Equity in School Funding A webinar for local community groups and educators to learn about new federal transparency requirements

Transcription

1 Equity in School Funding A webinar for local community groups and educators to learn about new federal transparency requirements

2 Presenters Samantha Tran Senior Managing Director, Education Children Now Rob Manwaring Senior Policy & Fiscal Advisor, Education Children Now Luz Cázares Founder and Fierce Advocate for Equity in Education Lucid Partnerships, LLC 2

3 Objectives for today s dialogue The Landscape An update on education funding in California in the era of the Local Control Funding Formula Federal Changes Highlight key changes in federal requirements that can help promote school site funding transparency The Strategy Strategies that you can use to help your district achieve equity in its distribution of funds and resources Q&A Session Time to answer any lingering questions from the audience 3

4 The Landscape An update on education funding in California in the era of the Local Control Funding Formula 4

5 Now is the time to have impact AUTUMN Reflection and Preparation WINTER Listening and Feedback SPRING Draft, Share, Revise, Repeat SUMMER Refine, Finalize, and Foster Commitment 5

6 Initial LCFF Funding Targets 6

7 Opportunity for Greater Transparency Reaching the target is not adequate funding for schools and there will continue to be significant cost pressures. Even though it isn t an adequate level of funding, reaching the initial LCFF target important because: The Base has been inadequate, and now the State will be able to raise the Base and ratchet up the entire system. Transparency Benefits 7 It will increase clarity on Base, Sup, and Con allocations by district It establishes the opportunity for more concrete conversations

8 What Changes After We Hit Initial Targets 8

9 Federal Changes Highlight key changes in federal requirements that can help promote school site funding transparency 9

10 Key Changes to School Site Reporting 10 Districts need to start reporting fed, state and local dollars at the school site level Requires a process to define the categories that they will use to report this information It seems likely that districts will need to design this process themselves

11 Opportunities to Engage & Influence Why should you care? This is going to be your tool to assessing: If Title I & III and Sup/Con dollars are making it to the kids that generated them, and Ensure that schools receive a similar amount of base funds Timeline 11

12 The Strategy Strategies that you can use to help your district achieve equity in its distribution of funds and resources 12

13 Engage Proactively Partner with your district Pose questions Create a culture focused on student outcomes not compliance 13 It is easier to conceptualize inequity when we re talking about dollars. -Sharonne Navas, Equity in Education Coalition

14 A budget is a story A budget has: Numbers Context Time Consider: 14 Spending reductions = $4M Spending reductions = $4M out of $1B Spending reductions = $4M out of $100M after 5 years of spending reductions totaling $18M

15 Per pupil spending is an exercise in arithmetic Per Pupil Spending = Dollars Scholars Numbers Supplemental and concentration funds are special dollars for special scholars Context Central vs Site vs Multiple Sites LCAP Special Education Grounds & Maintenance Time Across years 15

16 Questions to ponder and requests to make What services and programs are budgeted: At our school sites? Centrally? Based on sites? Based on student numbers? Based on student needs? What does the per pupil spending figure in our SARCs mean? What is included? What is excluded? 16

17 Key Contacts & Timing To seize this opportunity there are key decision-makers and timelines that you ll want to keep in mind Key Contacts Chief Business Officer School Board Members Superintendent Proactive Principals Timing 17 Reach out now to begin the conversation District leaders may want guidance from the state. It is not clear if that guidance will come or what it might include Ultimately districts will need to determine an approach by July 1, 2018

18 Why this matters Getting to full implementation will provide an important moment of reflection to see how we have invested our dollars during this shift to LCFF. As we build toward the future, it is important to make sure that we have the tools - including clear school site expenditure reporting to support educators and community leaders understand if and how resources are being equitably distributed 18

19 Q&A Session Time to answer any lingering questions from the audience 19

20 Contact Info Samantha Tran Children Now Rob Manwaring 20 Children Now Luz Cázares Lucid Partnerships, LLC

21 Thank You 21