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State Education Funding

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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
The Daily Iowan, 4/4/18

Will higher education remain accessible as funding becomes less public?

While funding sources have shifted over the years, the actual dollar amount of state appropriations has essentially remained flat with fiscal 1998 funding levels nearly equal to the amount appropriated to the universities in fiscal 2018. In that same time period, enrollment has spiked, meaning on a per-student basis, financial support for higher education has not kept pace with growth; the amount of available monetary resources hasn’t changed much, but that dollar amount has to be spread among more students. In the fall of 2000, the regents reported an enrollment of 68,930, and in fall 2017, that number rose to 80,066.

Higher Ed State Education Funding
Longview News Journal, 4/1/18

Texas schools scramble after state’s $118M pre-K funding cut

Texas pre-K programs are just scraping by after losing millions of dollars last year — and without sustainable funding, they could see greater problems down the line, school officials say…The money had gone to 573 districts and charter schools that pledged to meet measures such as setting a lower student-teacher ratio, avoiding Common Core curricula and reporting student progress to the state.

Pre-K State Education Funding
Education Week, 3/30/18

Teacher Pay: How salaries, pensions, and benefits work in schools

Teachers are paid less than comparable workers with similar education levels, an Economic Policy Institute analysis of federal data shows. Since 1996, teachers’ weekly wages have decreased $30 per week to $1,092 in 2015, while all college graduates’ average weekly wages have increased $124 to reach $1,416. Those numbers are adjusted for inflation. However, non-wage benefits as a share of total compensation are more important for teachers than for other professionals. Non-wage benefits can include prepaid insurance premiums and pensions.

Local Education Funding Pension Costs State Education Funding
Washington Post, 4/2/18

Fed up with school spending cuts, Oklahoma teachers walk out

The walkout in Oklahoma — which could stretch for days — is part of a wave of educator revolts striking states where tax cuts have drained state funding for schools. In Kentucky, teachers rallied Monday in Frankfort, the state capital, against teacher pension reforms, shutting down schools in a dozen districts. In Arizona, teachers have threatened to strike if they do not get a 20 percent raise and an infusion of money into schools.

State Education Funding
Texas Tribune, 3/16/18

Will Texas school finance panel tell schools to do more with less? Some members think it’s predetermined

He said the commission has also heard from school leaders with innovative ideas on subjects such as how to keep the best teachers at the most challenging schools and how to use full-day pre-K to get students at an academic baseline early in life. “Those two things without question cannot be funded or sustained with the current funding levels we have,” Bernal said. “Even the districts that piloted it said they were about to run out of money.”

Funding Equity State Education Funding
Chalkbeat Colorado, 3/19/18

Done doing ‘more with less,’ Brighton district will move to a four-day school week

The change is expected to save the district about $1 million a year, but Brighton Superintendent Chris Fiedler previously told Chalkbeat that the biggest benefit will be “to attract and retain teachers” in a district whose salaries are among the lowest in the metro area. “I realize this will be a significant change for our students, their families, and the communities we are so fortunate to serve, but our district can no longer be expected to do more with less financial resources,” Fiedler said in a press release.

Funding Equity State Education Funding
Kansas City Star, 3/16/18

Editorial: Kansas school funding report shows link between spending and student achievement

“Kansas Lawmakers face an April 30 deadline to respond to the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling that the Legislature’s latest efforts to fund schools had fallen short. That gives them precious little time for such a complicated task as writing a new formula and then funding it. Taylor’s study…concluding that a link does indeed exist between spending and a student’s educational attainment. She said lawmakers must spend another $1.7 billion over five years to reach performance targets or an additional $2 billion to deliver enhanced educational outcomes…The analysis finds a strong, positive relationship between educational outcomes and educational costs,” Taylor concluded.

School Money and Performance State Education Funding
Education Week, 3/19/18

Collective bargaining does not improve teacher pay, study finds

Challenging the conventional wisdom about collective bargaining, a new study finds that requiring school districts to bargain with teachers’ unions did not actually improve teacher pay. Thirty-three states passed mandatory collective bargaining laws since the 1960s. Those states do typically have higher teacher salaries and higher per-pupil education spending, but they already did so “well before the emergence of collective bargaining rights or modern teacher unions,” the study found.

Local Education Funding Pension Costs State Education Funding