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Volume 1, Issue 1 November 30, 2002 published by The Rural Education Finance Center a program of The Rural School and Community Trust  Rural Education Finance Center 3344 Hillsborough St. Suite 302 Raleigh, NC 27607 919-833-4541 Greg Malhoit, Director, greg.malhoit@ruraledu.org Nancy Gottovi, Editor, nancy.gottovi@ruraledu.org Table of Contents for this Issue NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RURAL SCHOOL FINANCE IN NEBRASKA CITY, NOVEMBER 13-15 The Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) and the University of Nebraska College of Law convened a national gathering of school finance experts, leading lawyers, rural advocates, and educators in Nebraska City, Nebraska, on November 13-15 to discuss ways to improve funding and educational opportunities for students attending the nation's rural schools. The conference, "Mobilizing Resources for Rural Students," was the first national gathering ever to address the broad array of issues in this complex and rapidly evolving legal and policy arena. The conference was held at the Lied Conference Center. There were numerous discussions of the legal and other ramifications of rural school finance reform, including:
Return to Top RURAL SCHOOLS SCORE MAJOR VICTORY IN ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a decision on November 21st in Lake View School District v. Huckabee concluding that the state's system for funding education is both inequitable and inadequate, and as such, violates the state constitution. The court concluded that the responsibility for educating Arkansas students lies with State, not local communities, and that the court has the power and duty to ensure that the funding system complies with the state constitution. The court also found that it is possible to define the educational skills and capacities necessary for an adequate education. Because the state legislature had not defined those skills and capacities, the court listed seven capacities that it deemed to be necessary under the state constitution. In examining the equity of the funding system, the court looked at "educational expenditures" rather than "educational revenues" as suggested by the state. The court concluded that there was a sharp "expenditure gap" between rich and poor school districts that "fostered a system of discrimination based on wealth." The court also cited underpaid teachers, unsafe facilities, lack of basic equipment and labs, and limited advanced placement course offerings as evidence of deficiencies caused by the inadequate and inequitable finance system. These deficiencies have resulted in low student achievement, high college remediation rates, and poor educational outcomes for thousands of Arkansas students. Finally, the court concluded that money and educational expenditures matter. "There is a direct correlation between dollars expended and the quality of education a student receives." The only area in which the court sided with the state was on the question of whether the constitution required the provision of pre-school education for low-income students. The court said that although early childhood education programs could well provide educational benefits for children, the courts could not require the legislature to provide and fund such programs. The court did not immediately order the legislature to take action, opting instead to give lawmakers one year to "chart a new course for public education" in Arkansas. Return to Top THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING BUDGETS AND GROWING MANDATES During the boom economies of the 1990's, it seemed easy enough for legislatures to pass measures aimed at increasing accountability in schools. Now, with states facing severe budget cuts and shortages, some districts are desperately struggling to meet and maintain new standards with rapidly shrinking budgets, especially mandates aimed at increasing testing and reducing class size. Other schools may be forced to choose between sports, music or arts and sprinkler systems just to meet their budgets. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities announced that states reported budget deficits of approximately $44 billion in FY 2002 and that figure is expected to exceed $46 billion for FY 2003. In an effort to stave off financial crises, states resorted to special "rainy day funds", one-time measures, tax increases and budget cuts to balance their budgets. Since so many states have used up most of their "one-time" sources of revenue, it seems likely that more tax increases and budget cuts are looming. According to the Center, federal tax changes may further decrease state revenues which will only deepen the effect of tax increases and /or budget cuts that states will have to make. Return to Top TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT FINDS CURRENT SCHOOL FUNDING PLAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the third in a series of rulings that have concluded that the state's school finance system violates equal protection and the state's constitutional guarantee of equal educational opportunity for all students. At issue in Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter, is the Tennessee Teachers' Salary Equity Plan. According to the court, wide disparities in teachers salaries continue to exist: average salaries in the state range from $29,000 in rural Monroe County to over $44,000 in suburban Oak Ridge. With nearly $16,000 difference in teacher salaries between some rural and wealthier school districts, it was the court's opinion that "it takes little imagination to see how such disparities can lead to experienced and more educated teachers leaving the poorer districts to teach in wealthier one where they receive higher salaries. Return to Top SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUE STATE OF MONTANA FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING Several school districts have filed a suit against the state of Montana arguing that the current school finance system is inadequate to meet the state guarantee of "a basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools." Plaintiffs in the case, Columbia Falls Public Schools v. State have also argued that the state must base the actual cost of providing an adequate education in Montana schools on costing out studies and ongoing adjustments to reflect costs of living increases and other increases. Return to Top ARIZONA JUDGE REFUSES TO ALLOW LAWMAKERS TO CUT BUDGETS FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES For the third time, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Edward Burke has ordered the Arizona legislature to reinstate $90 million for school construction and renovation that they had cut from the state budget. Acknowledging the serious budget