First, school funding/finance will always have issues. The goal is to balance funding to create equity between districts. Currently Texas distributes funding to school districts through formulas. These are known as the Foundation School Program. This is divided into two Tiers. One for adjustments, weights, and allotments and the other is to provide equal access to funds.
The three basic issues I think we have in the school funding system are ADA, Taxes and WADA. Although the goal of each of these is to create equity, each of these areas still lacks a true balance. Schools depend greatly on ADA, however, the reality of getting students to school in an inner-city, low socio-economic district is quite different than those in middle to high income areas. Often families in poverty ridden areas do not value education and do not have concerns when children miss school. Thus, resulting in a lower ADA for the school. The state has attempted to balance funding by controlling more of the taxes, there are still issues in how state aid is distributed. WADA is pretty straight forward, but still provides opportunities for discrepancies in the funding.
As I mentioned in your wiki, I think you have identified some very real issues in funding. I also think about the vastness of Texas and how that impacts access to education for students. While technology advancements might seem like a great solution, unless you can control what the family access also is, schools are still responsible for providing that Tier I basic education. Adequate funding for that equitability is always going to be an issue.
ReplyDeleteI could not have said this any better...school funding/finance will always have issues! I think that the state has evolved to a point where we are very much a reflection of the people that comprise our instituation of public education. We want everyone to be successful and happy and we are willing to share resources to an extent that no other entity has or will. Great work.
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