Fiscal Equity Within Districts

Marguerite Roza, PhD

Sources of Uneven Spending Among Schools

Resources for special student populations Staff based formulas create uneven

spending Placement of non-formula staff

assignments, magnet or special programs, or other add-ons

Differences in teacher salary costs Central programs/services

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

Leadership

A B C D

Schools

Total Budget

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

Leadership

A B C D

SchoolsTotal Budget

Uneven staff allocations

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

Leadership

A B C D

SchoolsTotal Budget

Salary differentials

Higher salaried teachers effectively cost more per pupil

Leadership

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

A B C D

SchoolsTotal Budget Central Programs/ Departments

CPS Per Pupil Spending, High Schools

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

$4,500

$5,000

$5,500

$6,000

$6,500

$7,000

CPS High Schools

Data Obtained from Catalyst Analysis

Equity

Vertical equity -- students with greater needs receive more resources to meet those needs

Horizontal equity -- similar students receive equal resources

How to determine fiscal equity

Average Per Pupil Expenditure by Student Type

$3,746

$995

$832

$622

$0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000

Regular (allstudents)

Poverty

Bilingual

Voc Ed

CPS Relative Spending, High Schools

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

CPS High Schools

Data Obtained from Catalyst Analysis

Schools in Highest Poverty Quartile

Schools in Lowest Poverty Quartile

Austin 85% 108%

Houston 93% 109%

Dallas 114% 92%

Fort Worth 92% 102%

Denver 95% 105%

Basic (Non-categorical) Per Pupil Spending Relative to District Average

Highest Poverty Schools Taught by Lowest Paid Teachers

$45,176$44,737

$43,421

$42,544

$41,000

$42,000

$43,000

$44,000

$45,000

$46,000

Quartile 1LowestPoverty

Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4HighestPoverty

Salaries vary across Concentrations of English Language Learners

$45,129

$43,833 $43,781

$42,476

$40,000

$41,000

$42,000

$43,000

$44,000

$45,000

$46,000

Quartile 1Lowest ELL

Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4Highest ELL

Salaries vary across schools by performance (SAR rating)

$37,720

$43,421

$45,614

$44,299$44,737

$37,000

$38,000

$39,000

$40,000

$41,000

$42,000

$43,000

$44,000

$45,000

$46,000

Unsat

isfac

tory

Low

Aver

age

High

Exce

llent

Quadr

ant

Options for Addressing Inequities

Transparency Minimize line item allocations / special

programs Student based budgeting Disaggregate cost of central services to

schools Allocate a larger portion of funds to schools Relocate spending authority to schools Address inequities in teacher resources

Average Per Pupil Expenditure by Student Type

$3,746

$995

$832

$622

$0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000

Regular (allstudents)

Poverty

Bilingual

Voc Ed

= .27 or 27%

= .22 or 22%

= .17 or 17%

Leadership

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

A B C D

SchoolsTotal Budget Central Programs/ Departments

Leadership

School Budgets

Central Budgets

Non-Ed Op.s

A B C D

SchoolsTotal Budget Central Programs/ Departments

Forces for inequity• Lumpy staff based allocations • Equality• State, district, taxpayer demands to dictate

what is purchased• Savvy parents• Adults in the system that benefit from inequity

(can be principals, teachers, administrators)• Accounting guidelines

Forces for change

• Transparency (salaries, disaggregate central budgets)

• Accountability• Decentralization• Student based budgeting• Title I regulations that require

comparability

University of WashingtonDaniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs Center on Reinventing Pubic Education

www.crpe.org

Marguerite Roza MargRoza@u.washington.edu