After months of lauding the state’s improvement in the second round of the federal Race to the Top competition, an analysis of the grant reviewers’ scorecards shows Wisconsin actually performed worse in the national rankings. Wisconsin’s application finished 27th out of 36 applicants this summer, dropping from 26th in the last iteration and putting the state in the...
Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue has seen Wisconsin’s economic future, and it’s so bright we gotta wear shades. Hardly. The Department recently issued the quarterly Wisconsin Economic Outlook report. Overall, Wisconsin is projected to see 1.7% growth in employment in 2011 and 2.5% in 2012, but after another 0.7% decline in 2010. The DOR expects the state to reach...
Milwaukee taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $2.4 billion in unfunded liabilities thanks to their school district’s retirement programs – and that doesn’t even include the cost of providing pensions for MPS retirees. In 2004, the Government Accounting Standards Board imposed regulations forcing local governments, including school districts, to provide full...
The MacIver Institute has joined several other groups and individuals in a fight for their free speech rights. The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy is a Wisconsin non-profit think tank, fully qualified as tax exempt under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. We provide the public with original news reporting, analysis and commentary on the actions and...
Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.
August 2010
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Florida lawmakers began a comprehensive education reform effort in 1999, combining accountability, transparency, and parental choice with other far-reaching changes. In March of 2009, the MacIver Institute released Florida’s Education Reform Lessons for Wisconsin and the Nation. This report demonstrated that Florida made far larger gains in academic achievement from the [...]
