Tag: School Funding

Under New State School Funding Formula, Metro Nashville Taxpayers Responsible for a Larger Portion of the Bill

TC Weber

Data released on Friday by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) released last week shows that Metro Nashville taxpayers are paying roughly $120 million a year over the state’s contribution to fund city schools.

Under Tennessee’s new public school funding formula – Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) – most local school districts, except Nashville Sevier County, can expect to pay one-third of the local education cost, with the state paying the other two-thirds for two districts.

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Tennessee Department of Education Provides Update on Implementation of New Student Funding Formula

TC Weber

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) updated the State Board of Education (SBE) last week on the state’s progress in implementing its new school funding formula – Tennessee Investment in Student Success (TISA). Tennessee is moving from a systems-based funding formula to a student-based funding formula with TISA.

The new system uses a formula that starts with a base amount for each student and then adds money for various factors. Those components include poverty, district size, English learners, and special education needs. This year, the base allocation per student is $6,860 per student.

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New Report Finds That Arizona’s Highest Performing Schools May Start Missing Out on Funding

Neil Jones

Research group Common Sense Institute Arizona (CSIAZ) released a new report Monday that found Arizona’s highest-performing schools may start receiving less state funding moving forward as the new state budget is set to repeal a program that funded schools based on results.

“We hope the report sparks a conversation about the benefits of funding outcomes in K-12. We believe the report lays out a case for focusing future investment on achievements. And, policymakers will need to consider the impact that the cut to results based funding will have on high performing schools, especially those low-income, high-performing schools, after the one-time money in this year’s budget expires next year,” said CSIAZ Executive Director Katie Ratlief in an email to The Arizona Sun Times.

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Government School Districts Plan K-12 Closures as Student Enrollment Plunges

Susan Berry, PhD

Some of the largest public school districts in the nation are planning to close K-12 schools as they face plummeting student enrollment rates.

“Nationwide, public school enrollment fell by more than 1.4 million students to 49.4 million between fall 2019 and fall 2020—a decline of roughly 3%, according to data from the U.S. Education Department,” reported the Wall Street Journal in January. “The following school year, enrollment failed to return to prepandemic levels and remained roughly flat.”

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Rules Governing New School Funding Formula Pass Out of the Joint Government Operations Committee Meeting, Moves Toward Full Implementation

TC Weber

The rules governing Tennessee’s new K-12 education funding formula – Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) – took another step towards full adoption on Monday, passing out of the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Committee with a positive review. On the State House side, the proposed rules passed by a majority, with only 5 “nay” votes. While on the State Senate side, things were much closer, with a 4-2 in favor.

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Local Tennessee School Districts Navigating Changes in State Funding Formula

TC Weber

Tennesse’s school districts have started preparing their individual budgets for the 2023-2024 school year. They are doing it while contending with a new state funding formula and with limited guidance from the Tennessee Department of Education(TDOE). The change in formula completely alters how district allocations from the state are calculated. In the past, the state has provided calculations for local districts. This year, that too will change.

In notes obtained by The Tennessee Star from a call between the TDOE and the Superintendent Study Council, local officials were informed that the department will soon be sending out Data Verification Packets to districts that will include district-specific data from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 20-day reporting periods. Districts are required to report attendance counts at 20-day intervals throughout the year.

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Tennessee State Board of Education Considers Rule Change That Would Result in Change to Value of Education Savings Accounts

TC Weber

On January 30th the Tennessee State Board of Education will hold a rulemaking hearing on BEP to TISA transition rules. Included is a provision that could serve to increase the value of state Education Saving Accounts (ESA), potentially even doubling that value. This could ultimately lead to increased investment by state lawmakers. 

Item number 7 under proposed rule 0520-01-16 governing ESAs reads as follows:

“The maximum annual amount to which a participating student is entitled under the Program shall be equal to the amount representing the per-pupil state and local funds generated and required through the state’s K-12 education funding formula Basic Education Program (“BEP”) for the LEA in which the participating student resides, or the statewide per pupil average of required state and local funds as determined through the state’s K-12 education funding formulaBEP funds, whichever amount is less.”

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Governor Lee’s Voucher Program Clears Another Legal Hurdle

TC Weber

Tennessee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) plan, often portrayed as a voucher program, won another legal challenge filed by opponents of the controversial legislation that targets Memphis and Nashville schools. A three-judge panel appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court and made up of Chancellor Anne Martin, Judge Tammy Harrington, and Judge Valerie Smith, has ruled that the parties challenging the legislation have no legal standing. As a result, all challenges are dismissed.

This action, at least temporarily, removes all legal hurdles facing the 2019 Education Savings Account law. The law provides money for families to offset private school tuition, should they choose to pursue that option due to inadequate traditional school options.

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Tennessee’s Inflation-Adjusted K-12 School Spending Increases Lower than Most States: Report

The Center Square

Tennessee’s per-pupil spending on K-12 public school students, amongst the lowest in the country, increased an inflation-adjusted 18 percent from 2002 to 2020 while its student population grew 13 percent, according to a new study from the Reason Foundation.

