Rollout of Fair Student Funding in NYC
In 100% contrast to Brewer's lameness, Joel Klein and his team (notably Robert Gordon and Chris Cerf) aren't slowing down or backing off their revolutionary reform plan for NYC. The latest announcement is that they're rolling out Fair Student Funding, a critical element of their plan. Below is the press release, a NYT article and the main web page with further details. Here's my summary:
a) $110 million is going to schools that need it most, 85% of them Title I.b) Over time, the system will be more equitable in terms of capturing the real cost of teachers. The current insane and grossly unfair system (which exists in EVERY school district in the country except Oakland) charges each school's budget the EXACT SAME AMOUNT for every teacher, regardless of that teacher's actual cost. The result is that the better schools, which benefit from more experienced (and thus more expensive) teachers, get a huge hidden subsidy, while the schools serving low-income, minority children get a double whammy: lots of inexperienced teachers yet don't benefit from the lower cost of these teachers.c) This system creates more transparency -- more than any system in the country that I'm aware of. Every school gets a one-pager shwoing what they got under the old system, what they'd get under pure Fair Student Funding, and what they get under the new system being rolled out. This will put to rest the concern that money is being taken from the schools that are overfunded, which isn't true, and is an important foundation for many much-needed reforms in the future.d) The system not only gives principals more money, but far more critically, greater autonomy to spend it as they see fit. Of course, if you do this, then it's critical to also hold principals accountable, which is already happening.
CHANCELLOR KLEIN ANNOUNCES SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER, MORE EQUITABLE, AND MORE FLEXIBLE SCHOOL BUDGETS, GIVING EDUCATORS GREATER SPENDING AND DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
Over $900 Million More Supporting Schools and Students
City’s First-Ever Fair Student Funding Budget to Send $110 Million to Under-Funded Public Schools
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced that the New York City public schools will receive unprecedented new levels of funding for the 2007-08 school year, and that the administration’s new Fair Student Funding program will bring greater equity and transparency to those budgets. As a result of the infusion of new State and City education dollars, as well as ongoing efforts to reduce bureaucracy, schools will receive roughly $900 million in new aid, some of which is tied to specific programs and increased teacher salaries and benefits. They will have significantly greater discretion—to hire new teachers, buy supplies, or provide enrichment services for students and staff—over several hundred million dollars of new funds as well as over funds that were previously on school budgets but tied to specific programs. $110 million of the $900 million will go directly to the 693 schools that have traditionally been receiving less than their fair share. The school budgets that principals, parents, and all New Yorkers will be able to view on a newly improved budget website reflect major steps toward equity, transparency, and school-based leadership—core principles of the City’s Children First school reforms. Educators will now have substantially more funds, as well as the decision-making power they need to make informed decisions that help
“We are funding our public schools at unprecedented levels and in a new way,” Chancellor Klein said. “This year, we’re giving schools more spending power and greater discretion over how they spend their resources, and we’re taking a major step toward making our school funding system equitable. Our new Fair Student Funding formula will help us level the financial playing field, making sure that all schools receive what they need to educate their students, so all schools can be held to the same high standards.”
Of the total amount the DOE is sending to schools and students this year, $110 million is being distributed to the 693 schools that were receiving less than their fair share according to the City’s new Fair Student Funding formula, whose development was informed by a three-month public engagement process. These schools will receive about 55% of what they would receive if the DOE fully transitioned to the new Fair Student Funding formula, up to a maximum of $400,000 per school this year. By the 2008-09 school year, the Department aims to bring all schools up to their full fair funding level. This plan will hold schools harmless, increasing equity for under-funded schools, while preserving stability for all schools. This means no school will lose funds, but those schools that have traditionally received less than their due will now receive additional dollars.
Also included in the total pot of new money going to schools is $170 million that the DOE is redirecting and allocating to schools as new “Children First Supplemental Funds” that schools will use to purchase new School Support Organization services and other goods, services, and staff that they determine will help students succeed. The $170 million comes from cuts to central and regional budgets. This will bring to $230 million the amount the DOE has cut from the bureaucracy and sent to schools over the past two years to purchase support services, goods, services, and staff that school-level educators determine will help students succeed. A full list of how the DOE is allocating new State and City education dollars is attached.
Along with new money schools are receiving this year, principals and their teams will be given additional discretion over hundreds of millions of dollars that were previously tied to specific programs. This will allow principals and their teams to choose the best programs and support services for their students and teachers. It will also allow them to purchase the materials, staff, and services that are best aligned with their school’s specific needs.
Under Fair Student Funding, schools will receive additional resources based on the needs of their students and the size of their student population. The Department has assigned “weights” to different types of students, based on what grades they are in and their level of need, determined by factors like how well they are doing in school, how poor their families are, and whether they qualify for special education and English language learner services. For example, the DOE is assigning additional weight to middle school students to help middle schools improve outcomes for their students, who typically score farther below grade-level standards than other
The Department is also creating new incentives for schools to enroll struggling students and help them succeed. It is creating weights for students who enter school scoring at the lowest levels on standardized exams. It is also encouraging schools to accept students who transfer out of failing schools under the federal No Child Left Behind act by providing $2,000 per child, and it has announced that in 2008-09, there will be weights for students who have recently tested out of English Language Learner programs and for students who have moved to less intensive special education services. All of these initiatives fund needed services and will motivate schools to improve instruction and outcomes for struggling students. A full list of weights is attached.
The DOE is also launching a new website at www.nyc.gov/schools/offices/ChildrenFirst/FairStudentFunding that will allow principals and teachers as well as parents and other New Yorkers, to visit a public, easy-to-read website, which provides comprehensive budget information on a single page. The site will show how much money schools are receiving, compared to how much they received in the past and how much they would receive if the City had brought all schools this year to the Citywide average funding level under the FSF formula.
“You shouldn’t have to go back to school just to understand a school budget,” Robert Gordon, the DOE’s managing director for resource allocation, said. “We’re showing educators, parents, and other members of our community a clear picture of what schools get and why. This will allow us to see where money is spent well and where it isn’t and make better decisions about how we use our resources in the future.”
Since Mayor Bloomberg announced the Fair Student Funding plan in his
------------------------
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein released next year’s budgets for New York City’s more than 1,400 public schools yesterday, using a new financing system that will drive far more money to schools serving low-achieving students, children from low-income families and those who speak limited English.
posted by Whitney Tilson at 3:32 PM
<< Home