KEAT: From the 80's Playbook

The Seven Member

Kentucky Education Action Team

Decries Inadequate School Funding

"The public hears a lot of talk

about education having been 'protected'

from cuts in recent years,

but that's only true on a relative level

to the cuts in funding to other public services.

School funding has not gone untouched,

and the public needs to understand that.

--Bill Scott, Ex Dir KSBA

Recently, Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday and Prichard Committee Executive Director Stu Silberman began a little sabre-rattling over the state budget and the legislature's apparent contentment to underfund the schools. Previously, we've heard from Council for Better Education President Tom Shelton. When I first heard the comment that it was time to "draw a line in the sand," I wondered how serious these educational leaders really were.

A list of organizations resembling the Education Coalition of the 1980's, combined forces today to call on the legislature and governor to do better for Kentucky's children and teachers, Conspicuously absent was the Council for Better Education - the only organization to date with the moxie to actually sue the legislature for ignoring their constitutional duty. Twice. If there's any real "insisting" to be done, it will be done by the Council.

How much better, if the Council were to be encouraged by rough draft amicus briefs (and a good deal of grass roots networking) from the seven groups who popped off today.

I realize that Council for Better Education members are likely also KASS members, but still, if there's sabre-rattling to be done, it helps if the legislature actually believes there's a real threat of political action. ...and any lack of resolve will leave today's announcement as a footnote in history. KEAT's mission is only to "persuade the Kentucky General Assembly, parents and the public." Is this Phase One? Is there more to come?

Jim Warren's lead in the Herald-Leader:

A new education coalition said Wednesday that state support for Kentucky public schools has fallen over the past four years despite perceptions to the contrary, urging Gov. Steve Beshear and the 2012 General Assembly to reverse the trend with more money.

Calling itself KEAT (Kentucky Education Action Team), the new group contended that inflation, combined with state funding that has remained flat or been cut in some areas, has led to declines in seven key programs, including the basic SEEK funding that supports school operations.

"Our purpose is to let our legislators ... and the citizens of Kentucky know the realities of what has happened to funding in our schools over the last four-year period. There has been a trend ... of reduction after reduction after reduction," said Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and a spokesman for KEAT. The reductions are risky because they have come as Kentucky schools are preparing for new content standards, a new accountability system and a new statewide test, KEAT members said during a news conference in the state Capitol rotunda.

Stu got all that exactly right. The legislature's Senate Bill 1 needs teacher support or it's not going to work.

But absent real tax reform - a can the legislature has been kicking down the street for...how long now? - it's hard to see how this effort works out.

Status quo + promises = 0

It was the legislature's underfunding of the schools during the 1981 session that got 60 of the state's school superintendents mad enough to put their names and their jobs on the line, and stand up. The 1985 session settled the issue. But the legal circumstances are better now. Since the Rose decision, education is a fundamental right. Prichard has built an impressive citizen's network, and the KEA is still the KEA - when they wanna be...(Remember Ernie?)  

Since 2007, the "education establishment" as represented by the Action Team members has been "playing nicely together" - even to the point that the KEA has been willing to go along with teacher evaluations based, in part, on test scores, in order to secure federal funding.

While the Prichard Committee has consistently pointed out the differences between the governor's rhetoric, and the actual funding losses schools were suffering, the general attitude has seemed conciliatory, and vaguely hopeful.

What should one make of the fact that the gubernatorial election just ended? Is it safe for the collective patience to have now worn thin?

Silberman said, in the KEAT press release

“Having all of these organizations come together like this is a historic time for Kentucky. We believe that education is the bridge to a better life for all Kentuckians. The progress that has been made over the last 20 years is in danger of regression due to the reductions in funding.”

While I certainly agree with the fact that Kentucky's educational progress is truly threatened by inadequate funding, it remains to be seen whether this is an historic event. So far, it's only a press conference.

This from the AP/Herald-Leader:

The state's leading education advocacy groups joined forces Wednesday to call on Gov. Steve Beshear and lawmakers to increase funding to public schools.

The Kentucky Education Action Team, a coalition of advocacy groups, complained in a Capitol press conference that public schools have taken financial hits in the economic recession that has caused about $1 billion in shortfalls over the past four years...

