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Local Education Funding

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Education Week, 8/8/18

Just one district seeks ESSA’s weighted student funding pilot for 2019-20

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and other school choice fans were excited about the potential of a new pilot program in ESSA that allows districts to combine federal, state, and local dollars into a single funding stream tied to individual students. English-language learners, children in poverty, and students in special education—who cost more to educate—would carry with them more money than other students… So far, though, there haven’t been many takers. The law allows up to 50 districts to participate in the first few years of the pilot, with the possibility of more joining in down the road if things are running smoothly. But only one district—Arizona’s Roosevelt School District #66—has applied to use the flexibility in the 2019-20 school year by a July 15 deadline.

Federal Education Funding Local Education Funding State Education Funding
AZ Central, 8/6/18

Schools serving Navajo Nation, strapped for resources to transport kids long distances, hope for bus money

The bus service is a lifeline districts in and around the reservation struggle to pay for every year as they grapple with heavy costs associated with the long, often mountainous drives and a long history of cuts in education funding by the state. Gov. Doug Ducey announced in June that, using $38 million from a legal settlement, he would buy 281 buses across the state for low-income schools. The money would replace vehicles that have more than 100,000 miles on them or are more than 15 years old in districts where more than 60 percent or more students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Local Education Funding State Education Funding
SBNation, 7/31/18

How LeBron James’ new public school really is the first of its kind

James’ I Promise School opened Monday to serve low-income and at-risk students in his hometown.  I Promise will feature longer school days, a non-traditional school year, and greater access to the school, its facilities, and its teachers during down time for students. That’s a formula aimed at replicating some of the at-home support children may be missing when it comes to schoolwork. I Promise is a regular public school, not a charter or a voucher-receiving private school.  Per the state of Ohio, Akron’s schools were given just $10,028 in state and local funds per student in 2016 — more than the statewide average, but still a relatively low figure for a city of a little under 200,000.  Ten thousand dollars per student can’t cover those services, but the buy-in from the LeBron James Family Foundation can.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms Local Education Funding School Money and Performance
Reuters, 7/11/18

Failure to educate girls could cost world $30 trillion: report

About 132 million girls worldwide aged 6 to 17 do not attend school, while fewer than two-thirds of those in low-income nations finish primary school, and only a third finish lower secondary school, the World Bank said. If every girl in the world finished 12 years of quality education, lifetime earnings for women could increase by $15 trillion to $30 trillion, according to the report. Other positive impacts of completing secondary school education for girls include a reduction in child marriage, lower fertility rates in countries with high population growth, and reduced child mortality and malnutrition, the World Bank said.

Local Education Funding School Enrollment and Student Population School Money and Performance
Chalkbeat, 7/6/18

CPS to spend $1 billion on campus improvements, including two new West Side schools

Chicago Public Schools is plunging $1 billion into campus investments, a plan that includes two new West Side schools and two new classical schools, the district announced Friday. The new schools and classical expansion were announced as part of a larger plan to boost capital spending from a meager $189 million for the new school year to nearly $1 billion—though it appears some projects listed as part of the $1 billion spend will be spread across several years. The list of improvements includes several items, such as capital costs related to the introduction of universal pre-kindergarten. To foot the nearly $1 billion bill, the district will largely rely on borrowing. CPS anticipates selling $313 million of general obligation bonds and up to $125 million of Capital Improvement Tax bonds; the remaining $300 million will get financed at a later date as expenditures roll in.

Local Education Funding
USED, 7/2/18

Puerto Rico to pilot new student-centered funding system

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that the Puerto Rico Department of Education will be the first to pilot new flexibility under ESSA to create a student-centered funding system. ESSA provides for 50 school districts to pilot a new student-centered funding system that combines local, state and federal dollars. ESSA specifically requires that pilot districts allocate substantially more funding to support students from low-income families, English learners, and any other educationally disadvantaged group as chosen by the school district. Puerto Rico designed its system to allocate additional funds to support students from low-income families, language learners and students in rural schools.

Federal Education Funding Local Education Funding State Education Funding
WestEd, 4/1/18

Silent recession: Why California school districts are underwater despite increases in funding

Despite projected increases in state and local funding, California school districts face financial pressures that threaten to destabilize their budgets and force reductions in student services. A paper released by WestEd describes the fiscal pressures that districts face and outlines the implications in an effort to bring this issue, the silent recession, to light. Although California’s education funding formula provides revenues that grow incrementally each year, these increases are not based on the actual growth in the costs of operating a school. Consequently, some districts are experiencing cost increases that outpace revenue increases. This dynamic requires districts to find new strategies to prioritize their spending, and may lead to employee and program reductions as rising costs effectively “crowd out” other investments.

Local Education Funding Pension Costs State Education Funding
Education Week, 4/3/18

Making school spending data transparent and accessible is no easy lift

While most people understand K-12 education spending in terms of average district per-pupil amounts, how districts distribute federal, state and local dollars between schools has long been a mystery even to district superintendents. But many have theorized that seeing distribution levels by school can reveal to the public how (or whether) money boosts academic results and whether money is being spent as intended.

Federal Education Funding Local Education Funding School Money and Performance State Education Funding
Gainsville Times, 4/18/18

Georgia: Bus funding remains a challenge for schools even with more state money

A recent report from the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute outlined safety concerns related to aging school bus fleets. “Shrinking state funding for student transportation and rising costs are making it more difficult for school districts across Georgia to get children to and from school safely,” the report states. “The worsening financial pinch leaves districts with aging bus fleets on the road past their intended life, concerns about student safety and far fewer dollars to invest in the classroom.”

Local Education Funding State Education Funding