Equalization grants: Are poor systems driving Pintos while Gwinnett cruises in a Lamborghini?
Catlady, a longtime poster to this blog, has been asking the AJC to look at the strange calculus of Georgia school equalization grants through which Gwinnett out earns many poor Georgia counties.
The equalization grant program forces wealthier school districts to share money with lower wealth districts. While similar grants have been controversial in other parts of the country, the program has not roused widespread opposition here.
I am happy to report that AJC reporters James Salzer and Nancy Badertscher examined this year’s $436 million grant program and found some odd stuff.
Among their points: Somehow, Cobb and DeKalb don’t qualify for equalization grants, but Gwinnett and Henry do.
As Quitman County’s school chief Allen Fort said about the formula: “What we have is a Ford Pinto. What Fulton and Cobb have are a Cadillac and Ferrari. What Gwinnett has is a Lamborghini. When their Lamborghini has a flat tire, they get an equalization grant. When our Pinto has a flat, we get nothing.”
One of the systems the AJC reporters highlight is Calhoun County, which they describe as “a two-school system of about 600 students from a no-stoplight town 80 miles south of Columbus. Vast fields of peanuts, cotton and corn spread out across much of Calhoun County. The population is slightly less than 6,700, about one-fifth of which resides in the local state prison. The non-prison population is about half of what it was a century ago.”
The piece juxtaposes Calhoun with Gwinnett: (This is an excerpt. Please read the full AJC.com story.)
The “equalization” fund’s biggest check this fall will go to Gwinnett County — Georgia’s largest school district — followed by Clayton, Paulding and Henry county schools. At the same time, many rural districts in desperate financial condition will receive smaller grants than last year, and some will receive no help at all.
Here in impoverished Calhoun County, the grant of $150,000 for the coming school year represents a 50 percent cut from last year. Gwinnett will receive $43 million, an increase over last year and enough to cover Calhoun’s entire school budget for six or seven years.
“We don’t have art, we don’t have music, we don’t have JROTC,” said Calhoun County Superintendent Danny Ellis. “We don’t have the luxury of offering summer school. … We are cutting to the bone and there is no meat. It is literally a situation where you just wonder what can we do to stay open.”
The system is so strapped that teachers will get seven days of furloughs; Calhoun also cut a bus route and all three instructional coaches to save money. It offers only one AP class, in history. By comparison, Collins Hill High School in Gwinnett offers 21 AP courses. Calhoun’s high school has a total of 12 teachers; Collins Hill has 21 in the English department alone. Teachers in Gwinnett face two furlough days next year, five fewer than teachers in Calhoun County.
The equalization fund, set up in 1985, is supposed to provide greater equity in school funding for systems with lower property tax bases. But the collapse of the real estate market in metro Atlanta has changed this landscape, too, and the largest grants go to districts that are neither rural nor comparatively poor.
In the final hours of their 2012 session, state legislators passed a bill intended to slow the growth of the equalization fund and get more money to poor rural districts. And, in fact, this upcoming school year’s grant to Gwinnett is $13 million lower than it would have been under the old rules.
“It’s a lot fairer now than it was,” said Senate Education Chairman Fran Millar, R-Atlanta.
But the Legislature’s last-minute fix didn’t result in windfalls for many of the state’s poorest districts, and communities left out in the cold are mystified by lawmakers’ interpretation of “equalization.”
“What can we do to get some?” asked Dennis Holsey, whose son attends Hancock (County) Central High School. “We need money. We don’t have too many jobs in our area. Poverty is high. It’s not fair that our kids don’t have the same opportunities.”
Hancock County’s system, with the second-lowest household income in the state in 2010, gets no money from the equalization fund because, under the formula used for doling out the money, Hancock is too property-wealthy for its number of students.
“Our [tax digest] has declined much faster than the rest of the state,” said Rick Cost, chief financial officer for Gwinnett schools. “At the same time, we’ve also been growing faster in student population — the double whammy.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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121 comments Add your comment
Peter Smagorinsky
June 19th, 2012
5:58 am
And yet, if kids in Gwinnett do better on tests than kids in Hancock, Arne Duncan will conclude that it’s because they have better teachers, not better conditions for teaching and learning.
mountain man
June 19th, 2012
6:35 am
Make sure when you do the calculations, you do so on a PER STUDENT basis. Also, don’t forget to include the millage rate that each county taxes themselves for education.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
6:41 am
That Gwinnett Schools receive so much money while other school districts are facing massive financial difficulties is criminal in my book. I would love, as a DeKalb Taxpayer and school parent, to sue somebody for this nonsense.
Tucker Dude
June 19th, 2012
6:49 am
The DeKalb School System has been run by idiots for the last 30 years… and Gwinnett is one of the top five most populous county in the entire State, hence more people to tax. They obviously have better lawyers to write their grant applications as well. DeKalb County likes to send money to contractors to build more school buildings instead of improving the existing schools with more resources and better trained personnel.
Howard Finkelstein
June 19th, 2012
7:00 am
All these funds could be better spent on road improvements.
Since there seem to be accounting inconsistencies, the entire program should be eliminated.
Skeptical
June 19th, 2012
7:02 am
If folks in Calhoun County are unhappy, there are plenty of homes on the market in Gwinnett County…and Cobb, Fulton, Cherokee, and, well you get the idea.
Teacher Reader
June 19th, 2012
7:02 am
I want kids in Calhoun and Hancock and other truly rural districts to have close to what kids in Gwinnett, Henry, Palding get in the terms of education. No money should be going to Gwinnett, Henery, or Paulding County schools. These are not truly rural districts.
Old timer
June 19th, 2012
7:09 am
Mountain man…..all that information was in the Sunday paper…..very interesting.
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
7:19 am
If folks in Calhoun County are unhappy, there are plenty of homes on the market in Gwinnett County
The solution to legalized thievery is “move.” Very helpful. That works until the formula is re-written, then you have to move again to the county with the best shyster wringing money out of the system.
I don’t see any allowance for the size of the school system. Up to a certain point, bigger is more efficient. With the decline in rural population some of the smaller counties need to merge. It’s a huge logistical challenge for less than 10,000 widely dispersed people to maintain a decent school system.
dc
June 19th, 2012
7:28 am
let’s see……how much state tax is paid by gwinnett county folks (and metro atl for that matter), vs Quitman county…..and how many kids are there. What a complete crock. If you want a better system, spend your tax money on it like Gwinnett has.
And btw, since “spending money on minorities” seems to be the absolute top focus for govt these days, you won’t find more minorities in any other school system……I’ll bet the head of Quitman is a white guy……and he wants to take money away from poor minority kids???? (haha).
What do you want to bet that there is a really good (small) private school where all the better off kids in Quitman go, and thus the taxpayers there don’t ever support decent public school funding.
dc
June 19th, 2012
7:31 am
Of course, it’s a lot easier to “rail against the system that is so unfair”, than to convince your local taxpayers to actually pay for a decent system. Quit blaming others, and fund your own system to a decent level. Jeez, this “take other peoples money” attitude is spreading to all levels of govt and our society.
Attentive Parent
June 19th, 2012
7:40 am
Maureen–
I am glad your reporters are looking into this. On a related note, is the school district the largest employer in many of these rural districts?