The Action Team includes:

• Kentucky Association of School Administrators
• Kentucky Association of School Councils
• Kentucky Association of School Superintendents
• Kentucky Education Association
• Kentucky Parent Teacher Association, and
• Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.
• Kentucky Parent Teacher Association

The group is demanding:

• restoration of SEEK funding
• restoration of textbook funds
• fully funded preschool programs
• fully-funded teacher training
• family resource centers
• youth services centers
• after school programs and
• school safety programs

"Leaders of the coalition said SEEK funding has declined from $4,230 per student in 2008 to $3,769 per student this year. And, they said, state funding for textbooks has dried up entirely.

Sharron Oxendine, president of the 42,000-member Kentucky Education Association, said lawmakers need to know the funding cuts have negative effects in classrooms. As the state's largest teachers' organization, Oxendine said members see those impacts every day...

KEAT Press Release from KSBA:

K-12 groups begin campaign for school funding,

call for restoration of cuts over past four years

For the first time, seven organizations representing the full spectrum of elementary and secondary education in Kentucky have banded together to urge Gov. Steve Beshear and the General Assembly to reverse four years of state funding reductions to key services that support teaching and learning in the state’s public schools.

During a Frankfort news conference today, representatives of the Kentucky Education Action Team (KEAT) called on state leaders to restore funding to the SEEK (Support Education Excellence in Kentucky) program, the primary source of state funding for public schools; and to key elements such as textbooks, preschool, teacher training and family resource and youth services centers, along with afterschool and school safety programs.

“At a time when schools are being expected to significantly boost student achievement, budgeting equals tools that can help teachers and schools succeed for students,” said Tim Hitzfield, president of the Kentucky Association of School Councils and principal of Conner High School in Boone County. “Training, materials, technology and extra time for students are all key investments for kids to succeed instead of just getting by.”

KEAT’s efforts represent the first statewide joint advocacy campaign by the seven founding members: Kentucky Association of School Administrators, Kentucky Association of School Councils, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, Kentucky Education Association, Kentucky Parent Teacher Association, Kentucky School Boards Association and the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Prichard Committee Executive Director Stu Silberman said, “Having all of these organizations come together like this is a historic time for Kentucky. We believe that education is the bridge to a better life for all Kentuckians. The progress that has been made over the last 20 years is in danger of regression due to the reductions in funding.”

Jessamine County Schools Superintendent Lu Young, a member of the board of directors of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, said her members are “excited about the collaboration. This is perhaps the first partnership that focuses entirely on funding issues that impact our children.”

During the Jan. 4 news conference, KEAT released data demonstrating the reductions in state funding to key K-12 programs since 2008, including:

FY 2007-08 FY 2011-12
SEEK $4,230 per student $3,769
Preschool $4,092 $3,191
FRYSCs $103 $87
Afterschool $59 $20
Training $25 $4
Safe schools $17 $6
Textbooks $40 $0 (for the past two years)

“The public hears a lot of talk about education having been ‘protected’ from cuts in recent years, but that’s only true on a relative level to the cuts in funding to other public services,” said Bill Scott, executive director of the Kentucky School Boards Association. “School funding has not gone untouched, and the public needs to understand that.”

Representatives of classroom teachers and district administrators called on state leaders to end the slow eroding of resources that they see affecting student learning.

Sharron K. Oxendine, president of the Kentucky Education Association, a group with 42,000 active, student and retired teachers, said, "KEA members see the impact of reduced funding on their students’ lives and on their own economic welfare every day in our classrooms. KEA believes the united effort to inform lawmakers about the impact of funding cuts is important.”

“Our call to action is necessary and urgent,” said Mayfield Independent Schools Superintendent Lonnie Burgett, president of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators. “Kentucky’s educators are poised to lead our schools in this global society, and our children are engaged and ready to learn. Funding must be restored to meet the higher standards for learning as set forth by the General Assembly in Senate Bill 1 in 2009.”

Kentucky Parent Teacher Association President Teri Gale of Fairdale pledged her organization’s No. 1 focus to “advocate that Kentucky must fully fund all programs it mandates to local school districts.

