Presentation by Karen Hawley Miles to the U.S. Department of Education's ESSA negotiated rulemaking session on "supplement not supplant."

1. Overview of School Funding
ESSA Negotiated Rulemaking
Dr. Karen Hawley Miles March 2016
President & Executive Director • Education Resource Strategies

2. How are districts funded?

3. Spending varies widely across districts...
2
Source: 2013 ERS database analysis; refers to operating expenditures. For comparison purposes only, the dollars are adjusted for geographic differences
in the cost of living, so they will not match district reported numbers exactly.
$7,800 $8,300
$9,200
$10,200 $10,800
$13,000
$14,100 $14,400
$16,800
$21,100
Aldine,TX Charlotte, NCKnox County,
TN
Fulton
County, GA
Denver, CO Prince
George's
County, MD
Baltimore,
MD
Cleveland,
OH
Washington,
DC
Newark, NJ
K-12 Dollars Per Pupil
~
3
x

4. All levels of government fund education – Title I is the
federal government’s largest contribution
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Survey F-33, 2012-13
10% 16%
45%
49%
45%
36%
National Average Typical Urban District
Sources of Education Funding
Local
State
Federal
3

5. How do districts allocate
resources to schools?

6. Most districts allocate staff positions to schools but use
of weighted student funding is growing
Source: ERS
Typical Weighted Student Funding
How
resources
are
allocated
Most staff positions and non-personnel budgets
are allocated based on enrollment
Some positions are allocated based on school size
Staffing ratios vary by:
 Grade level
 Student need
 Programs offered
Schools get a set dollar amount per pupil
with additional amounts (weights) linked to
student needs such as:
 Poverty
 Special Education
 English Language Learner
 Grade level
Example  1 Principal
 1 Assistant Principal if less than 450 students,
2 if greater
 1 teacher for each 18 students in grades K-3
 1 teacher for each 22 students in grades 4-5
 1 Special Education teacher for 24 students on
an IEP receiving supplemental support
 $5,000 per general education pupil
 Plus $600 for each low income student
 Plus $1,000 for each ELL student (0.2
weight)
5

7. But not all positions or spending in schools goes
through these formulas
Example positions that might be allocated using different rules:
 Instructional Coaches
 Additional staff or resources for magnet programs
 Staff positions that serve more than one school such as a:
 Nurse
 Art teacher
 Utilities
Districts vary in how much they keep out of the formula
6

8. Most districts experience significant per pupil
funding variation across schools
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
$10,000
$12,000
Source: ERS analysis; Midwest partner district financial file 2016 7
Secondary schools tend to be higher funded than elementary schools
Median $5.8K
Hi-Lo Spread 1.6X
Median $7.0K
Hi-Lo Spread 1.9X
Median
$6.5K
Hi-Lo
Spread
1.6X
Actual District Example
School Level Gen Ed. Dollar per Gen Ed. Student by School
Excludes Federal Funds
Elementary Schools Middle High

9. 80 to 90% of a school’s budget is spent on people
65%
5%
2%
5%
8%
1%
2%
9%
Typical School Budget
Teachers
Instructional Aides
Student support
Administration
Clerks & Other Staff
Substitutes
Supplies
Utilities & Maintenance
Source: ERS analysis 8

10. Most districts use average (as opposed to actual)
teacher salary for budgeting which disguises inequity
9
Using average salary School A School B
District average salary $60,000 $60,000
Number of teachers 10 10
Budgeted for salary $600,000 $600,000
Though the district
would appear to be
making an equal
investment in these
schools on an average
salary basis…
…School B actually
invests $300k more
than School A
Using actual salary School A School B
Novice teachers earning $30,000 each 5 0
Mid-level teachers earning $60,000 each 5 5
Experienced teachers earning $90,000 each 0 5
Actual salary $450,000 $750,000

11. Novice teachers tend to be placed disproportionately
into high-need schools
10Source: ERS analysis; Midwest partner district financial file 2016
16%
30%
Lowest-need quartile of schools Highest-need quartile of schools
Actual District Example
Novice Teachers by School Need Quartile