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All Posts

Chalkbeat, 3/12/18

We read new reports on the state of school funding in America so you don’t have to. Here’s what we learned.

It makes sense to look closely at education spending, since several recent studies link more money in schools to better outcomes for students. But describing the state of school funding in the U.S. is tricky, since schools receive a combination of local, state, and federal dollars and because disparities can exist between states, between districts, and between schools. That’s why we combed through three recent reports from the Education Law CenterEducation Trust, and the Urban Institute, which help explain how big the school funding pot is and how that money is really divvied out.

Education Week, 2/27/18

Budget plan would slash ed. dept. spending, boost school choice

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2019 recommends a smaller overall cut to the U.S. Department of Education than his first budget proposal from last year. But he is still seeking to eliminate a few big-ticket K-12 programs and streamline others, while also outlining a plan to increase money available for public and private school choice.

Education Week, 3/1/18

This country spends billions on private schools — and has a terrible learning gap between poor and wealthy

In practice, research shows mixed outcomes for the roughly 448,000 American students who attend private schools through taxpayer-funded programs. Some thrive, but many do not. And not all students who make use of voucher programs are low-income. Other countries have gone much further than the U.S. to subsidize their private schools. Their results are also mixed.

Quad-City Times, 2/26/18

Iowa Senate passes plan to address per-pupil school funding inequity

Under the compromise S.F. 455 version, $2.8 million was set aside to increase the per-pupil allocation by $5 per student in 161 districts, including Davenport. In those districts, there is up to $175 per pupil inequity in the funding. Meanwhile, the bill also provides that 140 of the state’s 333 school districts will get a share of the $11.2 million to deal with transportation funding inequities. Transportation costs run as high as $970 per pupil per year at North Winneshiek.

Education Week, 2/27/18

Reporting school-by-school spending data: Inside Rhode Island’s approach

The state has been grappling with ways to cut costs in some districts where student population has plummeted. Separately, charter school advocates and public school officials have bickered over whether they’re getting their fair share of state funds. “We are public officials, and this adds another level of transparency for the public to see what we do on a daily basis,” he said.

Charter School Growth Fund, 3/6/18

KIPP Houston takes procurement paperless

KIPP Houston has made great strides installing new systems and processes to keep up with their growth, but one area where the organization was still feeling the pain of a manual approach was procurement — which KIPP Houston defines as everything from selecting goods and services, negotiating prices, establishing compliant contracts, submitting purchase orders for approval, and ultimately making payment. Over the last 18 months, KIPP Houston has made a push to transition from a manual, paper-based procurement process to a digital “procure-to-pay” solution.

Education Week, 2/27/18

States confront new mandate on school-spending transparency

ESSA requires districts to break out school-level spending by December 2019—a first-time federal requirement. It’s a level of detail unknown even to most district superintendents. Various interest groups are split over whether such items as transportation, technology, special education, and pre-K—some of the biggest drivers of the rise in school spending—should be categorized as regular school costs, or as extraordinary costs or overhead. Illinois ultimately decided to leave some decisionmaking authority with district officials over how to split those costs. “There are ramifications for each decision point,” Wolfe said. “We had to ask how does it help make data-driven decisions within districts?” said Robert Wolfe, Illinois’ chief financial officer.

The 74, 2/26/18

The next educational equity battleground: Little-noticed ESSA provision to allow parents to see whether districts fund schools fairly

When Congress updated federal education law in 2015, it included a little-noticed, bipartisan provision that requires states to report per-pupil spending at the school level. The Every Student Succeeds Act provision goes into effect in the 2018–19 school year. That change, advocates and researchers predict, is likely to expose disparities in the way some districts divide resources among their schools… “The first step is just opening up the conversation and empowering our best advocates, which are usually parents,” she said. The new data will give them useful information so they “know what the status quo is [and] ask hard questions.”

District Administration, 2/20/18

Report urges federal action on equitable funding for schools

The commission’s report also recommends that Congress collect, monitor and evaluate school spending data to see what funds directly impact student outcomes. While districts are already required to report school spending to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act, many still struggle with the process. “In the coming years, schools will face a much greater degree of public scrutiny, so it will be critical for local leaders to control the narrative about spending,” says Carnock.

Hechinger Report, 2/15/18

Should Wall Street pay for preschool?

Utah: Granite is the first district in the nation to be financed by private investors who pay upfront for preschool seats, and make a profit if enough of the district’s “at-risk” kids succeed. The controversial financing tool, often referred to as a social impact bond, has allowed this cash-strapped district, one of five in the Salt Lake City area, to provide high-quality early education to thousands of poor 3- and 4-year-olds who might have otherwise stayed home.