Governance and Finance:
Regulating and Funding Schools
ED 1010
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Tenth Amendment
• The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by
it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
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Utah State Constitution
•
Article X, Section 1. [Free
nonsectarian schools.]
The Legislature shall provide for the
establishment and maintenance of the state's
education systems including: (a) a public
education system, which shall be open to all
children of the state; and (b) a higher
education system. Both systems shall be
free from sectarian control.
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Utah State Constitution
•
Article X, Section 2. [Defining what shall
constitute the public school system.]
The public education system shall include all
public elementary and secondary schools and such
other schools and programs as the Legislature may
designate. The higher education system shall
include all public universities and colleges and
such other institutions and programs as the
Legislature may designate. Public elementary and
secondary schools shall be free, except the
Legislature may authorize the imposition of fees
in the secondary schools.
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Utah State Constitution
•
Article X, Section 3. [State Board of
Education.]
The general control and supervision of the
public education system shall be vested in a State
Board of Education. The membership of the board
shall be established and elected as provided by
statute. The State Board of Education shall appoint
a State Superintendent of Public Instruction who
shall be the executive officer of the board.
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On another topic . . .
•
Article X, Section 9. [Public aid to
church schools forbidden.]
Neither the state of Utah nor its political
subdivisions may make any appropriation
for the direct support of any school or
educational institution controlled by any
religious organization.
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State Constitution
State courts, Governor, State Legislature
State Board of Education
State Superintendent
State Office of Education
Local School Districts
District School Board
District Superintendent
District Office
Principals and Schools
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State Board of Education
Functions
• Issuing and revoking teaching licenses
• Establishing the length of the school year
• Publishing standards for approving and
accrediting schools
• Developing and implementing uniform
systems for gathering education data, such
as standardized achievement test scores,
enrollment trends, and demographics
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State Office of Education
• Responsible for implementing state board of
education policies on a day-to-day basis
• Creates list of state-approved textbooks
• Establishes standards in different content
areas
• http://schools.utah.gov
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School District
How many in Utah?
• Administrative unit legally responsible for the
education of children within a geographic
boundary
• Governed by a local school board of lay citizens
responsible for setting policies within the district
• Approximately 14,000 school districts in U.S.; an
average of 280 per state
• Number of school districts in a state ranges from 1
(Hawaii) to 1,040 (Texas)
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/quarterly/vol_4/4_3/3_4_t2.asp#Table-7
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School Board
• Responsible for establishing educational
policies within a district
• Lay members elected in local elections
• Members often do not reflect the cultural
and economic diversity within a district
•
http://www.besd.net/
•
Other school boards
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School District Superintendent
• Implements policies established by local
school board
• Usually has an advanced degree in
education
• Sometimes conflicts with school board over
implementation of policies
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Functions of the District Office
• Ordering textbooks and supplies
• Developing programs of study
• Ordering, distributing, and analyzing
standardized tests
• Evaluating teachers and assisting those with
difficulties
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Principal
• Given the ultimate responsibility for the
running of a school
• Most important person in the district
administrative structure, because the
principal works directly with teachers and
students
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Principal (continued)
• Responsible for:
• Teacher selection and evaluation
• School-level curricular and instructional
leadership
• Community relations
• Coordination of pupil services (counselors,
school psychologists, etc.)
• Monitoring of school budget
• Ensuring school maintenance
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Finance
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Whose responsibility is it to fund
public education?
• Federal Government
• Federal programs
• State Legislature
• Minimum school program act
• 53A-17a
•
http://www.livepublish.le.state.ut.us/lpBin22/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-j.htm&2.0
• Local Board of Education
• Property taxes
• School fees
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/stateprofiles/
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School Funding Sources
• States contribute 49% of educational funds
• Local governments contribute 43% of funds
• Federal funds constitute 8% of educational
monies
• What about Utah?
• http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/default/FngrFacts.pdf
• http://www.schools.utah.gov/finance/
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State Revenue Sources
• Property taxes based on home and real
estate values (a portion of property tax can be sent to
the state)
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Income tax
Building permits
Traffic fines
Use permits for educational facilities
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Federal Funding of Education
• Small proportion (8% nationally), but large
impact
• Categorical grants target specific groups and
designated purposes
• Block grants provide states and districts funds
with few restrictions
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District Educational Expenditures
• Largest percentage (61% - 70% Utah) spent
on instruction
• Administration, instructional supports
(student services, teacher professional
development, curriculum development), and
maintenance of physical plants each take
10% of education funding dollar.
• Transportation (buses) and food services
each take up 4% of districts’ budgets.
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Funding Inequalities
• Because of differences in property taxes, wealthy
districts spend more on education than poorer ones.
• 23% more nationally
• About twice as much within certain states
• Legal issues surrounding funding inequalities
determined by state laws and courts
• Weighted student formula allocates funding to
schools within a district based upon student and
school needs.
• Issues related to western states
•
http://www.le.state.ut.us/interim/2002/committeelinks/federal_lands/sld001.html
• Funding simulation
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Site-Based Decision Making
• Attempts to place increased responsibility
for governance at the individual school
level
• Teachers generally feel excluded from
decision-making loop.
• Can also involve community lay members
in school governance
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Different Forms of School Choice
• Charter schools
• Vouchers
• Homeschooling
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Charter Schools
• Alternative schools that are independently
operated but publicly funded
• Often target specific areas of the curriculum
• Arts
• Math and science
• Foreign language
• Uneven quality due to increased autonomy
• Research suggests that student achievement is no
better than regular public schools and sometimes
worse.
http://schools.utah.gov/charterschools/
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Vouchers
• Vouchers are checks parents use to purchase
educational services.
• Use for private education, especially religious
schools, is controversial.
• State tuition tax credits, a variation on
vouchers, provide tax cuts for parents of
children attending private schools.
• http://www.utahnsforpublicschools.org/
• http://www.choiceineducation.org/
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Homeschooling
• While increasingly popular, accounts for only 2%
of students.
• Parental reasons vary.
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Concerns about moral climate of schools (49%)
More positive social climate (15%)
Academic excellence (14%)
Specific needs of individual students (12%)
• State laws regulating vary considerably.
• http://www.uhea.org/
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Privatization
• Takes a variety of forms
• EMO (Education maintenance organization) runs and
manages schools or entire district
• Industry-operated school lunches and buses
• Industry-related tech support
• Arguments for
• Businesslike efficiency of corporations
• Competition makes publicly run schools more effective
and efficient
• Arguments against
• Bottom line is the dollar—not children’s welfare
• Unimpressive initial results with corporations like Edison
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School Choice
and Cultural Minorities
• Advocates claim that school choice
provides cultural minority parents with
alternatives to ineffective and unproductive
local schools.
• May result in increased segregation of
students.
• Education of parents about options and
choices is crucial for future success.
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