Same with some of the USG affiliates around the state. Have many of these been created or enlarged to be the means of good-paying jobs in these rural counties?
Something I was reading about Kentucky recently where education and health care were the only employment opportunities in many areas. Not to begrudge anyone a job but it also means there’s no dynamism to the local economy. Which will always influence the schools when the primary means of employment is ultimately a wealth transfer from another part of the state.
Technology and innovation happen in urban areas and trading areas near rivers because of the vibrant exchange of ideas from people with a variety of backgrounds and interests. Rural economies throughout history have been stagnant. Apart from the Gwinnett real problem, are Georgia’s metro areas and the lottery proceeds being used to try to play make believe about the reality of rural life?
There are real reasons why it cannot achieve comparable prosperity. Redistribution won’t change that. It just allows people to continue to live in places without a real future but for those transfers.
Misty Fyed
June 19th, 2012
7:46 am
Why are you people so surprised? Any time government gets involved in any redistribution project, the benefactors of the redistribution are always the political favorites. Gwinnett and a few other districts are the show ponies of the state. They are the only ones that can get any national recognition. Without their success, Georgia is just that state that is ranked 47th nationally in quality of education.
How about this? Each district fund it’s own program. That’s a novel idea. If Calhoun wants to trade in its Pinto on a Lamborghini; let them pay for it. If Gwinnett’s Lamborghini gets a flat, let them pay to repair it or consider downsizing to a more economical program.
All redistribution programs are unfair depending on where you are in the food chain. I’m sure if Calhoun was getting $43 million they’d not be complaining about how unfair the system is. If you are seeking fairness, let each system stand on its own. Every child is entitled to the best education his/her community can provide…not someone elses community.
The Hammer
June 19th, 2012
7:51 am
As someone else has already pointed out, the issue is these “poorer” districts a) don’t spend their money wisely, and b) have very low tax rates, thus less money to spend poorly. The simple numbers don’t lie: Gwinnett County has the third lowest property value per student ($136) of any jurisdiction in the entire state, behind the Pelham City ($24) and Clayton County districts ($115).
Joe Frank
June 19th, 2012
7:51 am
How about we stop equalization grants all together and fund QBE for one time since it was started, which has NEVER been done, and see how that works?
say what?
June 19th, 2012
7:57 am
Do away with these grants period. If they must remain, then a district should only be elgible if it has maximized it property tax rate on its property owners for at least two years prior to receiving any funds.
The amount sent to the state, should also be cut in half. This program should be a bare bones program that districts should not automatically receive or expect to receive.
Rick Cost?? He was the CFO for either Dekalb or Clayton,right?
Ernest
June 19th, 2012
7:59 am
Joe Martin has had several interesting and enlightening comments regarding equitable funding for schools along with the equalization grants. There have been several blogs on this topic that are worth revisiting.
Regarding equitable funding, he mentioned that the QBE formula developed in the 80’s has remained static over time and not been adjusted for inflation. He has also made suggestions to modify the equalization grant algorithm to look at the total vs. weighted FTE for each school system.
What a lot of this comes down to is what incentive is there for a ‘receiving’ system like Gwinnett to have its elected state representatives vote to change the funding formulas, especially when they benefit from it?
The blogs I referenced can be found at:
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/10/06/a-possible-new-funding-model-for-georgia-schools/
and
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/02/14/reduction-to-equalization-grants-sounds-boring-but-will-impact-many-georgia-school-districts/
At the end of the day, politics rule….
carlosgvv
June 19th, 2012
8:09 am
Political fairness in Gerogia? Not now, now ever, never.
Csoby
June 19th, 2012
8:09 am
Further proof the need to take federal and state government out of the school system and put it local. Having BIG governemnt ,whether state or federal take money and then disburse it is totally criminal!
Joe
June 19th, 2012
8:10 am
It would really help if AJC reporters actually understood the things about which they write. As Mountain Man points out, Equalization is determined on a Per Student basis. Yes, Gwinnett has a big tax digest and a lot of revenue….but, they happen to be the largest system in the state. That breaks down to Gwinnett not being so wealthy when looking at available resources per student. And, if all of that does not make sense….the point about moving to another school district is right on. I wish some school systems would quit complaining about being poor on the one hand while pouring a ton of money into football and sports programs – see Buford City Schools.
Calvin
June 19th, 2012
8:13 am
@ Ernest….Joe Martin needs to give up. His ideas are all old school. His answer, state government should write a check for about $2 billion and everything will be okay in K-12 funding. Smart guy but no common sense.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
8:14 am
The largest school system in the state in a county with a big tax digest and a lot of revenue should be self-sufficient. Other counties, especially ones with their own financial issues, should not be subsidizing education for Gwinnett County students.
there
June 19th, 2012
8:28 am
Gwinnett county, the way the US will look if Romney (it’s our turn) is president, a disaster.
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
8:29 am
I wish some school systems would quit complaining about being poor on the one hand while pouring a ton of money into football and sports programs
It’s not only football and sports, it’s programs in general. Mr. Ellis complains Calhoun has no JROTC, and only one AP class. But when you have around 300 students in your combined middle/high school, how many AP teachers can you support?
I’m sure their student/teacher ratio would make Gwinnett teachers green with envy.
Clarence
June 19th, 2012
8:33 am
The article never breaks things down per student, and you have to make it to nearly then end of the article before it mentions how many students Gwinnett has. I had to take out my calculator to get the per student grants, and it is about $250 per student in Calhoun, and $260 per student in Gwinnett. That was using rounded numbers though. The article also goes into great detail on income wealth, but no school district in Georgia funds education with an income tax.
There is no doubt that Calhoun isn’t wealthy, but did you know they spend $3000 MORE than Gwinnett per FTE? Or that they spend 21% of expenditures on Admin, Vs. 14% in Gwinnett? This lengthy piece through out a lot of numbers, but it was basically an anti-Gwinnett rant. There’s a lot more to this than $43 million v. everybody else.
Also, the new legislation passed reduced Gwinnett’s slice quite a bit, as well as eliminated counties like Hall and Cherokee, so I think it is a good deal more fair than what we had.
teacher&mom
June 19th, 2012
8:37 am
@Attentive Parent: So you feel that rural areas, based on their “lack of innovation and exchange of vibrant ideas”, should be left to wither on the vine? Interesting perspective. I suspect you do not subscribe to the idea that a global economy is truly unsustainable, given fuel costs and eventual fuel scarcity, while a vibrant local economy is the key to economic stability.
.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
8:39 am
Also, the new legislation passed reduced Gwinnett’s slice quite a bit
No, it didn’t, from the AJC article: http://www.ajc.com/news/poor-schools-still-get-1459452.html
GWINNETT
• Fiscal 2011: $37.7 million
• Fiscal 2012: $39.9 million
• Fiscal 2013: $43.2 million
• Median household income: $63,219
Buzz144
June 19th, 2012
8:41 am
Maureen, like most leftists, can’t see the forest for all the trees. This is exactly why school vouchers are needed. Tie education money to the student and let the student’s parents decide the best school for their kid. The competition would do wonders for the education establishment. Schools would be forced to streamline and innovate. Inefficient ones would wither and die and efficient ones would prosper and grow. It is the teachers who are against this. They would rather be negotiating with a monopoly employer, especially when that monopoly employer is a government who can force people to pay up or go to jail. It is time for some real change in our system.
teacher&mom
June 19th, 2012
8:41 am
“I’m sure their student/teacher ratio would make Gwinnett teachers green with envy.”
