Dave Trabert and Mike O’Neal: Shift resources to classroom instruction

An Eagle editorial ignored state statute in describing the Legislature’s policy goal that school districts should allocate 65 percent of spending to instruction (“Spending goal arbitrary,” Oct. 16 Opinion). The goal is not to be measured against current operating spending, as claimed by the editorial. The statute clearly says: “It is the public policy goal of the state of Kansas that at least 65 percent of the moneys appropriated, distributed or otherwise provided by the state to school districts shall be expended in the classroom or for instruction.”

The larger issue, however, is that the Legislature set an aspirational goal to get a larger share of resources where students would benefit the most. Schools allocated 54 percent of total spending to instruction in 2005, and the Legislature encouraged them to use their court-ordered windfall to put a much larger portion toward instructional spending.

Instead, local school boards maintained the same basic allocations (on average). Ten years later and nearly $2 billion more in education funding, school boards only allocate 55 percent of total spending to instruction – and education levels remain unacceptably low:

▪  Only 32 percent were considered college-ready in English, reading, math and science on the 2015 ACT exam.

▪  27 percent of students who attend college in Kansas sign up for remedial training.

▪  Low-income eighth-graders are 2 1/2 years’ worth of learning behind other students in reading.

Nothing works better than having effective teachers, yet over the past 10 years local boards increased non-teacher employment at twice the rate of classroom teachers (10 percent versus 5 percent) while enrollment increased only 4 percent.

With 286 school districts, there are 286 separate systems for accounting, payroll, purchasing, information technology, transportation, food service and so on. Kansans overwhelming support providing such services through a few regional service centers and putting the savings into instruction.

Simply pouring more money into the system that, for whatever reason, produced these outcomes is like putting more expensive gasoline into a poorly running engine. We need to fix the engine, and that should be done without trying to assess blame. Everyone is responsible for finding solutions that will give every student the opportunity for a good education and the chance to experience the American dream.

We need to put students first.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Dave Trabert and Mike O’Neal: Shift resources to classroom instruction."