Stouffer: The legislature is considering education reform, not reductions

In his weekly report, Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, says the legislature is working to reform education:

While state legislators are working to improve education opportunities for Missouri students by instituting reforms, reducing funding to the state’s schools seems to be out of the question.

Today, legislators are hoping to keep funding for Missouri schools at a stable level, despite the economic downturn. However, some funding changes have had a disproportionate impact on local schools. While “funding for classrooms” through the foundation formula has remained steady over the years, other allocations have been altered.

Transportation Funding: This line-item has been a victim of reduced funding in the last year; local districts use these funds to transport students to and from schools, including by bus. The governor withheld $70 million designated for school transportation for the current fiscal year, which will end on June 30, 2011. Since then, $17.5 million of those dollars have been released. Transportation funding is critical for large, rural districts. Annual transportation funding per district can be viewed on the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) website: www.dese.mo.gov.

Career Ladder: Established in 1985, Career Ladder is a program that partners state and local resources to pay teachers for doing work above and beyond what is required; this program is particularly popular in our part of the state. There was some concern this program would be cut last year, after teachers had already completed hours of work. However, the program has been eliminated from DESE’s current budget. The annual amount previously allocated for this program to each district in previous years is available online at www.dese.mo.gov.

Parents as Teachers: This program provides parents with in-home consultations with professionals to ensure appropriate development is taking place for Missouri’s preschoolers. Last year, this program was downsized to keep it in existence and funding varied from district to district. The governor has proposed increases for Parents as Teachers funding in his budget.

Administrative Costs: DESE has calculated administrative costs percentages of each district in the state. This information has also been made available on their website.

School Size: In a previous “Stouffer Report,” I emphasized that education funding is closely tied to school enrollment. According to DESE, there are currently 522 school districts in Missouri, with an average enrollment of 1,662 students. In 1942, there were 8,632 schools in Missouri. By 1975, Missouri had only 563 school districts. Today, nothing in the way the state funds schools encourages districts to close; in fact, there are several funding advantages for schools with fewer 350 students and are growing smaller.

Fund Balances: Funds held as savings for school districts also play a part in the future of each individual district’s solvency and is posted online. This could come into play during the next two fiscal years in Missouri.

Preparing a skilled workforce is an important way to boost our economy in the long-run. We can do this by working to ensure students receive a world class education, regardless of where they live. Education funding and reform debates should focus on these goals.