difficulties the state faces, the judge stated that denying the necessary funds for school construction and repair would unduly "hurt smaller, rural districts" and run afoul of the state's constitutional requirement for a "general and uniform" school system. Republican Governor Jane Dee Hull stated her disappointment with the judge's decision, and the state is expected to appeal the decision. Return to Top SECRETARY OF EDUCATION WARNS STATES NOT TO CHEAT ON "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" LEGISLATION Secretary of Education Rod Paige sent a letter to all the chief state school officers warning them not to try to "game" the system, by lowering student performance standards to hide the poor performance of their schools. "Sadly, a small number of persons have suggested reducing standards for defining 'proficiency' in order to artificially present the facts.... Not only is this political tactic an embarrassment, it undermines the public's trust in education as a cornerstone of freedom." Read Secretary Paige's Letter Return to Top VERMONT STUDY FINDS NOT COST-EFFECTIVE TO ACCEPT "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" MONEY Researchers in Vermont believe that it may make no sense financially to participate in the new ESEA legislation known as "No Child Left Behind." A paper released by the Vermont Society for the Study of Education examined the money Vermont currently receives compared with the cost of new obligations that would result from the legislation to estimate whether such costs and programs would provide reasonable and cost-efficient improvement to the state's schools. Vermont accepted the first year's federal funds for the program, but the Governor commissioned the study to assess the financial impact of the new law on the state before deciding whether or not to continue participation. According to the new study, the new law would require a minimum of $158.2 million in new education costs, yet the federal government would only provide a total of $51.6 million for the program. Read the Complete Policy Discussion Paper Return to Top NATIONAL PTA SPEAKS ON THE EFFECT OF VOUCHERS ON RURAL SCHOOLS National PTA lobbyist Susan Nogan described how vouchers would negatively affect rural schools at a meeting of the Organizations Concerned About Rural Education (OCRE.) According to Nogan, taking money from public schools and giving it to private schools would result in increased pressures for school consolidation, create more difficulties for rural schools to recruit and retain teachers, and lead to decreased numbers of advanced classes, electives, and extracurricular activities. More importantly, she stated that many rural school districts oppose school vouchers simply because there are no private schools within their districts, meaning local taxpayers would be paying for a program that would have no benefit to the majority of children in their district. More Information Available Online Return to Top NEW STUDY FINDS NUMBER OF TEACHERS TEACHING OUT-OF-FIELD UNACCEPTABLY HIGH A new report by the Education Trust, All Talk, No Action: Putting an End to Out-of-Field Teaching finds that high poverty and high minority schools in particular, have classes that are much more likely to be taught by teachers without a major or even a minor in the subject. Coming on the heels of the new federal mandates to have a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, the report sheds light on the difficulties schools will face meeting the new requirement. High schools rely far too much on assignment of out-of-field teachers but the worst problems are in middle schools where teachers with no particular training in the subject teach more than 50% of core academic classes. Despite some states' attempts to address the issue, the problem has increased overall nationwide. The report states that about 70% of the nation's middle-grade math classes in high poverty and high-minority schools are taught by teachers who lack even a college minor in math or a math-related field. Research shows that rural schools have higher numbers of students living in poverty. In addition, rural schools are already at a competitive disadvantage for attracting teachers. Return to Top NATION'S POOREST SCHOOLS RECEIVE THE LEAST FUNDING Another report by the Education Trust finds that the nation's schools with the highest proportion of poor children receive the least state and local funding. On average, poorer schools tend to receive about $1000 less per student than schools with the least number of poor children. New York state has the largest disparity with schools with the largest number of poor kids receiving over $2000 per child less than school with small numbers of needy children. Return to Top FUND FOR RURAL EDUCATION EQUITY The Rural Education Finance Center has established a special Fund for Rural Education Equity. The Fund will be used to provide support for rural advocates and organizations working at the state and local levels on school finance reform. Funds can be used to support a variety of activities including assessment of state school finance systems, strategic planning, legal analysis and support, analysis and research, and collaboration and mutual aid. For more information about the Fund, contact Greg Malhoit, Director, Rural Education Finance Center, 3344 Hillsborough St., Suite 302, Raleigh, NC 27607, (919) 833-4541 or e-mail him at gmalhoit@bellsouth.net Return to Top ABOUT THE RURAL SCHOOL FUNDING REPORT The Rural School Funding Report is a twice-monthly newsletter published by the Rural Education Finance Center (REFC), a program of the Rural School and Community Trust. The Funding Report focuses on important news affecting school finance -- particularly equity and adequacy issues in America's rural schools. The purpose of the Center is to help rural people advocate for state school finance systems that provide equal educational opportunities for rural children to achieve academic excellence. The REFC provides information, technical assistance, and strategic support to rural people committed to good schools, equity and adequacy in school finance systems, and efficient fiscal management of schools. We would appreciate your feedback and suggestions for stories and other developments about school finance. More information about school finance as well as other important educational policy issues can be found in The Rural School and Community Trust's monthly newsletter Rural Policy Matters, available free in both e-mail and print versions, which is also available online. To subscribe to this e-newsletter and get it e-mailed directly to you, send a request to subscribe to mbaris@ruraledu.org Events | Services | Newsroom | Contact Us | Search © 2003 The Rural School and Community Trust 
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