“Our members believe all parents should be involved both in the home and in the classroom in the education of their children,” she said, “so we support the position that the Kentucky General Assembly acts to restore funding levels for education to 2008 levels.”

KEAT Website:

Mission Statement:
The Kentucky Education Action Team is an action advocacy group whose mission is to develop united messages that will persuade the Kentucky General Assembly, parents and the public to provide and sustain sufficient resources that will advance and support learning for all P-12 public school students to reach their potential for career and college readiness.

KEAT partners believe that:

•The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a moral and ethical obligation to assure that each student is given every opportunity to reach his/her full potential.

•Kentucky’s public schools are a great investment.

•Adequate and sustainable funding of public schools is the constitutional obligation of the legislature.

•Other sources of revenue should be explored quickly if adequate funding for education is not available.

•The General Assembly and Kentucky citizens expect more of our schools than ever before.

•Because Kentucky has among the highest proportion of students living in poverty compared to all other states, more support is needed to ensure that these students succeed in school and in life.

•The needs of our students, schools and state are urgent. The time to act is now.

To support our beliefs, we believe that:

✦ Shared leadership builds capacity for improved student learning
✦ Collaboration creates energy that inspires others
✦ Collaboration is needed among all supporters of public schools for the good of our students and democracy

Increasing Number of Legal Actions Challenge Constitutionality of Budget Cuts

This from ACCESS:

As states continue to reduce school aid, plaintiffs have turned to an array of legal arguments in the hope of preserving educational resources. Advocates and school districts in various parts of the country filed challenges last month. In Arizona, a lawsuit contends that the Legislature’s failure to implement annual inflationary adjustments to school funding, as required by a 2000 ballot initiative, violates a constitutional voter protection provision. In Illinois, the Chicago Teachers Union has alleged that class size increases violate safety codes. Plaintiffs in New Jersey have invoked the state Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, claiming that the Governor’s budget violates specific court orders.

Arizona

In June, five school districts, the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona School Boards Association and several voters filed a special action before the state Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Legislature’s fiscal year 2011 budget, which did not include inflationary adjustments to foundation school funding levels. Petitioners in Cave Creek Unified School District v. Martin argue that the budget fails to fulfill the requirements of Proposition 301, a 2000 ballot initiative that requires the Legislature to annually increase funding by the rate of inflation (or 2%, if it is lower), and consequently, constitutes a violation of Article IV, Part I §I(6), the voter protection clause of the state constitution, which bars the Legislature from repealing laws passed through referenda, or amending said laws “unless [it] furthers the purposes of such measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature”, or diverting funds set aside for these initiatives.

At issue in the case is an ambiguity in the language of the statute, which stipulates that the State make upward adjustments in “base level [support] or other components [of education funding],” or both. The Legislature claims that its actions meet constitutional muster, as this year’s budget includes an increase in transportation funding—one small component of school aid. In their complaint, plaintiffs appeal to both the history of the referendum and precedent to argue that the budget bill constitutes an illegal amendment of Proposition 301. They appeal to precedents and other statutes where “or” and “and” have been construed to mean the latter, and explain that the Legislature’s use of “or” as a disjunctive would produce irrational results. There “can be little doubt,” the complaint explains, that voters expected “that [the measure] would increase education funding so as to offset the effects of inflation.” By choosing to increase funding for only one component, the Legislature “must always…[decrease] funding for education in constant dollars,” thus flouting the voters’ will. The State, they argue, must maintain general funding for education and aid for other components.

The Supreme Court will decide to accept or reject the special action on September 21. Petitioners ask the Court to prohibit respondents, State Treasurer Dean Martin and the State of Arizona, from implementing the budget, and request that the Court rewrite the budget. If they prevail, districts could receive an additional $61 million, compared to the considerably lower $5 million increase they received under the State’s interpretation of Proposition 301. Arizona consistently lags behind the rest of the nation in per-pupil school funding, ranking 49th according to a report released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Illinois

The Chicago Teachers Union, on June 8th, filed a lawsuit against Board of Education of the City of Chicago in the Circuit Court of Cook County challenging defendants’ decision to increase class sizes to 35 students per classroom apparently in response to the fiscal crisis.

