Afton Partners

In light of a new report on Michigan school finances, Kent County area superintendents say there’s no doubt more equitable school funding is needed. Findings show Michigan is dead last among all states in revenue growth for K-12 schools since voters approved Proposal A in 1994, which changed property taxes and school funding. Drops in achievement statewide have occurred during the same timespan, according to the 91-page report, “Michigan School Finance At The Crossroads: A Quarter Century of State Control”,…Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said the report brings awareness to a stark reality.  “What it shows is the correlation between disinvestment in education and drop in rankings (comparing states),” said Polston, who leads Kent County’s highest-poverty district.

As Texas lawmakers consider increasing state education funding, some state education leaders fear a turn to outcome-based funding methods for part of that formula, allocating more money to schools based on 3rd-grade reading test scores and the number of graduating seniors who prove to be college- or career-ready. Top state officials have signaled their support for a plan recommended by a state-appointed school finance panel to spend a portion of the recommended education funding — about $800 million — on incentivizing superintendents to improve 3rd-grade reading scores and success rates of high school seniors. However, many education leaders are concerned such outcomes-based incentives will direct the flow of funds from schools that need it most, creating greater funding inequities between districts, and that it will simply encourage teaching to the tests or attempts to game the system. Texas has never tied funding to school performance before, and despite recommendations, lawmakers have yet to propose a bill in support.

Most Michigan residents believe the state’s current method of funding schools is both insufficient and unfair. Those were the findings of a new statewide poll that was conducted in June by the School Finance Research Collaborative, a prominent group of Michigan educators, policymakers, and business leaders that has called for major changes to the way schools are funded. The poll follows a report the collaborative released in January, which recommended sweeping changes to the way schools in Michigan are funded. Instead of sending schools the same amount per student, the report recommended providing schools with additional funds for students who are learning English, living in poverty or facing other challenges.

A report released by EdBuild on school district consolidations highlights the roadblocks financially fraught districts across the country face when school leaders try to merge with more stable neighboring districts. Lawmakers in nine states have granted a state-level entity authority to mandate school district consolidations under dire circumstances, while mergers remain voluntary in most parts of the country.  In states where consolidation is voluntary, however, community members and school leaders in wealthier school systems have few incentives to help out their struggling neighbors.  EdBuild puts the blame on the system employed in most U.S. states, which ties school funding revenue to local property taxes.