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impa

ct

VOL. 7FUNDING

76% of Americans think parents are themost important factor in determiningwhether students learn in school.

Reading for spiritual reflection

Jesus was known for being a greatstory teller. He talked about

spiritual things by using commonimagery like farming or dealingwith a landlord or tending avineyard. But the point of the storywas always something with eternalvalue. Jesus rarely interpreted hisparables but encourage his listenersto figure out the true meaning.Here is one parable that we asreaders are left to interpret forourselves:

For which of you, wanting to builda tower, does not first sit down and

make an estimate of the cost, andsee whether he has enough to

complete it? Otherwise, when hehas laid its foundation, and is notable to finish, all who see it will

begin to make fun of him, saying,This man began to build, and wasnot able to finish. Luke 14:28-30

So why does Jesus care if someoneis unable to complete a building

project? Jesus is probably talkingabout the cost of Christiandiscipleship, or being a committedand faithful Christian. But the sameconcept can be applied to manymatters. Lets think of the tower asa community. For a community tothrive, an investment must be made

in that community.

continued...

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questionsfor discussion.

Use the space below eachquestion to record your

where do you thinkmost publiceducation financingcomes from?

do you know whatthe Robin Hoodsystem is? do youagree or disagreewith this practice?

does the amount ofmoney spent oneach student impacttheir academicperformance?

others in your Action Group.

Post responses on yourAction Groups page atDallasFACET.org.

It is difficult, often impossible,to raise healthy children in adisintegrated community.Without local institutions thatdraw families and youngpeople together aroundcommon interests andactivities even the most

heroic child-rearing is likely tofail. Conversely, by gatheringand organizing members ofthe community aroundactivities of common interest particularly the healthydevelopment of children even the most devastatingconditions can be reversed.

The Harlem Childrens ZoneBusiness Plan 2001-2009

A prospering jobs market, affordablehousing and quality education are justa few of the things needed to create asolid foundation and a healthycommunity.

Ensuring that each of these things is inplace requires commitment anddedication on the part of the entire

community and its leaders inparticular. Education is an especiallycostly investment. It is very easy to cutcorners when it comes to educationfunding, but the effect is disastrous.By knowing and disclosing the full costneeded to provide each child in ourcommunity with a quality education,we can ensure the funds are provided.Education is the key to a communityscurrent and future success, and it iscertainly worth all the investment. Cana community exist with a poorly

funded educational system? Yes, butthe community will be broken and itwill not prosper. Remember, if you laythe foundation for a tower and thenrun out of money before the tower canbe completed, you will be left with aslab of concrete, which benefits noone.

It is time that we realize the full cost ofwhat it will take to educate ourchildren well in Dallas, and ask ourgovernor, our legislators and ourdistrict leaders to find a way to ensurethe funds will be there. We must planahead and make sure we can committo our educational intentions. We oweit to our citys children not to give thema half-hearted education.

by Cameron Mason Vickrey

http://www.dallasfacet.org/http://www.dallasfacet.org/http://www.dallasfacet.org/

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ume SIX

Funding

Part 1: The Property Tax

and Public Education

Funding

Many of the troubles facing public

education can be traced back to

money, or a lack thereof. School

budgets are as different as the

states that finance them.

Generally, though, states use a

combination of income taxes,

corporate taxes, sales taxes and

other fees to provide 48% of the

budget for the elementary and

secondary schools. Local districts

contribute around 44%, drawn

mostly from local property taxes.

The federal government contributes

about 8% of state education

budgets. Together, these funds are

distributed to school districts on a

per-student basis (to make sure

there is enough to cover each

childs education) andcategorically (to make sure there is

enough for each special program

or facility).

Because local funding is so

important to public education, the

amount of money some schools

receive tends to vary, depending

largely on property values.

Federal Support

Public education took a hard

during the 2008 recession,

resulting in $100 billion in

education aide under the AmRecovery and Reinvestment A

(ARRA). By 2011, as the fed

stimulus was coming to an en

state legislatures began to tig

their belts and make significa

to their K-12 budget. The Na

Governors Association report

estimated states were on trac

spend $2.5 billion less on K-1

education during the 2012 fis

year than they did in 2011. T

has already started to feel th

effect of these reductions by w

of teacher layoffs, larger clas

sizes, and cuts to extracurricu

activities.

