Sparsity aid is good news that
could be much better
School districts throughout Wisconsin — 123 or them
to be exact-got some good news last week. The
Department of Public Instruction announced $14.95 million
will distributed in sparsity aid as part of the 2009-11 state
budget.
According to a
DPI press release , the categorical aid was specifically
targeted to help small, rural districts provide educational
services.
These funds were part of the 2009-11 state budget. To be
eligible, districts must have no more than 725 students, less
than 10 students per square mile, and have more than 20 percent
of those children qualify for reed or reduced-price school
meals (a measure of poverty).
WAES agrees with 31st District State Senator Kathleen Vinehout
(D-Alma), legislative champion for increasing the sparsity
payment,
"This popular categorical aid will help maintain the
lifeblood of our rural communities-our schools."
The September 2010 allotment will be $3.5 million more than
the previous year, however, it falls far short of what is
needed to keep small, rural schools and communities vital
and viable. The DPI press release itself notes that districts
who qualified were actually eligible to receive $15.9 million
in sparsity aid, which means that even these payments were
prorated at 94 percent.
Even at 100 percent, WAES’s
research shows that wouldn’t be enough. Small, rural
school districts-especially those that have sparse student
population-have higher per-student costs just because of their
size. For that reason, we
recommend that K-12 districts with fewer than 10 students
per square mile and enrollments of fewer than 1,500 students
(and K-8 or UHS districts with fewer than 10 students per
square mile and enrollment of fewer than 1,500 students so
long as the UHS district covers at least 600 square miles)
should be in line for extra resources.
The Wisconsin Adequacy Plan (WAES adequacy school-funding
reform model), establishes a baseline or foundation level
of funding for every student in the state. For those districts
that qualify for the sparsity aid-and understanding that the
smaller a district is the more help is needed-WAES actually
recommends a bump in the foundation itself:
- For districts below 250 students, 50%
of foundation
- For districts of 250-499: 40% of foundation
- For districts of 500-749: 30% of foundation
- For districts of 750-999: 20% of foundation
- For districts of 1000-1,249: 10% of foundation
- For districts of 1,250-1,499: 5% of foundation
Again, we agree with Sen. Vinehout, "Even with the additional
dollars, more and more school districts are running into severe
financial difficulties" because of the state's school-funding
system. In other words, the way we fund schools now isn’t
working. It is unsustainable as costs continue to outstrip
the state’s willingness to invest in education and the
property owners’ ability to pay taxes.
So, WAES will continue to work for comprehensive reform of
the system. Along with partners all over the state-including
those in the
School Finance Network and DPI State Superintendent Tony
Evers, for instance-we will demand the next Legislature and
Governor put this issue high on their priority list.
And, WAES will also continue to fight in the short-term for
“A
Penny for Kids”. Piled on top of the ill effects
of 17 years of a broken funding system is the revenue crisis
for school districts and kids created in the last state budget.
For example, 20 of the same districts that will get bumps
in their sparsity aid will lose under next year's equalization
aid disbursement (see first story) to the point they see a
net loss between the two of $709,503.
Once again, "A
Penny for Kids" meets the crisis in the state's small,
rural schools while buying time for the comprehensive finance
reform referred to by
Sen. Vinehout.
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