economic development strategy has succeeded or failed in different Milwaukee neighborhoods. Early in the analysis, however, we recognized that sufficient performance data did not exist to adequately assess that question in depth. Our attention turned, therefore, to the broader question of whether, why, and to what extent the MSM program itself has succeeded in delivering its
anticipated results.
Metro Milwaukee’s drivers and bus riders give the region average grades when it comes to transportation infrastructure. The condition of the region’s freeways gets the highest grade, a C+, while local streets and roads garner a C-. The findings come from the latest People Speak poll of 386 residents in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties conducted in early June.
Ozaukee County residents give the most generous grades, while Waukesha County residents give the lowest. The broadest range of grades is given to local bus service, which rates Cs among Ozaukee and Milwaukee residents, but Ds among Washington and Waukesha residents. Survey respondents who ride the bus at least occasionally give their local bus service a higher grade than those who say they drive their car every day. Freeways rate highest among Ozaukee County residents and those respondents who work outside the home (commuters).
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