Texas School Funding

Funding for Texass schools cfrom local, state, and federal

(The percentage of revenue f

each source will vary from di

to district because of differen

local property value and stud

population). In Texas, 38.8%

the states tax revenue comes

property taxesmaking it the

most reliant state on property

taxes.

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ocal funds come from three

primary sources. First, there is the

ocal property tax. The school

district tax includes two elements, a

maintenance and operations

M&O) tax used to fund dailyoperations, and interest and sinking

I&S) tax used to pay debt service

on any bonds issued to fund the

construction of schools and other

acilities. A bond issue is a way to

borrow money for construction

projects and/or technology

enovations. Voters pass/approve

he bond issue and the schoolboard requests for bids and sells

bond to purchaser with the lowest

nterest cost.

Second, revenue come from the

ale of local bonds, sale of real

property, and the proceeds of

capital leases. Third, there is other

ocal revenue, or revenue derived

rom shared-services agreements,uition and fees, facility rentals and

other sources.

State funds come from a variety of

ources. There is the Foundation

School Fund the Texas

Constitution commits 25% of all

evenue from state occupation taxes

the oil production tax, natural gas

production tax and others) to this

fund. The Foundation School Fund

also receives amounts transferred

from state general revenue.

Then there are the Available

School and Textbook Funds.Earnings from the states Permanent

School Fund (PSF) are transferred

to the Available School Fund (ASF),

which is appropriated by the

Legislature for textbooks and direct

aid to school districts. The PSF is an

endowment consisting of state-

owned land and mineral rights,

royalty earnings, stocks and bonds,

and designed to be a perpetual

funding source for education.2 The

ASF also receives one quarter of all

revenue generated by the motor

fuels tax.

The other state funds come from

state lottery proceeds, TEA-

administered grants that support

initiatives to improve student

performance as well as teacher

merit pay and awards, and from

Teacher Retirement System (TRS)

Retirement and Health Benefits

which is the states contribution for

active school employee health

benefits and retirees retirement and

health benefits.

Federal funding is also given to

states from the U.S. Department of

Education, most of which is

administered by the TEA and th

state treasury. And of course

federal stimulus funding from the

American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is in ethrough 2011, resulting in a

temporary increase in the share

school district revenue.

Part 2: Robin Hood Finan

System

The Robin Hood plan (also kn

as Chapter 41 of the Texas

Education Code) is a financing

method used by the Texas publi

school system, where caps are

placed on tax revenues for scho

districts and any excess revenue

redistributed to poorer schooldistricts.

For years, a great disparity exis

between the amount of revenue

highest property wealth districts

could raise compared to the low

property wealth districts. To rem

this, the Texas legislature passed

law in 1993 that would equalize

funding in all Texas school distri

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Similar to the legend of Robin

Hood, who robbed from the rich

and gave to the poor, this law

requires districts over a certain

property wealth level to share theirwealth with lower wealth districts.

A school district is considered

property wealthy and subject to

Chapter 41 status when its property

value divided by the number of

students using the weighted

average daily attendance (WADA)

ormula exceeds the state maximum

of $308,000. Local tax valuesabove that amount are recaptured

by the school finance system and

redistributed (per a formula) to

poor school districts. Chapter 42

school districts are the ones that

receive the additional money from

he State of Texas.

Currently, 135 school districts must

share their wealth while about 900

districts receive money under the

Robin Hood system. These 900

districts that receive money under

Robin Hood educate 88% of Texas

public school students.

Recently, HJR 104 (a House Joint

Resolution Bill) was introduced on

February 23, 2011, seeking to

eliminate the Robin Hood Law. The

bill was referred to the Public

Education committee on March 10,

2011.

Part 3: Local Districts andFundraising

The Texas public school funding

system is a shared arrangement

between the state and local school

districts. State and local funds for

public education in Texas are

distributed through a system of

formulas known collectively as the

Foundation School Program (FSP).

All Texas school districts (but not

charter schools) are entitled, under

the Texas Constitution, to receive

payments from the Available

School Fund (ASF) for each eligible

student enrolled. The ASF is

primarily made up of revenue

generated by the states fuel tax

and the Permanent School Fund

(PSF). The bulk of ASF funds are

distributed on a per capita basis to

school districts. For 2010-2011, the

ASF rate was $466.66.

