Property Values and Taxes in Southeastern Wisconsin

County and municipal finance officials in Southeastern Wisconsin soon will receive word from the State of Wisconsin regarding 2009 property valuations within their jurisdictions. That information, in turn, is likely to have a significant bearing on 2010 budget deliberations, as property valuations determine whether county and municipal officials can generate increased property tax revenues without increasing property tax rates. For the past several years, the Public Policy Forum has produced annual reports on property values and property taxes within the seven-county Southeastern Wisconsin region, breaking down the numbers by both municipality and county. This year, we combine the property values and property tax reports as we seek to shed light on the depth of the challenges likely to be faced by local officials in the face of stagnant property values and growing fiscal needs

Public Schooling in Southeastern Wisconsin

For the 23rd consecutive year, the Public Policy Forum has compiled and analyzed data from Southeastern Wisconsin's school districts in order to better inform policymakers and the public about progress-or lack thereof-on commonly utilized measures of academic achievement. This year's analysis of the 2008-09 academic year indicates cause for encouragement in some areas, but also cause for significant concern

New regulations impacting school choice program: School closures up, number of new schools down

Between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, fewer new schools joined the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) than ever before. In addition, 13 MPCP schools closed and another three schools merged - the most year-over-year closures the program has seen. In this 12th edition of the Public Policy Forum's annual census of MPCP schools, we find 112 schools are participating in the choice program, enrolling 21,062 students using taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers. The number of full-time equivalent students using vouchers is greater than in any other year of the program's 19-year history; however, there are fewer schools participating today than earlier this decade

Milwaukee County-Funded Parks and Cultural Institutions

The Public Policy Forum's role in the Audit of Greater Milwaukee's Regional Cultural Assets was to examine the fiscal condition of those cultural assets owned and/or funded by Milwaukee County: the Milwaukee Public Museum, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Charles Allis Museum, Villa Terrace Decorative Art Museum, Milwaukee County Cultural Artistic and Musical Programming Advisory Council, Milwaukee County Zoo and Milwaukee County Parks

Preparing the Future Workforce: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Policy in K12 Education in Wisconsin

Last December, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition - a national organization of more than 600 groups representing knowledge workers, educators, scientists, engineers, and technicians wrote to President-elect Obama urging him to "not lose sight of the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the 21st century global marketplace." While that imperative appears to have resonated in Washington, has it and should it resonate in Madison? This report attempts to answer that question by examining the extent to which STEM skills are a necessity for tomorrow's Wisconsin workforce, whether our schools are preparing students to be STEM-savvy workers, and where STEM falls in the state's list of educational priorities

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Small Fruit, Vegetable, and Ornamental Crops, 1997

Growers generally use herbicides to efficiently produce high-quality fruit and vegetables for processing or fresh market sales. Due to the smaller acreage of these crops compared to major field crops, fewer herbicides are registered for use in fruit and vegetable crops than for field crops. Each year, new herbicides are evaluated under Arkansas growing conditions with the objective of improving the herbicide technology for the grower, processor, and ultimately the consumer. This report includes studies on the control of many of the more serious weed problems in important crops of this region, including snapbeans, spinach, southern pea, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomato, blackberry, and grape. In addition, the report includes information on the tolerance of selected bedding plants to some effective herbicides

Race, Elite College Admissions, and the Courts: The Pursuit of Racial Equality in Education Retreats to K12 Schools

If the Supreme Court bans race-conscious affirmative action, as expected, selective higher education institutions almost certainly will become less diverse, reducing the rates of degree attainment among students from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. This report explores the legal history of racial equity in education, evaluates alternatives to using race/ethnicity in college admissions, and considers changes to the K–12 education system that would improve educational opportunity. In the long term, the only way to ensure diversity at selective higher education institutions is to confront the segregation and inequity in K–12 education and society at large

Herbicide Evaluation in Arkansas Rice, 1997

Weed control is economically important for production of rice, a major crop in Arkansas. These findings summarize efforts of the team of Arkansas scientists working on weed control strategies for rice during 1997. Various technologies were evaluated in field studies at five locations involving the major weed problems and rice production systems used in the state. Results from these studies will add to the arsenal of weed control options for producers. Highlights include synergists and safeners for herbicides to aid in control of propanil-resistant barnyardgrass; herbicides and flooding techniques for control of red rice and other weeds; and the use of transgenic rice cultivars for broadspectrum weed control. The preliminary results reported here generally warrant further testing for more advanced findings and for the labeling of new technologies, and finally are the basis for updating safe, effective, and economical recommendations to Arkansas rice producers

Efforts to improve predictions of urban winter heating anomalies using various climate indices

Meteorologists who work in the energy commodities market continue to investigate ways to enhance predictions of seasonal temperature anomalies using oceanic/atmospheric indices. This study examines the relationship of three climate indices – ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation), PNA (Pacific North American) and NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) – to heating degree day (HDD) totals accumulated in 11 cities in the Midwest and northeastern United States, to determine which, if any, has predictive power. The data covers the 48-year period between 1951/52 and 1998/99, and focuses on two periods either side of 1 January (i.e. the winter months of October–December and January–April). The index most strongly related to the HDD anomalies during both winter periods was NAO. NAO values were negative for cold (above-average HDD) anomalies occurring prior to and after 1 January, while the NAO values were generally positive during warm (below-average HDD) anomalies. During cold anomalies, the PNA values were generally positive in the three months before 1 January and negative afterwards, indicating that different atmospheric teleconnection patterns cause similar temperature anomalies in these regions. The relationship between the equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperatures (SST) data and temperature anomalies was the weakest. Confidence in these relationships increased when the extreme HDD anomaly years were examined. These results indicated that the relationships of climate indices to HDD anomalies exist and that these would be useful in developing and improving seasonal predictions for business applications