History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
School funding myths & stepping outside the “new normal”
- 02-16-2011
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Blog by Bruce D. Baker/School Finance 101
I’ve been writing quite a bit lately about rather complex state school finance formula issues. That is much the point of this blog. But it may be hard for some to see how my recent posts on school finance relate back to the broader reform agenda, and to understand the implications of these posts for state policies. Let me try to summarize these posts – posts on spending bubbles, the “New Normal” and school finance PORK. My overarching goal in these posts is to explain that much of the reformy rhetoric about budget cuts and the “New Normal” is based on myth about how school funding works and what we should be doing in these catastrophic economic times. Here are the myths and some of the realities. Reformy myth #1: That every state has done its part and more, to pour money into high need, especially poor urban districts. It hasn’t worked, mainly because teachers are lazy and overpaid and not judged on effectiveness, measured by value-added scores. So, now is the time to slash the budgets of those high need districts, where all of the state aid is flowing, and fire the worst teachers. And, it will only help, not hurt. Reality: Only a handful of states have actually targeted substantial additional resources to high need districts. See www.schoolfundingfairness.org. (more...)
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