I teach in a rural district that is negatively impacted by the equalization formula. I’m sure our student/teacher ratio would not make Gwinnett teachers green with envy. This past year my student/teacher ratio was 1:30. Next year it will be higher. I have four teachers in my department and I try to keep everyone’s preps to around 2-3 courses (4×4 block schedule), however, some teachers have more preps or teach an extended day to cover the course load. Smaller does not necessarily mean less work….
We have one elementary PE teacher and she will have up to 60 students at time. They cut her para-pro so she is on her own.
BlahBlahBlah
June 19th, 2012
8:42 am
I don’t know if it would matter in this instance, but Georgia has FAR too many counties. Some of those smaller rural counties should seriously consider consolidation to realize some economies of scale.
Clarence
June 19th, 2012
8:42 am
Or how about these numbers? Gwinnett has $148 million subtracted from what they earn in QBE for their “Local Five Mill Share.” About 20% of earnings. Calhoun has about $500,000 subtracted. About 15% of earnings. Education finance is very complicated – the article spends nearly 2000 words on one slice with little context. We do ourselves a disservice when we try to pretend this is as simple as who gets a bigger check in one program.
Clarence
June 19th, 2012
8:44 am
@Dunwoody Mom – You’re right that it did go up, but it would have gone up even higher under the old formula – several million higher.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
8:46 am
I luv it when the vultures fight over their ill gotten spoils!
Equalization grants: Are poor systems driving Pintos while Gwinnett cruises in a Lamborghini? | Get Schooled | Buffy Hamilton's Unquiet Commonplace "Book" | Scoop.it
June 19th, 2012
8:48 am
[...] Catlady, a longtime poster to this blog, has been asking the AJC to look at the strange calculus of Georgia school equalization grants through which Gwinnett… [...]
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
8:52 am
Smaller does not necessarily mean less work…
I agree in some cases, like the elementary PE teacher with 60 kids. But when Calhoun’s middle/H.S. ratio is less than 12:1 somebody has empty seats in the classroom.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
9:01 am
Well, gee, Clarence, that makes me feel a whole lot better. @@
teacher&mom
June 19th, 2012
9:09 am
@Aquagirl: While the ratio may be accurate for Calhoun…it may also be distorted by special education classes. Special education class size is mandated by the federal government. Resources classes will pull down the overall student/teacher ratio and make it look like everyone in the system enjoys smaller class size.
teacher&mom
June 19th, 2012
9:17 am
If the state would release some of the restrictions on SPLOST funds, my district would benefit.
For example, if the funds could be used to offset transportation costs alone, we would be in better fiscal shape. Under Perdue school transportation costs were shifted to the local systems. At one time the state paid around 50% for transportation. Currently it pays around 12%.
Huh?
June 19th, 2012
9:21 am
If someone could explain to me what school vouchers have to do with the topic at hand, other than a knee-jerk non-sequitur, I’d appreciate it. Vouchers aren’t going to do squat for anyone in the state outside the Atlanta sphere of influence.
NW GA Math/Science Teacher
June 19th, 2012
9:28 am
A lot of the comments above seem to indicate a metro-ish belief that everyone should be taxed at the same rate. We’re talking about primarily property taxes here. That same rate idea is a recipe for disaster. If you tax the farms in south Georgia at the you will have nothing to eat! An acre with a McMansion on it in Gwinnett county should not be taxed at the same rate as an acre with peanuts on it in Calhoun county. Of course, I’m one of those unenlightened, non-cosmipoliton country folk…
Bernie
June 19th, 2012
9:32 am
Buzz144 @ 8:41 am – No Buzz, Vouchers are not the Answer! Many of us around Georgia do not want the tax dollars going directly into the coffers of the Religious Right and their churches, as well a other religious Churches and organizations who will further make the situation worse and with fewer kids being educated. If that is what you prefer then that is your choice, Pay for it, out of your own pocket.
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
9:33 am
Resources classes will pull down the overall student/teacher ratio and make it look like everyone in the system enjoys smaller class size.
That’s true of any school system. If it produces more extreme ranges in tiny places like Calhoun, it’s a problem inherent to their size. That’s why I pointed it out, their problem may not lie simply in a low tax base, it’s exacerbated by inefficiency. Hiring a specialized teacher for 5 students hurts your finances. In a school with 300 students it’s a deal breaker.
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
9:38 am
I teach in Calhoun County. The ratio is closer to 24:1. We have 15 teachers plus 2 coaches for the middle and high school combined.
Bernie
June 19th, 2012
9:40 am
Maureen, the answer to that is an easy one. Some Students are more Equal than Others. Many here and around Georgia knows what that means too! That has been the operational platform that has been in place since the inception of public school education in Georgia. Not until that changes, no one will ever see fairness in the public educational system here. This is primarily why the LOUD YELLS for private school Vouchers is the order of the day. We must keep the system of division and HATE going! its the Southern Way of life……Proudly.
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
9:44 am
I know that ratio is still a lot lower than most metro schools. And Aquagirl, the problem with consolidation down here basically boils down to physical distance. Our county is geographically large. Why should rural students have to spend hours on the bus?
Maureen Downey
June 19th, 2012
9:45 am
@Macon, I am getting all of those signatures on the petition and plan to talk to the education editor about what is happening in Macon.
THanks, Maureen
teacher&mom
June 19th, 2012
9:46 am
“Hiring a specialized teacher for 5 students hurts your finances. In a school with 300 students it’s a deal breaker.”
Absolutely, but federal mandates give the system no choice whatsoever. Chances are that teacher is paid through federal funds and not state or local funds.
While I can only speak for my rural district, inefficiency is not the issue. We have trimmed our central office and eliminated most teacher/admin positions that were funded at the local level. There are still a few positions that are partially funded by local funds.
We have teachers, who in addition to their regular classroom responsibilities, are overseeing attendance regulations/paperwork, 504 regulations, homebound paperwork, various grants, after school programs, summer programs, etc….often for little to no compensation.
We are efficient.
Rick in Grayson
June 19th, 2012
9:49 am
Take the math compliments of Clarence, June 19th, 2012 8:33 am and the idea of Aquagirl that Georgia nees to consolidate the number of rural counties and you have a solution.
Georgia has a very large number of counties for it’s size. Apparently this was an early state goal that voters would be only be one day’s travel from the country seat for voting purposes.
If Georgia were to cut the number of counties in half, a lot of money would be saved on administrative costs for all kinds of county business including education.
Hamilton
June 19th, 2012
9:49 am
To all that advocate local responsibility – read the Georgia Constitution:
“PARAGRAPH I. Public education; free public education prior to college or postsecondary level; support by taxation
The provision of an adequate public education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia. Public education for the citizens prior to the college or postsecondary level shall be free and shall be provided for by taxation…”
A few paragraphs down, you’ll find the local authority: “Authority is granted to county and area boards of education to establish and maintain public schools within their limits.” They receive the money from the State.
