Budgeting for Equity: Teacher Salaries & Student-Based Budgeting. Aaron Smith Reason Foundation

Transcription

1 Budgeting for Equity: Teacher Salaries & Student-Based Budgeting Aaron Smith Reason Foundation

2 Key Takeaways I. The use of average salaries in budgeting can lead to significant inequities within districts. II. This practice combined with related policies often shortchange low-income students. III. Addressing these problems is challenging but districts can adapt solutions to local needs.

3 What is Student-Based Budgeting? The allocation of funds via a weightedstudent formula based on student characteristics such as ELL, SPED, and poverty. An individual student receives the same funding regardless of which school they enroll in.

4 Student-Based Budgeting in the States Baltimore, MD Boston, MA Cincinnati, OH Denver, CO Poudre, CO Hartford, CT Houston, TX New York, NY Newark, NJ Prince George s County, MD Oakland, CA Saint Paul, MN Milwaukee, WI Minneapolis, MN San Francisco, CA Rhode Island Rochester City, NY New Orleans, LA Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL Twin Rivers, CA Philadelphia, PA Austin, TX Camden, NJ Jefferson Parish, LA East Baton Rouge, LA Adams 12 School District, CO Cleveland, OH Detroit, MI Memphis, TN Clark County, NV Hawaii

5 Key Principles Equitable Funding Transparency Portability School Autonomy Accountability

6 Implementation Decisions Degree of Autonomy Budgeting Tools Principal Training & Support Developing a Formula Accountability Framework Actual vs. Avg. Salaries

7 Actual vs. Average Explained Teacher A Teacher B Actual Salary $45,000 $65,000 Avg. Teacher Salary $55,000 School #1 School #2 Actual Teacher Salary $45,000 $65,000 Charged to Budget $55,000 $55,000 Net ($10,000) $10,000

8 Teacher Sorting Behavior Teachers aren t distributed evenly within districts Highly-skilled teachers in low-income schools tend to transfer or leave the profession Study concluded Nonwhite, poor, and low performing students attend schools with less qualified teachers Result: Schools in low-income communities often subsidize schools in high-income communities. Source: Teacher Sorting and the Plight of Urban Schools: A Descriptive Analysis, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Lankford, Loeb, and Wyckoff

9 Research Findings CRPE study found intradistrict disparities in all four districts examined Avg. gain/loss in Cincinnati was $106,974 or $189 per pupil Largest school loss was $959,730 or $613 per pupil Source: How Within-District Inequities Help Some Schools to Fail, Brookings Papers on Education Policy: 2004, Roza and Hill

10 Case Study #1 Spring Branch ISD Houston, TX 35,000 students across 46 schools Use traditional Full-Time Equivalent budgeting

11 Northbrook HS (2,248) Memorial HS (2,595)

12 100% Demographic Comparison 90% 85% 80% 70% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 10% 16% 5% 22% 0% Econmically Disadvantaged At-Risk ELL Source: Texas Academic Performance Report, downloaded February 2016 Memorial HS Northbrook HS

13 Demographic Comparison 100% 90% 80% 70% 85% 70% 80% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 10% 16% 5% 22% 32% 0% Econmically Disadvantaged Source: Texas Academic Performance Report, downloaded February 2016 At-Risk ELL College Ready Memorial HS Northbrook HS

14 Per-Pupil Expenditures Northbrook HS Memorial HS $727 Difference $6,613 $5,886 Source: Texas Education Agency PEIMS Financial Report, downloaded February 2016

15 Per Pupil Expenditures by Program Total Per Pupil Expenditures $5,886 $6,613 Students with Disabilities $511 $949 Accelerated Education $102 $435 Regular Program $3,987 $3,603 $0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 Memorial HS Source: Texas Education Agency PEIMS Financial Report, downloaded February 2016 Northbrook HS

16 Teachers by Years of Experience 35% 30% 33% 30% 30% 32% 25% 20% 19% 17% 21% 15% 14% 10% 5% 3% 3% 0% Beginning 1-5 Yrs 6-10 Yrs Yrs 20+ Yrs Memorial HS Source: Texas Academic Performance Report, downloaded February 2016 Northbrook HS

17 Average Actual Salary by Position Type Campus Administration $94,130 $91,165 Professional Support $57,496 $56,696 Teachers $56,872 $53,507 $3,365 $0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000 $90,000 $100,000 Memorial HS Source: Texas Academic Performance Report, downloaded February 2016 Northbrook HS

18 Additional Teachers Classroom Technology College Counseling Tutoring

19 Case Study #2: Montgomery County Public Schools In 2014 a Office of Legislative Oversight report found the achievement gap between high-and low-poverty high schools has widened among a majority of measures considered OLO sought to determine whether funding differences between schools accounted for these challenges

20 OLO 2015 Report Findings Low-income schools had more teachers and smaller classes Wealthier schools had more expensive teachers MCPS using federal and state compensatory education funds to subsidize operating budget District receives $151 million annually for low-income programs but spends $47 million of it on non-compensatory education Source: Resources and Staffing Among MCPS Schools, OLO Report Number, September 2015

21 So why do most districts still use average salaries?

22 We don t want principals put in the position where they can trade for newer, cheaper teachers. The fit is what s important, not principals deciding based on costs. Tradeoffs Lack of Short- Term Flexibility Predictability Political Salary Incentives Source: Fair Student Funding Summit: Conference Proceedings and Recommendations for Action, Education Resource Strategies

23 What can districts do? Make funding transparent Adapt transition to local needs Address teacher sorting challenges

24 Questions & Discussion Thank You! Aaron Smith