Plaintiffs charge that the presence of 35 students and 1 teacher in each classroom “pushes…rooms past the safety threshold,” in violation of the Municipal Code of Chicago, §13-56-310. The plaintiffs seek an order from the Court prohibiting the Board from increasing class size.

New Jersey

During his brief tenure in office, first-term New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has repeatedly targeted education funding in his effort to close revenue gaps and balance the state’s budget. In February, he issued an executive order freezing $475 million in school aid. His order directed school districts to tap into surplus accounts in order to offset the loss in state funding, a move sharply criticized by advocates of equity and adequacy. More recently, Christie proposed a budget that would reduce education funding by almost $1 billion.

Last month, the Education Law Center (ELC), on behalf of the Abbott v. Burke litigants, filed a motion requesting the state’s high court to block implementation of the 2010-2011 budget, which fails to fund schools at the levels required by the 2008 School Funding Reform Act (SFRA). In Abbott XX, the high court declared that special funding for the Abbott districts was no longer necessary and upheld the constitutionality of the SFRA, arguing that it provided for a “thorough and efficient education for every child.” The Court warned, however, that providing adequate aid was a “continuing obligation,” and ordered the state to provide full funding each year and conduct a review of the formula after its third year of implementation. If “any deficiencies of the constitutional dimension” were to arise, it would remediate.

ELC lawyers argue that the state has violated the constitution as it has failed to meet its funding obligations, and consequently, foreclosed the possibility of a three-year review of the formula’s “full implementation.”

Last spring, in an unrelated case, the Perth Amboy School District argued that Christie’s executive order violated the separation of powers doctrine. The state appellate court upheld Christie’s action on the grounds that the funding cut was within his powers in a time of “fiscal emergency.”

Stimulus Spending: A Bright Spot

This from Politics K-12:

Despite the $100 billion unprecedented infusion of federal cash in the stimulus, the budget situation for K-12 in most states and districts remains pretty dismal. One very bright spot? Arkansas, where some superintendents have a difficult, but enviable challenge.

They're trying to figure out how to spend a significant boost in federal funding - millions of dollars in some cases - on a very tight time frame. And because the money is temporary, they can't put it towards anything that can't be sustained once the funds go away. And, of course, it all has to tie back to the goals of raising student achievement.

On top of unprecedented increases for Title I and special education, Arkansas districts got a major boost from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which was supposed to backfill cuts to K-12 and higher education. But the Natural State didn't have any cuts to restore. In fact, it has increased funding for education, in part because of a school finance lawsuit.

So most of that money went to districts, through the Title I formula. Districts could spend the dollars on any activity authorized one of four major federal laws: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or the main laws governing students in special education, career and technical education, and adult and family literacy. Districts can also use the money to renovate and
repair facilities.

So what have Arkansas districts done with all this largess? Well, according to the folks at the state department of education, quite a lot. Much of the state stabilization money went to school facilities, particularly renovation and modernization projects, such as adding on a new science lab or building an addition...

Kentucky School Finance History

Over at EdJurist, Justin Bathon has been producing videos illustrative of various school law topics.

On Tuesday he posted a nice explanation of the history of school finance in Kentucky as outlined by Council for Better Education co-counsel Debra Dawahare's "Public School Reform: Kentucky's Solution" and Bill Hoyt's, "An Evaluation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act."



Nice. I found myself wanting more, like something on the Rollback law.

Notes: The number of CBE school districts at the time the Council's case was filed was actually 60 according to the council's own records. CBE kept saying 66 because that represented the number at which Bert Combs agreed to represent them. *

It should be noted that the Corns Committee Bathon refers to was determined to be an unconstitutional intrusion into legislative authority. This separation of powers issue was also key to the summary judgment issued in Young.

* Day, Richard E., Each Child, Every Child: The Story of the Council for Better Education, Equity and Adequacy in Kentucky’s Schools, Ed. D. diss., University of Kentucky, 2003

Washington set to take on more of cost of education

This from the Seattle Times:

The state Senate voted Thursday to expand the state's responsibility to its 1 million schoolchildren, adding to the list of programs it must pay for under the state constitution.