Taxation authority belongs to the State – cities, counties and boards of education can set the rate, but only to what State Law allows.
The long and short of it is that if you want management change, throw out your local board. If you want structural change to the pitiful condition of education in Georgia, talk to your Senator, Representative and the Governor. They have the power. Your property tax money goes to the State first, then they distribute it back to local government as your Representatives see fit.
I always find it amusing that people pound the table when it comes to discussing the constitutional and unconstitutional, and they don’t know anything about the complicated Georgia Constitution. Glad I took Georgia History and Civics in 8th grade. No, I’m not a lawyer.
Georgia Observer
June 19th, 2012
9:49 am
While I’m well aware that there’s tremendous emotion on this issue, the bottom line appears to be:
1. School systems get their local revenues from property tax — not income tax or other income-related measures.
2. School systems account for their spending on a per-pupil basis.
3. As a result, property tax revenue per pupil is the core issue — which is what the equalization grants attempt to address disparities in.
4. The rural/suburban/urban characterization is a false dichotomy. It doesn’t matter what the income or other wealth is in a community if the school system can’t access it — property tax wealth per pupil is what counts.
5. Case study: Henry County. Henry County has been at its state maximum on millage for several years. (In most counties, like Henry, that’s 20.00 mills plus bond debt millage). Henry County Schools cannot raise more local revenue, they’re at the cap. That’s why the equalization grants are critical to low-property-wealth (on a per-pupil basis) school systems like Henry — they simply can’t raise any more local revenue.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
9:55 am
That’s why the equalization grants are critical to low-property-wealth (on a per-pupil basis) school systems like Henry — they simply can’t raise any more local revenue
Then just run your school system on the funds generated by your own county – just as DeKalb and others have to do. It’s insane that my tax money is going to run your schools and my children’s school has to decide which programs stay and which go.
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
9:58 am
I teach in Calhoun County. The ratio is closer to 24:1. We have 15 teachers plus 2 coaches for the middle and high school combined.
I’ll certainly take your word over wiki or the National Center for Ed. Statistics. But still, 24:1 is lower than other school systems that provide subsidies to Calhoun.
And if the coaches are paid through the school system and aren’t teaching, they’re fluff.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
9:58 am
One simple way to reduce costs and improve the system is to reduce the number of years required for a degree. Do we really need 14 years to learn to read and write? From PreK to 12th grade, there is much that can be cut. I suggest we limit the free public education to a total of 10 years, starting at age 8 for first grade. Do not require the smart students to stay for all 10 years, let them test out at any point for their high school degree, based on reading, writing, and math. The warehousing of the young is getting very expensive, and the returns are minimal, hence a rethinking of the whole process is in order.
former Calhoun Teacher
June 19th, 2012
9:58 am
Yes, small rural districts in Southwest Georgia often have two schools, the public one and the private one that popped up in the 1970s. That often means that most of the white students go to the private school while most of the black students go to the public school. Apathy tends to runs amok in the public school, while the parents who want the best for their kids often send them to the private school, or more recently, the charter school that has opened in the area. Even without the support of a lot of funding, teachers and students can achieve huge successes if everyone is working hard to accomplish it. Throwing money at a school won’t help a school unless the teachers, students, parents, and administrators are willing to put the effort in to be successful.
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
10:04 am
@Aquagirl, the coaches teach health and pe, so I should have included them in the total number. Bottomline is we are not able to offer the same levels and variety of coursework that larger systems like Gwinett do, which puts our students at a disadvantage.
Nikole
June 19th, 2012
10:09 am
The main point here, is that metro Atlanta counties like Gwinnett and Henry SHOULD NOT even qualify extra funds. It has nothing to do with writing a grant, they have been labeled rural. That was the qualifier and that is wrong.
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
10:10 am
And the ratios fluctuate from year to year. Last year’s 9th grade class had 42 students, the upcoming class has 60, so I will have 30 students per class as opposed to 21. I really wanted to be able to have an honor’s 9th lit this year because we have a number of really bright students in this group who would benefit enormously from more challenging instruction, but I was informed that we simply cannot afford to have a class with only 15 students.
zeke
June 19th, 2012
10:15 am
If you want to fund all equally, YOU REMOVE THE PROPERTY TAX AS THE MAIN BASIS OF FUNDING! IT IS CRIMINAL TO CHARGE A COBB OR GWINNETT COUNTY HOME OWNER A RIDICULOUSLY HIGH TAX THEN DISTRIBUTE IT TO ANOTHER COUNTY! The idea of a property tax should be in fact not in compliance with the USA Constitution because it violates private property rights and ownership!
Cobb Taxpayer
June 19th, 2012
10:19 am
The concept of “equalization grants” or redistribution of wealth is a badly broken concept and practice – It needs to be repealed ! The Gwinnett and Calhoun example is rather tppical around Gerogia. Time to revamp and let locals tend to educating their local kids. The rich rural land barons need to step up and lead the charge in their communities to fund their neighborhood schools. The taxpayers of Cobb and other counties are paying more than their fair share.
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
10:21 am
we are not able to offer the same levels and variety of coursework that larger systems like Gwinett do, which puts our students at a disadvantage.
Well, we agree there. But what I’m pointing out repeatedly is that merging school systems makes sense, not living out in quiet rural areas and demanding the subsidized perks of big suburban/urban schools, plus coaches who teach a couple of classes.
Sorry, but Calhoun students have the advantage of small schools where they’re not lost in the crowd. Wanting that, plus sports, plus AP classes, plus all the other things they would have if they were in a school of 3000 is like wanting to have your cake and eat it too.
I’m not opposed to some equalization but maybe if the rural reps would exercise their power appropriately you’d get fair treatment. Right now Gwinnett is screwing everyone to the tune of $43 million. My school system is subsidizing EVERYONE while cutting back. If your little system is barely afloat, maybe it’s time to get off your duffs and come up with some solutions.
Tuesday
June 19th, 2012
10:24 am
@Bernie – Living in mommy’s basement and having to use her Internet connection must certainly be frustrating for you.
Consider getting a job and paying taxes. It will please your mother and wonderously improve your understanding of issues.
Ernest
June 19th, 2012
10:26 am
Calvin, you may have legitimate disagreements with Joe Martin but his rationale is correct. When QBE was passed in 1985, it included a clause that authorized the sitting Governor to appoint a task force every three years to review the algorithm and recommend necessary changes to the weights, i.e. book allowance. This has not been done. As a result, the book allowance established in 1985 does not reflect an inflation adjusted allowance today. Everyone knows how much books have increase in price since that time. As a result, the state share to local school districts have decreased while local shares have increased over time. The equalization grants were supposed to provide some relief to poor school districts however that algorithm has not changed over time either.
So much for the state constitution requiring an ‘adequate’ education for its residents. Where do residents feel investments should be made?
