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Public Education Policy in the Intermountain West Region:. Challenges in Demographics, Funding, and Policy Innovation Dr. Teresa S. Jordan Department of Educational Leadership/UNLV Brookings West Conference October 8, 2010. Purpose.
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Public Education Policy in the Intermountain West Region: Challenges in Demographics, Funding, and Policy Innovation Dr. Teresa S. Jordan Department of Educational Leadership/UNLV Brookings West Conference October 8, 2010
Purpose Present comparative baseline education data for the six states in Intermountain West Region Discuss current state funding allocation system Look to future policy challenges
Are We Making Progress? “ The root of the matter is that the public school system in the United States is not adequately efficient as an education force. For reasons of faulty administration, indifference of parents and children, lack of adequate motivation in instruction, and the hardship of economic times, the public school system does not reach and hold its children.” -from 1910 education journal
Demographics Inputs Student Enrollment Ethnicity Special needs Average Teacher salaries Outputs Graduation rates Dropout rates Student achievement
State Enrollment by Ethnicity Idaho Utah
State Enrollment by Ethnicity Colorado Arizona
State Enrollment by Ethnicity Nevada New Mexico
Proportional Share of Special Needs Students States’ % Share in Region States’ % Need of Total Enrollment (Double Count)
Average Classroom Teacher Salaries-Current and Constant Dollars 1990-2010
Consider • Being proactive in creating future policies that support elementary and secondary education yet do not create an unrealistic tax burden on the working age population. • Creating funding allocation systems that support vertical equity so that districts do not have to divert funds from one group of students to meet the needs of another group because of inadequate resources. • Developing policies that attract and hold the best and brightest of our teaching force.
Consider • Examining whether or not the current “construct” for high school can meet the needs of 21st century students who will be navigating a global economy. • Examining the effectiveness of differentiated instructional strategies, the extent to which schools engage their communities, and the degree to which community agencies coordinate and collaborate to address the needs of children in poverty.
Financing K-12 Public Education Background information State Funding Allocation System Intermountain West State Funding Policy Challenges
Complexities of Funding System Development and maintenance of public school finance systems is a complex process Requires continuous monitoring and updating due to changing economic and demographic conditions. Public education is a major enterprise in the U.S. and the dominant employer in many communities. One person in five either attends or is employed in the nation’s public school systems.
Policy Questions • For all the complexity of school finance systems the policy questions are fairly simple • Who or what to fund • What amount to fund • Where to get the money • How to share the responsibility among the different levels of government
Overarching School Finance Goals • Equity- the equal treatment of persons in equal circumstances • Adequacy -achieved when programs and learning opportunities are sufficient for a particular purpose • Local District Choice -the local taxpayers and the school board have the authority to establish the budget and set the tax levy for the operation of schools.
State Funding Allocation Systems • 5 basic funding formulas • Minimum Foundation Program (40 States) • District Power Equalizing (3 States) • Combination-tiered Program (5 States) • Flat Grant (1 State) • Full state Funding (1 State) • All Developed in 1920s and 1930s • Models antiquated and obsolete • Funding is not linked to state standards and goals • Have knowledge and tools to redesign • Do policymakers have the will?
Intermountain West State Funding Policies Current Operating Expenditure Fiscal Capacity Fiscal Effort Formulas and adjustments to formulas Challenges
Fiscal Capacity Capacity is the wealth of a state or the taxpayer ability to support governmental services. It is typically defined as per capita personal income
Fiscal Effort Effort is the proportion of per capita personal income spent for a governmental service such as schools In education it is usually expressed as Per Pupil Expenditures per capita
Challenging Issues • How are the overarching policy goals in school finance being balanced? What happens if one or more goals are ignored? • Support levels for variables within a state’s funding allocation system appear to be idiosyncratic. Is the variation across systems valid? • Are there ways to better balance some states’ taxing systems to make them less volatile in economic downturns? • How do districts address the stressors to unfunded and underfunded mandates? What impact, if any, do these have on attaining district accountability goals?
Challenging Issues Con’t • How could states link funding principles to state accountability and productivity goals? • What would a redesigned funding system look like? What components would a state want to pay for that have a research based rationale for impacting state accountability goals? These questions could focus a beginning discussion for collaborative dialogue among the region’s state education policymakers. Our antiquated funding mechanisms, designed for another time in history, are not serving us well.
In Summary Overhaul the state funding allocation system Link funding to state standards and school improvement efforts Stop legislating unfunded & underfunded mandates Stop paying for things that don’t matter; pay for things that impact student learning
Into The Future Funding Closest to the Client Performance-Based Pay Systems Teacher’s Pension Plans Differentiated Staffing