The state Senate voted Thursday to expand the state's responsibility to its 1 million schoolchildren, adding to the list of programs it must pay for under the state constitution.

Supporters consider the bill a historic piece of legislation, one that updates a 30-year-old definition of basic education they've long considered inadequate.

To be phased in as money becomes available over the next nine years, the bill also would simplify education-funding formulas, and usher in a number of other changes.
"It is not all right to be 47th in the nation in class size. It's not all right to have
a dropout rate between 20 and 30 percent. And it's not all right to pay our teachers 21st in the nation," ... said state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, who chairs the Senate's early-learning and K-12 education committee....

States Roll Dice on New Funding

This from Education Week:

Gambling Linked to School Aid

in Fresh Wave of Ballot Measures

Amid tight budgets and shrinking revenue, states are wagering that voters in next month’s elections will agree to expand state-sanctioned gambling in exchange for increased school aid.

Initiatives on six state ballots Nov. 4 (Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Arkansas) involve gambling revenue intended to raise money for everything from community college funding and college scholarships to general K-12 operating aid...

Presidential Hopefuls Differ on K-12 Spending

This from Education Week:

Educators are still waiting for the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees to put forth detailed plans on education that would allow a comparison of how the two would shape federal K-12 policy over the next four years. But in at least one area, the differences between Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are clear: education spending.

Sen. McCain pledged in a speech last month “to make government in Washington more efficient” and to “freeze discretionary spending until we have completed top-to-bottom reviews of all federal programs to weed out failing ones.”

Sen. Obama, meanwhile, has proposed about $18 billion annually in new federal education spending, including programs aimed at expanding early-childhood education and bolstering teacher training.

While it’s unclear how he would reshape the No Child Left Behind Act, Sen. Obama has also advocated additional funding for the law’s programs...

Report: Ohio, Ky., relatively fair in school-fund allocation

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

In most states, school districts whose students are predominantly low-income or minority get the least public funding, a new report says.

But Ohio and Kentucky in recent years are reversing that trend.

A study by the Education Trust, a Washington-based education think tank, shows Ohio and Kentucky bucking the national trend of short-changing disadvantaged public schools.

School districts across the country spent on average $938 less per pupil at high-poverty districts than at low-poverty districts in 2005, the most recent year studied. The funding gap has widened since 1999, according to EdTrust.

Similarly, high-minority school districts were funded at $877 less per pupil than districts with few or no minorities. That funding gap narrowed since 1999, the report found.

"Many of the school districts with the greatest needs often receive the least funding, begging the question of whether we're setting some students up for failure," wrote Carmen Arroyo, EdTrust research director.

EdTrust based its analysis on census reports and federal education statistics...

...Kentucky in 1999 spent $801 more per student in high-poverty districts than in affluent districts. By 2005 it improved that to $878 more per impoverished student.

The state also wiped out its gap affecting high-minority schools.

Arkansas Supreme Court Ends School Funding Case

Lakeview School District No. 25 v. Huckabee came to a close this week when the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas now provides a constitutionally adequate education to its 450,000 public school students.

The case provides a useful road map for Kentucky's legislature.

The opinion specifically cited the legislature's additional spending, including a $122 million increase in per-student funding and $456 million from the state's surplus to pay for repairs to dilapidated school buildings. That funding recently raised Arkansas's per-pupil standing among the states reached a very respectable 12th, very likely a historic high.

"We hold that the General Assembly has now taken the required and necessary legislative steps to assure that the schoolchildren of this state are provided an adequate education and a substantially equal educational opportunity," justices said in the unanimous, signed decision.

The case dates back to 1983, when justices declared the public education system unconstitutional, in part because of inequitable funding, and warned that the state must constantly review and revise its efforts.

"Anybody who thinks we're through has missed the point. This is an ever-changing and evolving target that requires constant vigilance," Governor Mike Beebe said.

In the ruling, Justice Robert L. Brown singled out a state law requiring an annual review of what constitutes an adequate education.

