School Funding Brief #3
Adequacy Makes Sense for Wisconsin's School Funding System
Adequacy means allocating resources not through the
usual legislative horse-trading that divides up funds according
to the relative power of competing interests. Instead, it
demands, as [New York Court of Appeals Chief] Judge Kaye
said, "determining the actual cost of providing a sound
basic education"—teachers, materials, facilities—and
creating the fiscal and governance structure to deliver
it.
—Peter Schrag, author of Final Test: The
Battle for Adequacy in America's Schools
Throughout Wisconsin, students face class sizes of forty,
outdated textbooks, disappearing programs and classes, and
shrinking school staffs. Educators are confronted with rising
costs and unfunded mandates, coupled with starving budgets
and insufficient state aid. Local taxpayers struggle to compensate
with higher property taxes that still can't meet the needs
of schools. Communities suffer the painful effects of a school
funding system that doesn't fulfill its role.
Meanwhile, we place tough demands on our students and schools
through tests and consequences based on performance. Educational
goals are good, but how can we expect students to reach them
without providing the necessary teachers and textbooks? Our
responsibility is to educate children, but how can we get
the job done without knowing how much it costs? How can we
implement standards without any connection to the resources
it takes to meet them?
"Adequacy" is a different way of funding public
schools that makes this connection.
 Q:
What is Adequacy?
A: Adequacy is a nationally
recognized, common-sense method for funding schools that links
spending to educational goals and the resources needed to
meet them. Adequacy asks: What components or resources
do schools need in order to achieve their goals? How much
do those resources cost?
Q: How does Adequacy work?
A: Adequacy funds schools
by looking at the expenses for facilities, staffing, equipment,
and other items schools need to meet their academic goals.
It starts with existing academic standards set by local school
districts, the state, and the federal government. Then it
establishes the resources schools need to meet those standards.
Finally, it calculates the cost of those resources.
Q: What's the difference between Adequacy and the current
system?
A: The current system works
backward by looking at the arbitrary amount of money lawmakers
decide to authorize. Then it divides up those dollars using
a complicated formula that's based largely on spending levels
from 1993 and local property wealth. Unlike Adequacy, the
current system doesn't link school spending to the real needs
of students.
Q: Why does Adequacy make sense?
A: Imagine building a house.
You decide what kind of house you want, figure out what materials
and labor you need, and price it out. If you can afford it,
you build it. If you can't, you go back to the drawing board
and change your goals. Many areas of government operate this
way, too. For example, they look at roads that need repairing,
figure out the cost of the repair, and generate the money
for it. Adequacy works the same way for education.
Q: Is Adequacy a brand-new idea?
A: Adequacy dates to the 1980s,
when states began establishing academic standards for public
schools. The idea was that schools needed money to pay for
the resources needed to meet these new standards. In 1989,
Kentucky became the first state to officially move toward
Adequacy, and a number of states have followed since then.
As author Peter Schrag states, Adequacy is "the major
force, morally, legally, and politically" in moving states
forward in providing appropriate resources for public schools.
In its 2000 decision in the lawsuit Vincent v. Voight,
the Wisconsin Supreme Court said it would look to Adequacy
in the future to determine if the state’s public school
system is constitutionally sound.
 Q:
Why does Wisconsin need Adequacy?
A: The Wisconsin state constitution
calls for every student to have an equal opportunity for a
sound basic education. The state, along with local school
districts, must do its part. Adequacy is a fair method for
funding schools and guarantees all students an opportunity
for success by meeting their needs, no matter where they live
or their life circumstances. It goes beyond "equity"
by recognizing that some children face different challenges—poverty,
limited English, or disabilities—and require extra support
to meet educational goals.
Q: Does Adequacy limit my child's education?
A: Adequacy sets spending
floors, not ceilings. It sets a funding base, ensures additional
funds for students based on their special needs, and allows
optional local spending. "Adequacy" is not the best
word, but it's the word used in legal cases over the past
decade. It doesn't mean "mediocre" or "just
enough to get by." It means: having enough resources
so schools can do the job they're expected to do—provide
all children an excellent education and an equal chance at
successful academic achievement.
Q: Is Adequacy too expensive?
A: To make adequacy affordable,
a long-term plan must be adopted to gradually obtain the needed
funds. We can’t continue to support high standards and
be expected to reach mandated academic goals, yet provide
insufficient funds and no plan for reaching sufficient funding
in the future. If education is going to remain a priority
in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is going to continue producing
future leaders, workers, and citizens, then adequacy is not
a luxury—it's necessary. Adequacy is an investment in
the state's future, and it's what Wisconsin students deserve.
The Wisconsin
Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide coalition
of school districts, and teacher, parent, civic, and faith-based
organizations, whose goal is comprehensive school funding
reform using "Adequacy" principles.
The WAES Wisconsin Adequacy Model ensures that resources
are sufficient to guarantee that all children—regardless
of where they live or their special circumstances—have
the opportunity to meet Wisconsin's rigorous academic standards.
Fall 2003
Wisconsin
Alliance for Excellent Schools
1717 S. 12th Street, #203
Milwaukee, WI 53204-3300
Phone 414-384-9094
Fax 414-384-9094
info@excellentschools.org
http:// www.excellentschools.org
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