District Fund Balances represent

difference between a districts

assets and liabilities. Each distri

total fund balance consists of thr

separate balances: restricted,assigned, and unassigned funds

Restricted funds are those that

cannot be spent or are reserved

a specific legal purpose, such as

funds associated with the federa

National School Lunch program

Assigned funds are amounts

reserved by the districts schoolboard for a specific purpose, su

as money designated for

construction projects not funded

bond debt, or for self-insurance

programs.

Unassigned funds are the

remaining funds meant to help

guarantee districts cash flow, si

state, local, and federal fundsarrive at different times througho

the year. These funds are

understandably scarce given the

number of schools that take thei

share of the funding pie.

In Texas, 38.8% of the states tax reve

comes from property taxesmaking it the s

most reliant state on property ta

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Worthwhile programs such as

music, art, physical education, and

foreign languages have been

curtailed or eliminated, and

neighborhood schools have been

shut down. What is most disturbing

is that in many areas of the

country, the ax is falling on core

academic programs, and the trend

is likely to continue. In an effort to

offset the growing deficits, many

districts have undertaken small and

large-scale fundraising campaigns.

Some proven ways to supplementan annual school district budget

include partnerships with

surrounding businesses, small and

large-scale fundraising efforts,

foundations, and local support

venues. A fundraising effort

involves the help and leadership of

many different people. A

superintendent would be the

overall leader of a fundraisingeffort. His or her primary

responsibility is to meet with

potential donors and foster a vision

for the overall fundraising effort.

Other major players are the school

board members, principals,

teachers and staff, and of course,

parents.

Part 4: Per Student Funding

Nationally, over 20 years, per-

pupil costs increased from $7,603

in 1987 to $11,674 in 2007, a 54%

increase when adjusted for

inflation. Texas spends a higher

percentage of its state budget on

public education and higher

education than other states on

average. But over the last decade,

Texas has dropped sharply below

the national average in per-pupilspending. During the 2009-10

school year, Texas spent $8,540

per student--$1,959 below the

national average ($10,499). This

places Texas 43rd among the states

in spending per students. New York

ranked No. 1 at $18,216. In New

York and several other states with

high spending per student, the

costs were driven by salaries and

benefits.

Average Daily Attendance (ADA)

is a method of counting students

for the purpose of providing state

aid to school districts. Currently,

Texas counts students in attendance

each day and averages the

attendance count over the year.

This is the number they use to

determine per student spendin

Some districts qualify for a

Compensatory Education

allotment. If a district participain the Compensatory Educatio

Program, they are committed

providing additional instructio

programming for underachiev

or educationally disadvantage

students. The amount of financ

support the districts receive fo

program is based on the num

students that participate in thefederal free or reduced-priced

lunch program.

Does spending more money p

student make a school better?

Maybe. The fact is, there is no

research to directly corrobora

this relationship. A better que

to look at is how schools are

spending their money. Everystudent is capable of being

successful in school, but so ma

lack the extracurricular resour

that address their non-academ

needs.

During the 2009-10 school year, Texas spent $8,540 per

tudent. This places Texas 43rd among the states in spending

er students. New York ranked No. 1 at $18,216.

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notes

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Break into pairs and take

turns explaining to each

other the Texas public

education financing system.

Then discuss what you think

should change if you hadthe power to change it.

Explain how you would go

about advocating for the

changes you believe should

happen, if any, in relation to

school finance.

What is the issue youwould address?

What change do you

envision?

Who would you address

to deal with the issue?

good ideas?

let others hear them on

DallasFACET.org

Further Information

School funding in Texas:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index.aspx?

id=2147484908&menu_id=645&menu_id2=789&cid=2147483

657

http://www.investintexasschools.org/schoolfunding/history.php

Robin Hood Finance System:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6796&menu_id=645

1. Go to www.DallasFACET.org & create a New Account2. Take action on current Action Alerts3. Join an Action Group & take part in the online conversation on your groups blog4. Invite friends to join.

Ste s to Take ActionOur lives begin to end

the day we become silentabout things that matter.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr

SPECIAL THANKS for the research and development of materials toAnn Drumm, Melva Franklin, Maria Rojas Fernandez, Leslie Johnson,

Shree Moffett, and Cameron Vickrey.

Work product of Dallas Faith Communities Coalition. Permission required for reproduction.

DFCC2011

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