Lanier
June 19th, 2012
10:26 am
Let’s look at the school system as a whole and the students that attend the schools. Our students and the schools are our future. Forget the grants for a minute. Unfortunately, for example, the housing crash is the primary cause of the nation’s deep recession and this city’s lag with unemployment and why tax millage income is down. They are directly corelated. To undetstand this, one must look at the metro dynamics when considering growth and schools. For example consider an area in town like Oak Grove near Toco Hills or Fernbank where there is very, very little foreclosure rate. An area like Lakeside High school near Oak Grove has very little foreclosure and subsequent SAT scores at LHS are extremely high for the state. Then compare, for example, to Columbia High School in South Dekalb where foreclosure rates are highest in the city, state, and in the nation, where SAT scores are very very low. Why is this? What is the distinction? Georgia is a national leader in foreclosures. The citizens, after all, created the foreclosures and millage shortage at the inception before the recession even began. We must honestly see this trend for what it is and study to understand why this occured in Atlanta and cities like south Chicago — to be honest with ourselves, so we can see what the real problem is with the metro area schools, our city’s economic slump and lack of employment opportunities here.It begins with the student’s parents. We needs to knows why dis is dee way it diz. Den wees can make tings equals for evrybody.
catlady
June 19th, 2012
10:46 am
Thank you for posting this, Ms. Downey. Here is what I posted (inappropriately on annother topic’s thread.
“I’m glad to see the AJC do an article on “equalization grants.” It would be instructive to also include info on how much each system contributes to the fund, the school millage rate, and the % free lunch. Perhaps also the % of citizens receiving “transfer income” which I understand to be welfare, SS, food stamps, etc. Perhaps also the percent of land privately held–important for those of us with much land as national forest. Could the database gurus work this up into a searchable database for us? I think it would expose quite a few “inconsistencies” that should be re-thought. And, yes, Mr. Millar, we base much of our school money on property taxes, but the state, which also contributes to our educational system, runs largely off income taxes.”
For example, I don’t think my county should be receiving any equalization money because our tax for schools is only about 18 mils. But I sure think, with the number of very poor residents (dependent on federal transfer payments), our dab of money we collect should not go to Gwinnett county! Unless the local system is willing to tax the max, they should be excluded.
I think the grants should take the personal wealth of the community into consideration. For some folks, paying $5000 in property tax is no big deal; where I live, my share of the school property tax is under $400 and for many of the people, living on SS, disability, and other forms of federal income, it is very difficult to come up with even that modest amount. In a county with one big exmployer (besides the school system) the money for parents to put into the schools through fund-raising just isn’t there. Believe me, I made comparisons of our award winning band program when I went to competitions and saw the wonderful extras the Brookwood supporters had provided for their band program!
In my opinion, the equalization grants need to take into account the students being served (SES, parental education, percent sped, %free lunch), the total “county wealth” such as the average per person income, % on transfer payments, industry, AND whether the county/system has been willing to tax itself fully to provide for its children. The money should NOT be taken from struggling systems to give to places like Gwinnett and Henry!
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
10:50 am
2 PE teachers for 310 students is not a couple of classes. And it’s more like Oliver Twist’s plaintive plea than Marie Antoinette. Why should our students not have access to honor’s and AP classes just because they had the misfortune to be born in a rural community? As for sports, they are largely funded through ticket sales and concessions, which the teachers are required to staff, without compensation. And as our superintendent explained, we have cut the reading, math, and graduation coaches, as well as summer school. So please don’t sit up on high telling me to “get off” my duff. Down here, we work our duffs off every day to do the best we can for our students with the limited resources we have.
Understanding Atlanta
June 19th, 2012
10:53 am
I’ll agree that combining school systems should be an option. There are still several counties in rural GA that have combined school systems. Granted I’m looking at this through my metro Atlanta lens and couldn’t fathom having to drive 30 – 40 miles to get to school but that’s what happens in some area when we start attempting to build true economies of scale for rural areas. It could work, logistically it would be difficult…or rather inconvenient especially for after school activities.
The amount a system spends per student is a false idea of what signifies a poor system. Why? Economies of scale. Gwinnett or even DeKalb can group students of like ability together in a single grade, because there are enough students to justify it. While smaller systems with maybe 300 students total can’t. Even combining 3-4 systems to create a 2500 – 3000 student system doesn’t truly give you the numbers to justify as many options for students a 90,000 – 100,000 student system does.
Metro Atlanta does have a different lens when it comes to looking at the rest of the state, I’m guilty of it too, but merging school systems isn’t always the best answer. Being efficient in smaller school systems means cutting teachers or at worst a single building for k-12 to cut down on the cost of facilities. Let’s not even get started on aging facilities in need of maintenance but can’t be replaced because of cost. It’s too many factors in play.
LCMum
June 19th, 2012
10:54 am
Economies of scale. If county tax rate were one mill, a Gwinnett receives $156/student, while Calhoun students get $329/student. I don’t know what the total mill rate is for these counties, but that allows Calhoun to charge a much lower rate and still achieve the same $/student. The real issue is economies of scale. It’s much more efficient to educate 900 students in one school than 350, and clearly the equalization grant does not factor in those efficiencies.
Tax paying Educator
June 19th, 2012
10:56 am
I live in Fulton county (South) and I am being taxed through the nose. I cannot imagine why 2/3rds of my property taxes are being paid to support Fulton county schools. We can’t even get street lights in unincorporated Fulton county. Can we get some form of entertainment on lower South Fulton Parkway besides that Wolf Trapp thing a ma gig. I don’t even know how to get there anyway. Nearby Union City has no name brand restaurants and the quaint little city of Fairburn only has Pizza and Jamaican Food unless you go out on the highway toward Peachtree City. I love going to Serenbe but my cell phone goes out on the way. And it is just too isolated when you get past that last light down the road. I consider this rural extreme! Pesky animals too!
Joe
June 19th, 2012
11:00 am
The grants are not the problem. Taxes? Millage? Counties? The parents are the primary root of the poor student performance. You can install an all new school at Columbia high school in South Deklab with all new then let Lakeside in North Dekalb fall apart and Columbia SATs will never come close to Lakeside’s. What is the destinction? It begins with the parents. Get the parents to come on board and the grants are actually much, much less important.
Dr. Monica Henson
June 19th, 2012
11:03 am
This happens in other Southern states with regard to property taxes & local school finance impact on poor rural districts. I spoke at long length this summer with a superintendent of a rural SC district with a majority minority enrollment that has negligible local tax revenue. Nearly 90% of the minority male voters of age are ineligible to vote due to felony convictions (drugs) and are not homeowners. Retiree voters own property, are overwhelmingly white, and vote against every school bond issue and millage increase.
The public school district is therefore starved of local funds and must depend on state and federal aid to failing schools, which must be used for strictly prescribed expenditures, and those don’t include administrator salaries.
The administrator salaries are pitifully low, so they can’t attract top-quality, experienced principals and assistant principals, leading to almost annual turnover in most of the leadership positions. As a result of the lack of building-level leadership, faculty and staff apathy is overwhelming, school performance is perennially terrible academically in all but one of the schools (which is lucky enough to have a great principal who has been there for several years), and the district has little luck attracting and retaining excellent new teachers. Most of the new teachers and administrators accept positions there because they can’t find one in a “better” district, and they leave as soon as they can get out.