"What is especially meaningful to the court is the masters' finding that the General Assembly has expressly shown that constitutional compliance in the field of education is an ongoing task requiring constant study, review and adjustment," Brown wrote.
~
(PHOTO: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, left, and Gov. Mike Beebe answer questions in the Old Supreme Court Room at the state Capitol in Little Rock on May 31. —Danny Johnston/AP)
~
"The court has said yes, it's about spending more money and showing your commitment to education, but what's more important is how you spend it," Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said. "It's not just throwing money at a problem. It's having open, public, objective findings on what's the right course."

"This is not a time to say, 'let's forget about education and do something else,'" Beebe said.

Arkansas Education Commissioner (and former Fayette County Superintendent) Ken James said he and other state officials need to make sure that lawmakers understand the need to improve the state's public school system. "The next step, needless to say, is due diligence to make sure that we're continuing on the track to improve the educational process and make sure we don't backslide," James said. "We're not going to remove standards and we're not going to remove those accountability standards."

David Matthews, the attorney for the Rogers school district and the lead lawyer in the case, said he agreed with the court's decision. "I think the time has come for Lake View to end," lead attorney David Matthews said. "I think this definitely ends it."

Little Rock School District attorney Chris Heller said he hopes the Legislature will still address problems he's raised with facilities funding and money for poor students. But Heller said he doesn't think another lawsuit is needed for those fixes. "I think we've made tremendous progress as a result of this case and I think the few remaining concerns we have about education are relatively small compared to what's been accomplished," Heller said.

Sen. Jim Argue, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the court's order was a cause for celebration but cautioned that the state should not repeat its mistakes of becoming complacent on education reforms. "Now, we need to stay the course and not retreat because of this accomplishment," said Argue, D-Little Rock. "I think the state's history is one of brief moments of great progress followed by decades of neglect."
~

History

• Supreme Court found the Arkansas school system unconstitutional in 1983.


• Legislature devised a system in which money followed the child.


• A new school funding formula based on per-student expenditures was established in 1996 after the now-defunct Lake View School District and others sued the state.


• The court ruled in 2002 that school districts were underfunded and that the money spent was distributed unevenly.


• Legislators approved a number of reforms in 2003.


• Legislature approved reforms in 2004.


• A review by court-appointed masters approved by the court.


• In 2005, the court ruled that the system was still inadequate, and gave the state until Dec. 1, 2006 to address shortfalls in the system.


• Shortly before that deadline, four school districts asked the court to maintain oversight as legislators met in 2007.

This from CNN.

This from Education Week (subscription).

Arkansas Governor Signs Bill Adding $122 Million for Schools

Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, signed legislation last week that authorizes an additional $122 million for Arkansas public schools, a move that could bring a long-running school funding case closer to an end.

The additional $214 in per-student funding and proposed funding to upgrade schools statewide are considered major steps toward addressing the Arkansas Supreme Court’s 2002 mandate to adequately and fairly fund the 450,000-student school system.

Late last year, the high court reappointed a pair of court masters to review the state’s efforts to improve the schools after three school districts complained that the state had failed to meet the court mandate. A report by the masters to the court is pending.

The two bills signed into law together increase state funding per student from $5,662 to $5,876 for the biennium, beginning July 1. One bill increased the per-student funding by $58.3 million over the biennium. The other bill would provide an additional $63.4 million over the same period, but that increase is considered “enhanced funding” that might not be available to school districts in future years.

Last week, the governor signed into law a $5.1 billion public school budget paying for the per-student funding increases. Arkansas Governor Signs Bill Adding $122 Million for Schools

From Education Week.

Lawsuits lurk over cost of fixing schools

What constitutes and adequate system of schools? This question was recently thrown out of a Kentucky circuit court (Young v. Williams) over a technical issue regarding the separation of powers. So, it's back to the drawing board for Kentucky. But many states have similar actions pending.

In California "lawmakers now have more than 1,000 pages of research documenting loads of problems with the state's schools and estimating how much it would cost to successfully educate every child.

The landmark package of 22 studies released last week by Stanford researchers calls for at least a 40 percent increase in education funding and an overhaul of the way the state governs its schools.

...Lawyers call them "adequacy" suits -- and about 30 states have been slapped with them, said Molly A. Hunter of the National Access Network, a New York advocacy group that tracks litigation over school funding.

