State task force begins high-stakes review of Louisiana’s school-funding formula
A high-stakes review of Louisiana’s system for allocating billions of dollars to public schools each year kicked off Thursday, launching a process that in just a few months could produce a plan to overhaul the decades-old funding system.
The “top-to-bottom review” of the state’s school-funding system is being conducted by a 15-member task force, which held its first meeting Thursday at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge. Established by the state Legislature and composed largely of lawmakers, the group will analyze the formula that determines how much state funding each public school receives.
By Jan. 1, the task force must recommend a “revised or replacement formula,” according to the resolution that established the group. The deadline gives the group less than five months to revamp a system that sends schools about $4 billion annually and has been in operation, with only slight changes, for more than 30 years.
“It’s an abbreviated timeline for the very large amount of work that’s been placed before this task force,” said the group’s chairperson, Luke Morris, who is special counsel to Senate President Cameron Henry, a driving force behind the funding review.
Morris, who is representing the Senate leader on the panel, opened the meeting by noting the large audience — a sign of the intense interest in the process, which could determine how much funding schools receive for years to come. In attendance were superintendents and school board members from across the state, charter school leaders and members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE, which legally controls the funding formula.
One of the group’s primary jobs is to embed permanent teacher raises in the formula, which is called the Minimum Foundation Program, or MFP.
Gov. Jeff Landry and legislative leaders created the task force in June after voters rejected a proposal to use education trust funds to increase teacher pay. In response, Landry ordered the state to pull money from school budgets to pay for one-time stipends for teachers and school support staff. Now, the task force is responsible for inserting educator raises into the school-funding system, Morris told the group.
He also emphasized that the Louisiana constitution mandates certain aspects of the system, including that it equitably allocates state funding across school districts and that every parish contributes some local funding. But the formula also includes many parts that were developed over time but are not mandated by law, such as the baseline funding amount — currently $4,015 per student — and the funding boost that schools get to serve certain populations, including low-income students and students with disabilities.
“What's most important to know is they can all change,” Morris told the task force. “The constitution does not require what goes into the formula.”
Any changes to the formula could have far-reaching implications for schools – and could result in some school districts losing or gaining money.
David Claxton, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, is one of just four task force members representing education groups. During the meeting, he alluded to the high stakes for school systems.
“Most of us superintendents are very protective of our funding,” he said.
Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, is one of 10 lawmakers on the task force. In an interview after the meeting, he said he is open to hearing arguments for why schools need more money, but that he will also look for ways to reduce spending — especially as the state anticipates a $540 million shortfall.
“I'm never going into anything close-minded,” he said. “But my first instinct is, ‘Let's find efficiencies.’”
Landry said in June that he hopes the task force creates “a brand-new MFP,” and the resolution establishing the group said it can consider changing any aspect of the funding formula.
But under the Louisiana constitution, the state education board sets the funding formula. The Legislature approves or rejects the formula, or recommends changes.
BESE President Simone Champagne, who is on the task force, said Thursday that she is open to updating the formula – but she did not seem eager for a full overhaul.
“I think that's what this is about,” she told the task force, “not so much changing everything in the formula, but maybe tweaking it and seeing what continues to work, what maybe doesn't work any longer, and fixing that formula.”
Source: High-stakes review of Louisiana school funding gets underway | Education | theadvocate.com