This district maintains enough support staff (custodians, maintenance, cafeteria, teacher aides, etc.) for nearly 1,500 students and keeps six schools open and operating, each with its own administration, faculty, & support staff, even though enrollment over the last decade has declined greatly, and the state has denied any more facilities repair or upgrade funds until they close the excess square footage and operate 3 buildings instead. The BOE refuses to do that, borrowing the money instead, so they are mortgaged to the hilt and couldn’t borrow the money to fix a boiler if the heat goes out now. They won’t lay off the excess employees, several of whom are related to BOE members by blood or by marriage, and they fire every superintendent who tries to get them to do so, leading to district leadership turnover on a par with that experienced in the school buildings. New superintendents coming in have no assistant superintendent and only a couple of directors, so they don’t have a leadership infrastructure to do the kind of hard work that is needed to create and manage systemic change.
This district has been taken over once before by the state, but as soon as the state superintendent of schools lost the re-election bid, the state returned control to the local BOE.
The district high school does have championship athletic teams and the stands are always full for football & basketball games…
Janet
June 19th, 2012
11:03 am
@ Misty Fyed — “Every child is entitled to the best education his/her community can provide…not someone elses community”. Good Point!!
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
11:09 am
Why should our students not have access to honor’s and AP classes just because they had the misfortune to be born in a rural community?
Their misfortune was being born in a community where politicians are unwilling to give up power. The article quite accurately points out Calhoun’s population has dropped by HALF in the last century. Simply put, you’re trying to maintain a system without an adequate base. This is why your moaning over no AP classes and other programs falls flat. Try the boo-hoo treatment on someone who graduated under NCLB, maybe they’ll swallow the guilt trip.
I’m sorry your sports program treats teachers as unpaid ticket and concessionaire operators. But why is that my problem? Sounds like your community likes sports more than learning. That’s not unusual and it’s not cause to pick anyone else’s pocket.
And if you don’t like people sitting up on high telling you anything, quit taking my money. In case you hadn’t noticed, there are lots of people everywhere working their duffs off while politicians and other folks get their perks. You’re the one who stands to lose the most if equalization ends, so vent all you like on this blog. But if the ax falls, your county has a lot more neck on the block. So I’d advise you to address your basic problems and quit treating other areas as a piggybank.
Whining about the ‘po students goes farther when you acknowledge the role of YOUR politicians and administration.
Joe
June 19th, 2012
11:10 am
Taxpaying educator — You could move to North Fulton where the students (not the schools, teachers or brick & mortor) are better. Why is South Fulton school performance so much weaker than in North Futon? It is certainly not the grant system. Why is the real estate so weak in South Futon and so much stronger in North Fulton? Not because of the grant system. It begins with the type of parents.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
11:14 am
Funding inequality is a dificult problem. If it weren’t, it would have been solved by now. At the root of the problem is basing school funding on the property tax. A child’s “educational fate” depends on how efficiently the land around where he/she lives is used for economic purposes. Does this make sense? The problems with fair valuation of property is another complication.
That being said, another fundamental problem is the simple fact that Georgia has 159 counties. Look at a map of the United States with county borders drawn in. Georgia stands out like a sore thumb. This inefficiency has implications for government services other than schools as well. The reason for this is also simple: too many people have a vested interest in the maintenance of their little political fiefdoms. There are advantages to” local control.” There is also a price to be paid. The obvious solution is to reduce the number of counties from 159 to about 50.
There is another solution. Abolish property taxes and base all government funding on a progressive state consumption tax (sales tax.) Take all the money collected in the state and distribute it on a per capita basis to all government entities. A nice thing about consumption taxes is that they are easy to collect.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
11:20 am
DR. HENSON’s 11:03 post sums it up quite well.
Allen
June 19th, 2012
11:21 am
I’m with Lanier and Joe on this. There are very detailed and complex comments in this discussion, but I think the problems are actaully very simple and not complicated at all. Money is a facade to the real problems with good versus poor school and student performance. I came from a very basic school compared to newer schools today and I succeeded very well in the top few percentage of income earners. My parents were very very strict when it came to school work and compliance.Look at South Atlanta City – Fulton. They had to cheat to get their students to pass and they got caught.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
11:25 am
Ah yes, I hear the plaintive cry of the socialist “more money for my pet project.” Learn to work with what you have, reduce free public education to 10 years max, and take your hand OFF MY WALLET!
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
11:28 am
@William Casey, your idea about the consumption tax certainly has merit; however, you would have to factor in that some students are more expensive to educate (special needs, gifted, ESL, low SES) than others and adjust accordingly.
@Aquagirl, under your argument, then anyone who pays taxes (property, incomes, sales) but does not have children in public schools is having their pocket picked?
Lanier
June 19th, 2012
11:30 am
Look at Abe Lincoln. He didn’t recieve any grants. He walked to school and studied by fire light. This is not sarcasim. Have a smart type parent and a smart type child and you have success.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
11:30 am
Students at Columbia high school score lower on the SAT than the students at Lakeside because the Columbia students have lower IQ’s than the students at Lakeside. The SAT is a proxy test for a general IQ test, as our government frowns on using IQ tests to screen people for jobs and placement. A score of 1300 on the combined verbal and math sections translates to an IQ of roughly 130 (average being 100) and is higher than 98 out of 100 scores (IQ’s).
Ron F.
June 19th, 2012
11:40 am
aquagirl: the problem with combining school systems, which some counties have done, is geography. In those sparsely populated areas, farming in the business, and you could easily be 40 miles or more from the nearest town. The cost of transportation, combined with amount of time spent on the bus, makes it challenging to move kids back and forth. In my own rural county, we have kids on buses as early as 6:15 in the morning because of the distance, number of stops, and speeds allowed on rural backroads for buses between one end of the county and the schools. It can be about an hour trip by bus, and that’s just within our county. To combine with one of our neighboring counties could add 30 minutes or more to that time. Geographical distance may not seem like that much, but it is in terms of time on the bus with their speed and number of stops along the way. While I agree that some systems may have no choice but to combine to keep any kind of school open, we do have to consider the distance and time as a factor.
GeeMac
June 19th, 2012
11:43 am
Perhaps we can agree that the funding formulas for public schools in this state are broken. The state constitution mandates that the state provide an “adequate” education for all students, regardless of where they live in the state, what their abilities or disabilities are, or how involved or uninvolved their parents are. So how do we define “adequate” and how do we fund all schools adequately?
Lanier
June 19th, 2012
11:47 am
Solutions, I agree, it is obvious.(1300 = 130. I didn’t know this, I learn something everyday). Hard work by parents, discipline and commitment would improve things greatly though.I am not with a real high IQ but my parents were tough on me when it came to school work..
Aquagirl
June 19th, 2012
11:52 am
then anyone who pays taxes (property, incomes, sales) but does not have children in public schools is having their pocket picked?
No, I believe public education is of interest to everyone, because educated citizens are necessary in our modern world. I’m not part of the voucher crowd whining about MAH WALLET. The school taxes you pay are a public obligation, not tuition for your individual precious snowflakes.
That doesn’t give rural systems the right to run inefficient systems and cry about inequality though. Look at the schools mentioned in the story….Collins Hill has 21 AP classes for about 3400 students 9-12. Calhoun Middle/HS has one for maybe 200 students. If you do some quick math, Calhoun students have about as much available proportionally. The problem, like another poster said, is economy of scale.