"What typically generates a lawsuit is school districts feel like they're not getting enough money from the state ... to do what the state is asking them to do," Hunter said.

And that usually means getting students to meet increasingly rigorous academic standards. Over the past decade, many states have ratcheted up their expectations of schools and students without giving the schools more money -- prompting the wave of adequacy suits."

This from the Sacramento Bee.

No Cheap Fix for California Schools

California's immense public school system is plagued by gross inefficiencies and inequalities that will require fundamental reforms and much more money, according to a series of studies released this week.

Suggested reforms included making it easier to fire bad teachers, providing massive infusions of resources to schools that serve the poor, delivering more accurate student data and eliminating excessive paperwork and conflicting rules and directives.

This from the L A Times.

California School Funding Study to be Released This Week

The 1,700-page, $3 million report has a simple central finding:

Money alone cannot fix California's public elementary and high schools. It will require major reforms, some controversial. And those reforms, indeed, will cost billions more annually.

See the Los Angeles Times article.

ON SCHOOL FUNDING, STATE IS INADEQUATE

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
March 24, 2003
Author: Richard Day

The Fayette County delegation to the Kentucky House of Representatives recently wrote to the Fayette County Superintendent and Board of Education regarding the current budget woes.The delegation wants the school board to shut up and do its job (cut the budget).

They complained that it is "not appropriate" for school folks to encourage taxpayers to contact their elected representatives and complain about inadequate funding for our schools. The delegation claims they have gone to "extraordinary lengths to provide the resources and means" to give our children the programs they deserve.Frankly, I'm stunned by the heavy-handed arrogance and shortsightedness of their position.The extraordinary lengths they claim to have gone are a fantasy. It is as though their only standard for excellence is passage of a budget (a year late) that somewhat exceeded what the governor had proposed for education.This falls well short of the constitutional mandate required by the Supreme Court in Rose v. Council for Better Education.

In school funding cases, the court sees "adequacy" as an issue of whether schools have the resources necessary to meet the goals set by the state. When our expectations are low, bare sufficiency may well provide adequacy.However, Kentucky's goal of a proficient education for each and every child is no easy standard. Adequate support for Kentucky's children must be sufficient in quality and quantity to assure that all schools meet the needs of all students.

Until the Supreme Court ruling in Rose, and the passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act, the legislature had happily contented itself to underfund a very modest system of schools for the benefit of most of its students.KERA stands as the General Assembly's great historical triumph -- the first time Kentucky ever earned national recognition for educational excellence.Kentucky climbed from 49th to 36th in support of its schools and conditions began to improve for children, but more recently, our legislators have been content to allow the system to slip once again.

The Office of Educational Accountability has been informing the General Assembly since 1994 that the promise of KERA has not yet been achieved.Since that time they have advocated steady increases in school funding. But time and time again, our legislators have ignored calls for more support for capital outlay, debt service, special education and teachers' salaries.The salary increases mandated in this past session -- nine years after the OEA recommendation -- were done in such a way that Fayette County will apparently not even benefit.It is also notable that the legislature is considering elimination of the OEA -- the very office the General Assembly had been ignoring.I guess some folks are just getting tired of hearing it. This would be particularly sad because the OEA stands as the General Assembly's visible symbol to all educators that any retreat from excellence would be dealt with seriously.

When school districts are inadequately funded, school boards are forced to cut programs. The district's principals have said with one voice, "Don't cut programs that directly touch children." If funds were sufficient, the board would not be talking about cutting at all.

In fairness, the delegation's claim that Fayette County failed to take the steps necessary to qualify for school construction funds is accurate.Neither have we levied local taxes sufficient to address our facilities needs. The board took strong, appropriate action on the first matter, and I hope will soon address the second.

While it may be amusing to watch those in power above us blame each other and make excuses, in the end, it is disheartening.Those of us at the school level know that no matter who ultimately gets blamed, we're the ones who must be here for the children.We are reminded daily, there can be no excuses for failure. The legislature, the school board -- everyone -- must do his or her job, so that we can do ours.

Caption: - Richard Day is principal of Cassidy Elementary School in Lexington.
Edition: FinalSection: CommentaryPage: A13
Copyright (c) 2003 Lexington Herald-Leader
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