Dave Trabert: Need new school-funding formula

There may be fewer than five people in Kansas who truly understand the Kansas school-funding formula, which is only one reason the current formula should be replaced.

Some believe the formula works if fully funded, but that depends upon how one defines “works.” More cash may temporarily satisfy the monetary desires of institutions and the adults in the system, but even a large cash infusion has done little to close achievement gaps and prepare students for postsecondary success. Funding will top $6 billion this year and set another new record in excess of $13,000 per pupil. Even excluding pension costs and adjusting for inflation, funding over the past 10 years increased by $713 million. Districts used an additional $399 million of taxpayer money to increase their cash reserves by 87 percent since 2005.

Yet only 36 percent of white students scored well enough on the 2014 ACT exam to be considered college-ready in English, reading, math and science. It’s even worse for Hispanic and African-American students, at 14 and 7 percent, respectively. Only 38 percent of fourth-grade students are proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, and low-income fourth-graders are almost three years’ worth of learning behind everyone else – in the fourth grade.

It will always cost a lot of money to fund public education, but it is how the money is spent that makes a difference – not how much. On average, only 55 cents of every education dollar goes to instruction. Administrators could make a lot more money available, but they choose to operate inefficiently. Every Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit report has found districts to be inefficient, and most of the recommendations have been ignored. Administrators even acknowledged that they often choose to spend more than necessary in testimony before the K-12 efficiency commission last year.

That’s another flaw in the current school-funding formula – it gives districts more than is necessary to educate students and doesn’t require efficient use of taxpayer money.

The K-12 funding formula is irreparably broken and should be replaced with one that is transparent and student-focused and requires efficient use taxpayer money. That considerable effort will take time. In the meanwhile, the formula should be replaced with a block grant based on this year’s intended funding. That may be less than what districts desire, but it is more than adequate.

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Dave Trabert: Need new school-funding formula."