I have no problem subsidizing rural districts to a point, because unless kids are bussed 120 miles every day, you won’t be able to create the same conditions. But there has to be some good faith on both sides. And when rural districts are clinging to their little counties and fiefdoms, that’s not gonna fly with me. Talk about ditching some of your coaches. No, 300 students do not need 2 exclusive PE/health teachers. You don’t need 24 students in a PE class, we had 60-80 kids in my suburban HS classes. It’s not brain surgery. Talk about consolidating some of your schools. Do something besides look at other taxpayers as piggybanks for things THEY can’t afford.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
11:56 am
An “adequate” education can be obtain in 10 or fewer years of free public education, anything else is excessive and a waste. The top performers can go on for further education, at their own expense, while the rest can go to work, and better themselves by reading and using some of the free online education tooks, such as the KhanAcademy dot org. As most of you know, SAT scores have declined by about 40 points on average over the last 30 odd years. What is not widely known is that the decline is concentrated in the top scorers, with the middle improving some, and the bottom staying the same. This means our education system is failing to challenge and educate to their full potential the top 5% of students, the ones who will be the high achievers of tomorrow. We had better rethink our education system, because that top 5% will be the innovators, job creators, and leaders of tomorrow. As they fail to reach their full potential, so shall our society fail in many important ways.
Teacher Reader
June 19th, 2012
12:03 pm
@ AquaGirl, I feel that my pockets are picked every time I send my tax check to DeKalb. I can’t send my son to DCSD, if I want him to be educated, even at our “good” public neighborhood school. I wouldn’t mind sending my tax money or even more, if the kids were getting educated and the money was being spent in a prudent way. I have a problem with so much waste throughout the district, and such a poor education for most kids in DeKalb. Sorry, but I can’t afford to spend my money the way DeKalb does and I am very angry that my money isn’t spent in a better more prudent way.
Goergia and education not compatible
June 19th, 2012
12:25 pm
@ Hamilton 9:49 I always welcome another voice that brings out the Georgia constitution
@ Lanier 10:26 thanks for reminding people of why we’re in this mess
@ William Casey 11:14 Progressive state consumption tax you know I email my state representatives frequently with suggestions like these and I get crickets from them, however, according to Alecia Morgan, they will “create” a tax that will fund charter schools once that bill passes…quite interesting
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
12:41 pm
Oh great, another tax, this one to fund the charter school scam! Stop with spending other people’s money! Reduce education spending, do not increase it! A maximum of 10 years free public education is more than generous, stop adding bells and whistles, just teach the children to read, write, and compute. All else is fluff.
Dr. Monica Henson
June 19th, 2012
1:03 pm
Ron F. makes an excellent point about the geography of rural school consolidation, although William Casey’s point about the 159 counties (and resulting inefficiencies) is well taken. Putting rural children on a school bus for hours a day is not good for their learning, especially those who will not be able to eat breakfast until they arrive at school. There have been several dissertation studies over the years by rural administrators looking at the deleterious effects of inordinately long bus rides on children.
It’s really a pickle. There are more than 200 school districts in Georgia, each with its own administrative structure and the resulting expenses. Consolidation of schools is not a panacea.
Dr. Monica Henson
June 19th, 2012
1:05 pm
(I’m counting independent charter schools in that 200+ district number, as each of them is its own LEA.)
Maureen Downey
June 19th, 2012
1:15 pm
@To all, A smart academic sent me this note on equalization grants, which I thought was worth sharing as he brings up two critical considerations:
Clarence
June 19th, 2012
1:17 pm
You can consolidate districts without consolidating schools. Saves on admin, and could potentially help with more advanced courses (think two rural schools sharing an AP teacher…).
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
1:25 pm
If students are capable of doing AP work in high school, then they shouldn’t be in high school, they have met the “adequate basic education test” and should be immediately graduated. They can pay their own way to college.
Dunwoody Mom
June 19th, 2012
1:26 pm
The amounts are staggering but you need to account for student population. The per-pupil numbers are what are most important, not the total amount, IMO
The total amount is not important? Oh, please…..Gwinnett gets $43 million from school systems that are raising class sizes, cutting teachers, furlough days and cutting academic programs and we’re not supposed to look at the “total amount”. Let’s see that again Gwinnett County Schools will receive $43 MILLION DOLLARS in FY 13 from financially struggling school districts. There is no world in which that is fair.
Dr. Monica Henson
June 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Another way to look at consolidation is consolidating administrative functions. Many creative options could be applied. There is no reason why a consortium of three or four small districts couldn’t share a single financial officer, for example. In New England, it is not uncommon to find small K-8 districts that hire a part-time superintendent who is retired.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
2:12 pm
@SOLUTIONS: This should make your “they’re stealing my $ through taxation” day. My son earned 27 semester hours of college credit through AP. This is enabling him to get two degrees in four years.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
2:18 pm
Dr. Henson, your point about long bus rides is well taken. However, it’s the TIME rather than DISTANCE that’s important. I’d bet that a bus can travel twice as far in rural Georgia than it can in congested North Fulton in the same amount of time.
Lee
June 19th, 2012
2:47 pm
Count me in with the folks who think there are a lot of SUPPORT functions that could be consolidated at a regional level. Payroll, human resources, IT, purchasing, fleet operations, maintenance, janitorial, engineering/construction management, and accounting/financial to name a few.
Ron F.
June 19th, 2012
2:58 pm
William: a bus can travel faster in less congested areas, but also keep in mind the number of dirt roads and speed limits. A lot of rural counties still have a good number of local roads that are dirt/gravel, and that adds time also. I like the idea several have posted of combining administrative level functions. That would save quite a bit of money for the smaller, rural districts and keep schools a little closer to population areas in each county.
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
3:35 pm
Casey, both my children graduated for Georgia Tech, and earn well into the six figures: if you want to play war by proxy, then I match you and double. Both have “Senior” in front of their titles and work for Fortune 500 companies. I suspect your children are elementary school teachers, with one aspiring to be a lawyer, a foolish aspiration in today’s America, where lawyers are a dime a dozen, and the price is falling.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
4:15 pm
@SOLUTIONS: Sorry! No way to verify. No points scored. No proxy. Man to “whatever.”
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
4:18 pm
@RON F: Good points. However, other states manage larger counties. Maybe a “hybrid” system is needed. Keep schools where they are but have one administration for four counties, etc.
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
4:31 pm
@SOLUTIONS (again): It’s getting better. My son, William F. Casey IV is currently carrying a 3.65 GPA as a Senior in MATHEMATICS (hard to argue with that but I’m sure you’ll find a way) at Georgia Southern. Unlike your imaginary GT graduates, this fact can be verified. BTW– he’s stealing your tax dollars by working for the University as a math tutor. Guys who can do math and speak precise English are in demand. He’s also doing a degree in Philosophy (logic) just for fun. I’m confident about his future but, thanks for the concern.
Teachers deserve better
June 19th, 2012
5:20 pm
Seems like not only the kids are bad in math but so are our lawmakers.
