Driver education taking a back seat

0 Comments | Milwaukee Journal, The, Jan 25, 1995 | by TOM HEINEN

The Journal staff

Like gingerbread men in a land of hungry giants, driver education coordinators in some school districts are feeling uneasy as school boards and administrators look for tempting ways to cope with tight budgets.

The vast majority of Wisconsin school districts still provide classroom and behind-the-wheel training for teenage drivers, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.

But taxpayer discontent or the pressure of state-imposed cost controls has caused some districts to boost fees, shift programs to after-school hours and summers, or limit what they provide.

"There's certainly a lot of discussion across the state constantly," said Mike McGinley, president of the Wisconsin Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association and coordinator of the driver education program for Oshkosh schools. "It seems to be one of the first subject areas looked at when there's a budget crisis.

"I kind of call it the Rodney Dangerfield of education," he added.

When debate occurs, safety issues often are pitted against arguments that students can get driver training on their own at reasonable cost, the program takes up valuable time and limited resources, and it shouldn't be considered part of the academic mission of high schools.

State law requires that people between the ages of 15 1/2 and 18 who want to get a driver's license take driver education courses. The courses must include at least 30 hours of classroom instruction, six hours of observation and six hours of behind-the- wheel training. The required courses can be taken at a local high school or at a commercial driving school to prepare for the road test required by the state. Range of Programs

A review by The Journal of public school driver education programs in Waukesha County shows a wide range of expenditures, student fees and program structures.

Current fees for students at Waukesha County public high schools for the classroom and in-vehicle phases of driver training range from about $90 in Arrowhead to $215 in New Berlin. The per-student costs of running the programs in 1992-'93, the most recent year for which figures are available, ranged from about $127 in Pewaukee to more than $500 in New Berlin.

Among districts that offer in- vehicle and classroom training, Pewaukee broke even in 1992- '93 after student fees and state aid for driver education were applied to program expenses.

But some districts faced more than nominal costs even after factoring in student fees and the $100 that most districts get for each student who completes classroom and in-vehicle training. Some of those districts and net costs were: New Berlin, $122,220; Elmbrook, $89,602; and Waukesha, $75,850.

In some Milwaukee area districts, the driver ed program has remained status quo for years with little or no debate. But there have been significant changes in several districts in recent years, including:

Within about the last five years, the Franklin, Greendale and West Allis-West Milwaukee school systems responded to budget concerns by dropping the behind-the-wheel phases of their programs.

The Muskego-Norway School District saved an estimated $40,000 to $60,000 by eliminating its entire driver education program last year, said Superintendent Richard Wasson. But it leases space in the high school to a private driver training firm, which provides the minimum state-required training for $199, significantly lower than the firm's normal rate.

New Berlin raised its driver training fees from $90 to $290 to boost revenues for 1993-'94, but the effort backfired. Participation dropped from 400 to 200 students, costing the district an unexpected $40,000. The fee was lowered to $215 for this school year.

This school year, the Elmbrook School District stopped offering driver education as part of the normal school-day curriculum. It now offers in-vehicle training only in the summers. Classroom instruction is offered during the summers, but it also is offered as an after-school option during the spring semester for a $50 fee.

As of last school year, the Palmyra-Eagle School District also began offering behind-the- wheel instruction only during the summer, primarily to save money. More students now are taking that part of their training from private firms because they don't want to wait until summer, said high school Principal Jeff Tortomasi.

More districts are shifting the bulk of their driver training programs to the summer to trim costs. For several reasons, summer programs can be much cheaper to operate.

Pewaukee, which reported the lowest costs among area school districts in 1992-'93, is an example of that, said Pewaukee High School Principal Hollis Herrell.

By offering the program during the summer, Pewaukee can pay all teachers its standard $15- an-hour summer rate instead of pay-benefit costs that would be much higher during the normal school year, especially if courses are being taught by veteran teachers at the top of the pay scale.

Vehicle leasing, maintenance and insurance expenses are held down by running the entire program in a six-week period. That can be done because training doesn't have to be fit around students' class and extracurricular schedules as it does in a full- or half-semester program when school is in session.