The study looked at spending increases across the country, where spending per student increased $3,211 per student, or 25 percent. In Tennessee, the raw data showed that the 18 percent increase amounted to $1,704 in inflation-adjusted spending per student.

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Michigan Education Department Touts Video That Makes False Claims About School Funding

Admin

The Michigan Department of Education posted a document on its website that encourages people to watch a YouTube video about systemic racism, but it contains inaccurate information about finances in the state’s public school system.

The document was published in July 2020 by an entity called the Governor’s Educator Advisory Council two months after George Floyd was killed in Minnesota by a police officer, and while riots were taking place in many U.S. cities. The document promotes and links to a video titled “Systemic Racism Explained,” telling visitors it “is a good place to start.” But the video suggests that Michigan school districts which service low-income communities get less funding than others. The claim is not accurate; the reverse is true.

The video tells a story of two youths – an African-American child named Jamal and a white child named Kevin – and how their school districts are funded. The fictional students are said to live a few streets from each other.

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Tennessee Department of Education Received Over 1,300 Public Comments Submitted on Potential School Funding

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Education announced over 1,300 public comments have been collected on a potential new school funding formula. The department made the statements available to the public and can be seen here. The statement said comments came from “hundreds of parents, educators, superintendents, elected officials, business and community leaders, and citizens from across the state.”

“Tennesseans recognize what a historic moment in time this is for education in our state, and I want to thank those who submitted public comments as part of our engagement process on a potential new funding formula for Tennessee’s public schools,” Commissioner Penny Schwinn said.“As has been shared in subcommittee meetings, at town halls, on social media, and at local meetings, a new public education funding formula for Tennessee must be centered around our students so that we can ensure our children can thrive in the classroom and be successful after high school.”  

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Commission Passes School Upgrade Funding Recommendations to Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

Virginia’s Commission on School Construction and Modernization recommended actions for the General Assembly and the Governor to take to help fund upgrades and new construction in schools.

A June report to the Commission found that 41 percent of school divisions are at or above capacity, and 29 percent are nearing capacity. More than half of school buildings are over 50 years old, and divisions in Western Virginia, Southwest, and Southside have the oldest buildings with a median age of 58 years.

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New Ohio School Funding Plan Goes Before Legislature

Admin

Calling the way Ohio funds public schools unpredictable, confusing and inadequate, Ohio lawmakers want to overhaul the system with a formula that could mean a $1.99 billion increase in funding. Changes could come sooner rather than later.

State Sens. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, and Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, introduced a bill Thursday that teams with a current house bill. It would change how the state determines the cost of educating a student, along with how the state decides how much a local district should contribute to that cost.

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New Ohio School Funding Plan Goes Before Legislature

The Center Square

Calling the way Ohio funds public schools unpredictable, confusing and inadequate, Ohio lawmakers want to overhaul the system with a formula that could mean a $1.99 billion increase in funding. Changes could come sooner rather than later.

State Sens. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, and Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, introduced a bill Thursday that teams with a current house bill. It would change how the state determines the cost of educating a student, along with how the state decides how much a local district should contribute to that cost.

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District Court Blocks Betsy DeVos COVID Rule on Private School Funds

Admin

A judge blocked an Education Secretary Betsy DeVos policy on Wednesday that transfers COVID-19 relief funds from public school districts to private schools, Politico reported.

U.S. District Judge James Donato of the U.S. District Court Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction for the plaintiffs, order Thursday, blocking release of additional relief funding to private schools.

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Buckeye Institute Files Amicus Brief in Lawsuit Over CARES Act School Funding

Admin

An Ohio think tank has entered the fray in a federal lawsuit over a rule the U.S. Department of Education issued for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.

The $2.2 trillion CARES Act includes an Education Stabilization Fund to help schools cover costs to safely reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The law directed the education department to distribute these funds “equitably” between public and private schools and students.

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Creative Math By Knox County Schools and Gannett Reporter Imply State Cut District Spending By $6M When In Fact Contribution Increased By That Amount

Jason M. Reynolds

A Knoxville News-Sentinel reporter last week shared the local school superintendent’s creative math to accuse Gov. Bill Lee of cutting education spending by nearly $6 million, when in fact the state’s BEP contribution had increased by that amount. On April 1, reporter Tyler Whetstone tweeted, “New today – @GovBillLee‘s BEP proposal would cut @KnoxSchools funding by approximately $6 million. That’s a lot of 0s when you’re trying to scrap together a budget.” New today – @GovBillLee's BEP proposal would cut @KnoxSchools funding by approximately $6 million. That's a lot of 0s when you're trying to scrap together a budget. https://t.co/vEMD7mVNqH — Tyler Whetstone (@tyler_whetstone) April 1, 2019 Whetstone’s story quoted Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas as lamenting a roughly $6 million cut in budgeted funds from the state’s Basic Education Plan going to the district. Thomas cried that the sky would fall in the form of the district not building three planned school buildings and changing a planned pay raise. But guess what, Thomas’ math might as well have been an April Fool’s joke. The state has typically added roughly $180 million new dollars into the BEP statewide in recent years. This, plus other smaller percentages of state funds,…

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