This story shows what I’ve always said- there is no money or information given to systems other than those in ATL.
Our system was told we’d lose over a million to give to the poor systems and to find out it goes to Gwinnett is infuriating .
There is case law against such funding disparity and someone needs to review it and sue the DOE and the sponsoring lawmaker who is probably from Gwinnett
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
6:28 pm
Ha ha ha, Georgia Southern, not in the same class as Georgia Tech, not even close. ROFL at you and your undergraduate son………..
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
6:30 pm
YO Casy, a question: what do the call the guy who graduates last in his medical school class? Give up? scroll down a bit.
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Doctor
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
6:45 pm
@ “Solutions” from Mr. Casey: I’m glad that my cardio guy didn’t graduate last in his class. LOL
William Casey
June 19th, 2012
6:51 pm
@ NO SOLUTIONS: The laughter is mutual. Is your picture in the Phoenix yearbook? Mine’s in the ‘67 GT yearbook. Look it up, loser. ROFLMFAO
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
8:50 pm
So even as a legacy you couldn’t get junior into tech…what a hoot…..
Solutions
June 19th, 2012
8:52 pm
I don’t think Phoenix existed when I graduated in the early 70’s…try again little fella……
Peter Smagorinsky
June 20th, 2012
6:03 am
School funding disparities persist, analysis shows
By Valerie Strauss
Legislators can extend the school day, force new tests on students and link the scores to a teacher’s job, but a new analysis about disparities in school funding raises the uncomfortable question of just how effective any reforms can really be when issues of equity are ignored.
The second edition of the National Report Card, called “Is School Funding Fair?” is a critique of state school funding systems that shows that many public schools don’t get the resources they need to boost student achievement — even if there are plenty of folks who like to say that money doesn’t really matter in education.
The national average funding level is $10,774 per pupil, a $642 increase over the estimate in the 2010 report, with the highest-funded states in the Northeast — along with Wyoming and Alaska — and the lowest-funded states largely in the South and West. And the differences in funding are large: Using nationally adjusted figures, the authors say that a student in Tennessee receives less than 40 percent of the funding of a comparable student in Wyoming.
Adequate funding, of course, is not the definitive answer to public education’s problems, but it is certainly a necessary if not dispositive prerequisite.
The analysis rates the 50 states on funding levels, funding distribution, state fiscal effort and public school coverage with data from 2006 through 2009, in which the effects of the economic recession were just beginning to be felt.
Results, taken from the executive summary, show the following:
* Only 17 states have progressive funding systems that provide greater funding to high-poverty districts. Utah, New Jersey, Ohio and Minnesota remain the four most progressive states.
* Six states have funding systems in which districts with higher poverty rates actually receive less funding than more well-off districts. The most regressive state is Illinois, followed by North Carolina, Alabama, Michigan, Texas and Colorado.
* Six states did relatively well on all four indicators: Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont.
* Three states were below average on all the indicators: Florida, Missouri and North Carolina. Florida has seen a substantial decline in state effort and funding level.
* Most states needed improvement in at least one area.
* Some states have improved funding distribution by at least one letter grade (Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana and Maryland), while other states have regressed one letter grade (Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Texas).
* Hawaii and Maine each had a particularly large disinvestment in public education, reducing their funding effort by over 20 percent.
* In Louisiana, Delaware and the District of Columbia, about one-fifth of the student population is enrolled in private schools, and those students come from households with incomes as much as two and three times those of public school students.
The new statistical analysis was done by David G. Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in New Jersey; Bruce Baker of Rutgers University Graduate School of Education; and Danielle Farrie, research director of the law center.
Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet .
Solutions
June 20th, 2012
8:02 am
More money for education will not solve the low IQ problem, as Kanas City has found out the hard way. Under court order, billions of dollars have been poured into that school system over the last decade, yet stupid is still stupid, as the test results demonstrate. The schools are gilded palaces to learning, the teachers over compensated, the school system spending ever more dollars, yet the outcomes are the same: low standardized test scores.
Another View
June 20th, 2012
8:54 am
Peter’s view is so right so many times.
KIM
June 20th, 2012
9:29 am
Fulton Co has twice the money that Gwinnett has. Compare the results. GCPS out performs in all areas. $ does not make the diff. BUT it helps like torment. And for the poor counties. They have always taken $ given to them to enhance their low tax base and turned around and lowered their millage. So, they still struggle financially. But also, don’t overload your mouth. Gwinnett is truly struggling financially. Don’t kid yourself.
KIM
June 20th, 2012
9:32 am
@William Casey: Phoenix serves a group of students who would make you or any other elder quite proud. I’ve always said a person who has to advertise where he/she went to college is insecure and has to “tell” you so you’ll know. Others show what they know through good work.
KIM
June 20th, 2012
9:38 am
@Solutions: You are arrogant, so I suspect little of what you say is true. People who write things like you do, rarely tell the whole truth. To write that your children have a title of any kind says volumes.
C Jae of EAV
June 20th, 2012
11:05 am
Simply put Rep Mayo nailed it right on the head, the public education funding model in GA, with all its peices and parts needs to be wholesale put on the table and completely re-thought.
The gap between the haves and have nots is shamefully glaring, meanwhile we continue to see fiscal waste & abuse run amuck in many of the larger systems across the state.
teacher&mom
June 20th, 2012
11:48 am
@Peter: Any idea if the states that showed a regression in funding also had an shift in “leadership”? Was there a shift in which party controlled the legislature and Governor’s seat?
Just curious to know if the is/isn’t a correlation.
bu2
June 20th, 2012
2:46 pm
@Maureen
Gwinnett having the 3rd lowest tax wealth per student just doesn’t make sense. Has anyone questioned how they calculated it? Is it simply taxable value/students or do they tweak it? Are they using the property tax base from 1985 instead of last year?
The land and homes are worth more in Gwinnett than probably all but 2-3 counties in the state. And the commercial property is worth more than all but Fulton, Dekalb and Cobb. Does everyone in Gwinnett go to public schools and have 4 kids? It just really doesn’t make sense that they have less of a tax base per student than Baker County or a score of other rural counties or that they have less than Clayton which has less than 1/3 the people but only 1/2 the students.
bu2
June 20th, 2012
2:51 pm
I see they do have more than Clayton along with Pelham city. But I just don’t see how they have less than any of those districts around Pelham-Mitchell, Baker, Grady, Worth, etc.
Mark
June 22nd, 2012
9:09 pm
Maureen, is right….equilization has helped poor rural counties whose property does not generate the revenue needed to give students an education. Each local district has to put up at least 5 mills to get state dollars. However, the state then equalizes the per pupil revenue (generated locally) to the 75th percentile for every mill spent after that. From 1997-2008 poorer districts have made great gains due to the equity formulae in spite of austerity cuts. The authors needed to explain that many of the districts cited left large sums of money on the table as they were not willing to tax themselves at levels anywhere close to the metro mean to reap the windfall of equilization. Finally, those counties that had property values balloon in the last boom (metro) have been hurt the greatest in the bust. This is not to say that overall spending on education has stagnated and then dropped in line with the economy. Read, “Challenges to equity: A study of Georgia school funding for the years 1997–2008.” It might help make things clearer.