league of education voters

www.educationvoters.org


Vision• Every child reads by 3rd grade

• Excellent teachers in every classroom

• Diplomas that get kids ready for college, work and life

• Math and science that help our kids lead the way

• More investment and more accountability


LEV Enterprise

LEV Foundation501 c 3

Research and Policy

League of Education Voters501 c4

Lobbying

Education Voters Political Action Fund

PAC


LEV Enterprise

• Campaigns

• “Levy Library”

• Citizens’ Report Cards

• Evidence-Based Advocacy

• Political Action


League of Education Voters

• Early Learning

• K-12

• Post-Secondary


Washington’s Leaky Education Pipeline


Fund our future

Improvements Going backwards Voters passed EHJR 4204,

allowing levies to pass with a simple majority vote

BEFTF proposed revisions to educator compensation

Legislature passed the Educational Data and Data Systems bill

Gap between the national average and state K-12 per-pupil spending continues to grow

Increase in the number of school districts in financial distress

Widening gap between national average and state teacher compensation

No change No change in reducing class sizes No significant change in reducing the student-counselor ratio


Washington’s Per-Pupil Expenditures Compared to the National Average

After implementation of the Basic Education Act in 1977, total Washington K-12 spending per pupil, from all sources, peaked at 13 percent above the national average. This was a level typical of the 1960s. In 1992-93, Washington’s K-12 spending equaled the national average and by 2005-06 it fell to 13 percent below the national average.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics


Serious Funding Problem


How We Compare


Structural Problems

• Opaque and complex finance system

that obscures actual costs

• Lines of responsibility between state

and local blurred

• Inequitable distribution of resources

• Legacy accounting and data systems


Status Quo

• Graduation requirements that

prepare children for the 1970’s

• Patches (programs and initiatives)

that aren’t part of basic education

• Lack of public trust that limits

revenue

• Weak accountability system

• Entrenched bureaucracies


Quick History Lesson

1993 HB 1209 and 1-601

1998 4 year levies

2000 1% property tax

growth

I-728 and 1-732

2004 I-884 defeated


Quick History Lesson

2005 Washington Learns

2007 Basic Education Task Force

Simple Majority

I-960

2009 Economic Downturn

Law Suits

???


Economic Meltdown

• How bad is it?

• How much worse could it get?

• Where is new revenue coming

from?


So why do I want torun a school district?


Good News• New leaders and new education

advocates in Olympia

• State leaders have been studying the problem for 4 years

• System is broken to the point where policy makers have to do something

• Litigation sabers are rattling


Litigation

• Special education 12+ districts

• Grandfathered salaries Federal Way

• Ample Funding NEWS


Basic Education Task Force

• Review definition of basic education and develop options for a new funding structure

• 14 members, 25 meetings, 5 proposals

• Final Recommendations released mid-January


Our Core Principles

1. The state is responsible for providing every student reasonable opportunities to meet the state’s high school graduation requirements

2. The new finance system is organized to drive improvements in student achievement


Core Principles

3. The funding responsibilities of the state and local school districts are clearly delineated and separated

4. Local decision makers are given flexibility to determine the best use of money while being held accountable for results

5. Revenue distribution is simplified and school budgets are transparent


Finance Reform Proposals

• Full Funding Coalition

• Terry Bergeson

• Dan Grimm

• Legislators

• League of Education Voters


BETF Highlights

• Redefines basic education

• Early learning included

• Transparent model school funding

• Changes to compensation and

certification

• Data and accounting system fixes


Basic Education Definition

• Drives funding!

• Includes State Board of Education proposed Core 24 Graduation requirements

• Prepares students for success in post secondary education, gainful employment and life long learning

• 6 period high school day


Early Learning

• Voluntary program of early learning for at risk children as part of basic education

• Statewide Washington Head Start would replace ECEAP


Proposed Funding Metric Current Funding Metric

Class size by grade, and by subject area in upper grades

Certificated instructional staff per 1000 students

Per student instructional supplies and materials allocation

NERC allocation per certificated staff unit

Teacher course load assumption

None used

Hours of additional instruction for struggling students

A per LAP student unit allocation


Transparency & Flexibility

• 3 school prototypes

• Core allocations for class size, other building staff, maintance, supplies and central office staff

• Funding enhancements for LAP, bilingual, special education, teacher mentoring

• Allocation model, not expenditure model


Performance-Based

• Standards and evaluation for state certification

• Requirements for employment (evaluation criteria and contract status)

• Professional development (mentoring & LID)

• Compensation (base salary & bonuses)


• Career ladder: residency to professional to master

• Effective teaching standards, performance based evaluations, peer review by state certified evaluators

• Residency certificate only good for 5 years

• Must earn professional to stay teaching

• Master= NBCTS


• Statewide mentoring and support system for new teachers

• 10 LID days on salary schedule

• New salary schedule aligned with certification career ladder

• Regional wage adjustment

• Bonuses for state certified mentors and evaluators, school wide bonuses

• Limit supplemental contracts to “T” (time)


Data/ Budget Accountability

• Connect data about students, performance, teachers & courses

• Common standardized structure for cost allocations

• Align finance model with budget & accounting

• Be able to link program cost with student data

• Separate state and local revenues & costs


State/ District Relationship

Technical workgroup to deliberate on new levy formula. Key principles include:

• A per-pupil based calculation for the levy base,

• Eliminating grandfathered lids,

• Sets levy lid at 24% for all districts, and

• Directs working group to create new equalization formula


Monitoring & Assistance

• Based on work of State Board of Education

• Accountability index to identify schools and districts (exemplary & struggling)

• Assistance tailored to need

• Binding performance contract if no significant improvement


Full Funding Coalition• Phase in full funding of basic education

over 5 years, using current formulas for next 2 years. Then use new funding formula’s based on prototype schools model developed by CQEW

• Create new permanent commission CQEW to make recommendations about funding formula and level of performance expected depending on the funding


Full Funding Coalition

• School districts are only expected to provide effective education opportunities in proportion to state funding

• Identifies revenue sources (50% of revenue growth and property tax maneuver) but legislators running away


Legislative Action

• BETF Senate Bill 5444 House Bill 1410

• FCC Senate Bill 5607 House Bill 1817


BETF FCC

Lots more money

YES YES

New model school funding

YES YES

Significant reforms

YES NO


Today’s Politics

• ENORMOUS budget crisis

• Big political mess

• Governor has not shown her cards

• Determined and growing force of legislators and parents who are demanding finance reform THIS session


• Which of these reforms get you most excited? Why?

• Which ones make you the most nervous?

• If you were running the state show and you didn’t have new money, what would you change this session to make things better for your kids?


Parting Thought

• The acute financial crisis that school

districts are facing today makes it

very difficult to think about systemic

change, yet this is the very time

when we should be building a better

school financing framework