The issue of public school funding by the government has remained debatable in the recent past. The point of argument is that the current models of funding public schools do not enhance transparency. Moreover, there are those who have opined that the current models of funding public schools do not take account of the varied social problems and background issues faced by each student leading to inequity. It is also argued that the existing formula for funding public schools is not comparable to the other government agencies which are funded from the national and state budgets. In this essay, it is submitted that there must be a new formula for optimal funding of public schools across the country. The proposed formula in this essay is the weighted student funding model.
Social Problems
Public schools have always received students from families which do not have sufficient incomes to afford the education offered in private institutions. Students who throng the public schools are those who hail from low class families. A few of them come from the middle class social backgrounds. Essentially, these students face numerous and varied social problems in their homes (Beers, 2005). The social problems faced by such students include frequent illnesses, lack of virtually all learning materials, hunger and lack of shelter. They affect the running of public schools in terms of finance.
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Unfortunately, with the rising culture of capitalism, poor families continue to sink into more poverty as the rich become richer. It implies that most families with students in the public schools continue to experience new challenges in life as days pass by. These social problems are occasioned by events such as the rising inflation rate and growing prices of commodities across the country.
Therefore, without a proper funds allocation model in public schools, it is impossible to fully account for the social problems which are faced by most low class pupils in the institutions. It is vital to have an efficient and effective model that can fully bring in equity and justice in the funds given to the public schools. The model picked must also be one that enhances transparency in the use of public funds. Understandably, most public schools squander funds allocated to them leaving pupils to remain stranded without learning materials and improved social welfare.
Weighted student funding model
There have been efforts in past geared towards the improvement of the school finance formulae with a view of achieving higher equity for the taxpayers. However, these efforts have always met many stumbling blocks. The first problem which has stalled the implementation of measures meant to improve funding equity is political conflict. In the past, politicians pulled in different directions on this matter hence eroding the much needed political goodwill which would enable implementation of required policies. In any country, nothing involving the change of public policies can succeed without full political goodwill (Sawchuk, 2006). Politicians are the ones who make the relevant legislations to enable smooth implementation of policies within a nation.
The other problem that has been in the way of implementing better formulae for school funding is lack of proper and supportive research. There is no substantive research which has been able to effectively offer empirical evidence regarding the possible success of a suggested model of funding in public schools. This factor made it difficult for the policy-makers to jump on one of the proposed models considering the uncertainty surrounding the question of potential outcomes.
However, today many of the problems have been eliminated significantly. It is now widely agreeable that to equalize funds and optimize the relationship between cost and quality, it is vital to have assessment of educational needs of every child done. According to the sentiments of Hoff (2006), the United States of America is a nation that direly requires shift in the model of funding public schools. Fortunately today, political goodwill has been achieved because of the bipartisan stance taken by politicians in support of this reform agenda. Politicians support a funding system that is premised on the developing school budgets informed by per-pupil allotments. The allotments have to be weighted based on the educational needs of every pupil in the school. Moreover, the view of Dillard (2006) lack of equitable funding for schools is hurting states and districts hence there is high need for the adoption of the weighted student funding formula to ensure schools are equally financed.
Understandably, there is a new school adequacy funding formula that tries to estimate the costs involved in providing educational needs of students in the entire state. In the 1980s, many states used to focus their school funding policies on equity. The overriding principle that underpinned the financing policies was that all students deserved opportunities which are comparable. Therefore, more funding was accorded to the socially and economically disadvantaged pupils (McFadden, 2006) . Despite this equitable funding of schools, there was no attention on the way the finances were allocated hence the many lawsuits which arose. Many people sought to get a legal precedence that would guide the allocation of funds in schools. It is also vital to note that there were many cases of swindling of the funds given to schools since transparency was absent.
It is true that the New York, where I belong, is in need of an effective school financing model so that public school students can be able to enjoy education just like their peers in the private schools. Education quality within public schools in New York is not comparable to the one in private ones because of the issue of finances. Therefore, it is important that you as our representative in New York State presents this petition to the policy-makers you can access since it will be the fundamental first step towards improving the level of education in New York schools. I inform you that the system of funding which is required in New York is one where the background and economic characteristics of each pupil are considered and taken into account. This model is supported because it will enable the education field to achieve equity and transparency in the way money is distributed to schools and used. Moreover, it is a formula which will enable schools to get more independence in carrying out their budgeting functions.
However, there is also an air of uncertainty regarding the overall impact of the suggested weighted student funding formula on the issue of school finance adequacy lawsuits as well as the political implications of premising the financial weights on the social backgrounds of the learners. Although the current school funding in schools has got some element of student base, there are many weaknesses as identified in this letter. The student base is recalculated after four years of use. The recalculation is normally done based on the C-graded schools that spend within one standard deviation of the average level. The student base used currently does not consider the demographics of learners and educational needs of each student enrolled in the districts. Additionally, an adequacy test is never done. Educational leaders in schools have no incentive to spend money efficiently and effectively. Therefore, they just squander and swindle it at will. Moreover, the student base used now continually ties education spending to the swings in the economy hence missing out in terms of the realistic nature of dynamics within the field of learning.
The student-centered funding based on weights suggested in this letter will be as follows:
Total Target Funding = Students x Base Amount x Weights
In the above formula, the base amount variable stands for a baseline cost for each pupil. The weights are multipliers that are developed from the specific needs of every student. This formula is the one referred to as the weighted student funding.
The positive ramifications of this proposed formula
There are many benefits that the education sector in New York stands to get from the weighted student financing formula once implemented. Firstly, there is the benefit of flexibility and accountability. The new formula will also inspire an environment of innovation within schools. With this particular formula, the state of New York will easily determine the return on investment as well as the extent of funding required in schools. The formula used currently makes it difficult to track the funds distributed to schools. It is also vital to mention the element of fairness and efficiency in the proposed formula. Firstly, more funds will be given priority students in terms of their educational needs with use of weights to allocate additional funds. In this formula, funding policy will not be tied to spending.
Conclusion
The weighted student funding formula is suggested in this letter as the most efficient and effective one which New York needs. This new formula will help in addressing many challenges faced by the existing model of financing public schools. Some of the expected benefits of this formula include enhanced equity in allocation of school funds. There will also be increased transparency as the formula makes it easy to track the distributed funds. Understandably, the formula is also fair and efficient since it divorces financing policies from the spending trends of schools.
References
Beers, K. (2005). With equality for all. Voices From the Middle, 13(1), 4-7.
Dillard, S. (2006). State to use weighted school funding formula. Education Daily, 39(137), 5-6.
Hoff, D. J. (2006). Call for ‘weighted’ student funding gets bipartisan stamp of approval. Education Week, 25(42), 1-3.
McFadden, B. W. (2006). The politics of adequate funding. Leadership, 35(3), 12-16.
Sawchuk, S. (2006). Weighted student funding could boost transparency. Education Daily, 39(162), 1-2.
