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Volume 2, Issue 3 February 15, 2003 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 RURAL TRUST STUDY SUGGESTS URGENT NEED FOR ATTENTION TO RURAL SCHOOLS IN MANY STATES The Rural School and Community Trust has published Why Rural Matters 2003: The Continuing Need for Every State to Take Action on Rural Education. The report finds that rural education issues still are not getting sufficient attention from policy makers. Almost one in three school-aged children in the nation attend public schools in rural communities of less than 25,000 people, but too often education policy debate ignores the unique needs of these communities. The Rural Trust believes the report is important in helping to improve policies for rural schools. The report provides a "Rural Education Priority" ranking for each state. According to the ranking, 13 states in the Deep South, Appalachia, Northern New England and the Great Plains lead the other states in need of rural education policy attention. Marty Strange, policy director of the Rural Trust, says that these regions are "chronically depressed, suffer large areas of out-migration, and are deeply distressed by changes in the global economy." Yon can download the full text of the report in PDF format. News releases on individual state findings are also available in Word format on this web site. Return to Top STUDY SHOWS SCHOOLS IMPORTANT TO ECONOMIC WELFARE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES A new study finds that the presence of a school in the smallest rural communities is associated with "appreciably higher housing values, less income inequality, and more professional and managerial workers than similar communities lacking a school. Writing in The Journal of Research in Rural Education, sociologist Thomas Lyson argues that money saved through consolidation might be forfeited in lost taxes, declining property values and lost businesses. The article, "What Does a School Mean to a Community? Assessing the Social and Economic Benefits of Schools to Rural Villages in New York" is in the Winter 2002 (Vol 17, No. 3) issue, pages 131-137. Order a copy of the article Return to Top POLICY BRIEF OUTLINES CHALLENGES OF "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" TO RURAL SCHOOLS A new policy brief released by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory outlines specific challenges rural schools face as they attempt to implement the new mandates for accountability and teacher quality under the federal "No Child Left Behind" legislation. According to the report, small rural schools are more likely to be labeled as "failing" or "needing improvement" due to the volatility of annual test scores. Also, rural districts are limited in their capacity to provide school choice options, and have more difficulty attracting and keeping "highly qualified" teachers. The report concludes that "one size fits all" policies will not work for rural school districts, and that federal, state, and district policies must be targeted to the specific needs of rural districts and schools. The report also includes a discussion of the Rural Education Achievement Program, as well as state and district programs that may provide strategies for addressing the unique challenges of complying with NCLB. Read the Complete Report Return to Top BUSH ADMINISTRATION BUDGET CUTS PROGRAMS FOR AFTER SCHOOL, TEACHER QUALITY, WHILE INCREASING FUNDS FOR VOUCHERS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS Educators from around the country have been voicing concern for some time about the lack of sufficient federal funds to help cash-strapped states fully implement the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the "No Child Left Behind Act." But even backers of the bill are now complaining that the President's recently submitted budget falls far short of the funds promised in the original bill. Though the budget includes increases in spending for school children through 12th grade by $1 billion, the budget falls $6 billion short of the amount promised for the 2004 budget year. In addition, critics of the President's budget say the additional $1 billion in spending was accomplished by cutting $1.5 billion from rural education, drop out prevention, professional development for teachers and other vital programs. The budget also includes $75 million that could be used to send students from failing public schools to private schools and for private school tuition tax credits. Return to Top TEXAS LAWMAKERS ATTEMPT TO END "ROBIN HOOD" LAW Republican chairs of the Texas Senate and House education committees have introduced bills to end the state's current school funding program. The system requires districts with high property values, and therefore high tax revenues, to share their wealth with poorer school districts. The funding system, described by many as the "Robin Hood" system, has been in place since 1993, when state courts ruled that vast disparities between "property wealthy" districts and "property poor" districts created inequities in per-pupil funding. Critics of the system argue that the system is unfair because wealthy school districts have to give large amounts of their funds to poorer school districts, yet those poorer districts still fail to provide sufficient educational opportunities to their students. However Texas faces a $10 billion state budget deficit, and most lawmakers say that the odds of the state coming up with a new plan during this year's biennial session are low. Democratic leaders argue that if the state is going to revise its school finance system, the legislature will also have to consider revision of the state's tax system. With such large tax issues "up in the air," opponents of scrapping the system say that the state's economy will suffer with districts unable to pass bonds, and communities unable to lure new industries. More Information Available Online Return to Top VERMONT LAWMAKERS LOOKING AT NEW WAYS TO FUND EDUCATION, REPLACE ACT 60 Seeking to reduce state property taxes and maintain education spending, Vermont legislators are proposing to reduce the statewide property tax rate, increase the proportion of state education funding, and expand the state lottery. And after they have accomplished all that, many lawmakers plan to begin the process of eliminating the state's controversial education funding program, the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, commonly known as "Act 60." Most legislators however, believe that many of the basic elements of the Act will remain in whatever new funding scheme emerges. These basic elements include a statewide property tax rate, block grants of about $5000 for each student, the ability of local districts to spend above the block grant level, and recapture of excess funds by the state to distribute to other districts. It is the latter aspect of Act 60 that has proved the most controversial. Act 60 has been hailed as one of the most progressive school finance reforms in the nation. The Rural Trust's report on Act 60, "Still 'A Reasonably Equal Share': Update on Educational Equity in Vermont Year 2001-2002," concluded that Act 60 has been an effective tool in meeting the goals of student resource equity, tax burden equity, and academic achievement mandated by the Vermont Supreme Court. Download the Report Return to Top KANSAS LAWMAKERS THREATEN TO CUT NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS As in many other states, Kansas lawmakers are asking whether or not they can afford to keep all the state's 303 school districts, and have introduced bills that would reduce the number of school districts across the state to be reduced to as few as 40 "regional" districts to 105 districts (one per county.) Like many largely rural states, out-migration is a big problem for school finances. Kansas currently spends 52 percent of all state tax dollars on education. Yet nearly one third of the state's half million public school students are enrolled in only six districts. Fifty districts have fewer than 250 students. Opponents of school consolidation are extremely vocal, and have managed to keep school mergers at bay to some extent. Many are convinced that rural communities are more or less destroyed by the loss of community schools. The issue has generated considerable controversy. The leading proponent of school consolidation, Rep. Bill Mason (R- El Dorado) has been calling for fewer and larger school districts for several years and has even received death threats. However, the Senate Education Committee Chair Dwayne Umbarger, doesn't foresee any consolidation bills coming out of the session this year. More Information Available Online Return to Top POLL FINDS MAJORITY OF WEST VIRGINIANS OPPOSE SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION Nearly 62 percent of West Virginia state residents don't think consolidated schools provide a better education for the state's children, and 57 percent would like to see school consolidation stopped, according to the latest West Virginia Poll. Those who dislike school consolidation expressed great concern about long school bus rides, and other effects of school consolidation such as increased absenteeism, discipline problems, and lack of one-on-one attention from teachers. More Information Available Online 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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