The flacks at RIDE moved a statement from the Commissioner yesterday afternoon, responding to Thursday night's passage of the education funding bill by the general assembly. Fisking is rarely the first club out of the bag for me, but in this case, I thought a bit of an interlinear translation might be in order...

The state education funding formula which passed the general assembly last night includes a minor tweak to one of the multipliers, increasing the overall state share by .025 in 2011. When I rolled the numbers into the GoogleDocs spreadsheet (by changing the formula in column V) it reduces our loss in state aid from $2.6M to $2.1M, so our yearly hit would be $207K rather than $260K. It is not, contrary to the ProJo's breathless reporting, an "increase up to 50%," but it may be smaller decrease than anticipated.

Given the complexity of the formula, please take my numbers with appropriate grains of salt. I have a query in to the district to check.

In the typical last-day-of-the-session rush at the State House, the education funding formula moved through both houses this evening, according to televised sessions and reports on social media sites. The formula remains, in general outline, the same $8,295 (+ 40% for free and reduced price lunch) per student multiplied by the complicated state share ratio, and the amended bill can be downloaded here: H8094 substitute a.

If there is any good news for Portsmouth, it is that the bill does not take effect until the 2012 fiscal year (i.e., not the school budget currently being considered). And, in what might be considered a bit of sugar to help the medicine go down, the general assembly has increased the reimbursement amount for school construction from 30% to 40%, phased in over two years. Assuming we went to bond for $30M of school renovation, we would actually stand to gain more than the $2.6M we'll be losing through the formula.

But that is small consolation when looking at the $260K hole this formula will put in our operating budget, beginning a year from now.

I want to publicly thank Rep. Amy Rice, who offered several floor amendments attempting to ameliorate the damage to East Bay communities, including spreading the loss out over a greater number of years and giving towns the ability to exceed the cap to recover this lost revenue by a simple majority, rather than a supermajority vote. Rep. Ray Gallison also spoke from the floor on this bill, as did Rep. Jay Edwards, and Portsmouth should thank them all for their efforts, but unfortunately, given the lopsided House vote (60-14), this was not a fight they were going to win.

As a progressive, I should be celebrating the fact that we finally have a formula to help insure that state funds are distributed methodically. I wish I could celebrate.

If only the method were not so flawed, and the impact so dire for Portsmouth.

Today's GoLocalProv, in a story on the proposed education funding formula, quotes this page's editor on the impact on Portsmouth.

Portsmouth and other East Bay schools won’t be losers in new education funding system proposed by the state—they will be devastated, according to John McDaid, a blogger who covers education issues closely.

Portsmouth, for one, would lose about $260,000 a year for a decade, and, because of the property tax cap, would not be able to raise taxes to make up the difference, according to McDaid. “Obviously, that would be devastating for our schools,” McDaid said.— GoLocalProv

It's weird to be on the other side of the steno pad for a change, but I can't complain. The reporter, Stephen Beale, did a good job of getting my quotes right.

The Senate finance committee, during hearings on education funding formulas yesterday, replaced the Gallo bill (S2770) with the RIDE/Costantino bill from the House (H8094), according to a posting on RI is Ready's Facebook page. According to the post, the one change so far is pushing the implementation date to 2013.

If you want to read tea leaves, the Senate taking up RIDE's formula looks to me to be a pretty good indicator of the direction this thing is going to move, and this is not something that's likely to make anyone happy. Funding advocates will be disappointed at the two-year delay, and allegedly overfunded districts still puzzling over their allocations under Dr. Wong's Quadratic Mean are unlikely to find much solace in a temporary reprieve.

But there's a long way until a final vote, and in the general assembly, anything can happen.

Karina Wood (far right) talks with residents at the Portsmouth Library.

Over a dozen residents, including elected officials and school administration, came out for a meeting with RI is Ready founder Karina Wood to chew over the pros and cons of the several education funding formulas being considered by the state legislature.

"Some people say we can't do it this year because of the budget crisis," said Wood, "But I think it's even more important in a budget crisis because this is how your state dollars are being targeted." She noted that without a formula, inequities that had been baked into the system 15 years ago were still governing the distribution of aid.

Wood talked the attendees through the bills being considered (Costantino/RIDE bill (H8094), Ajello (H7555) and Gallo/Corvese (H7123) and stressed that RI is Ready liked certain elements of each.

The Ajello bill, said Wood, has a more robust set of multipliers for groups identified with extra education challenges (English language learners, reduced price lunch, etc.) but did not set a target for an enlarged state percentage, and would cut "overfunded" communities drastically over three years. The Gallo/Corvese bill aims to increase the size of the state share, and holds communities harmless by starting with current funding levels, but would only be triggered by two successive years of positive state revenue. "That's never-never land," said Wood. "We just feel our kids can't wait."

The RIDE/Costantino bill, Wood said, was attractive for its innovative phase-in mechanism (communities gain funding over five years, but losers are spread over 10), but suffered from a low foundation amount (just $8,295) which did not include many big-ticket local items (transportation, utilities, etc.). And the formula itself, with its reliance on a complicated quadratic mean, came in for some criticism. School Committee member Marge Levesque noted that economic disadvantage was double counted, once in the multiplier for reduced-price lunch, and again in the EWAV number. "That's hitting us twice," said Levesque.

"When Dr. Wong testified last week," Wood said, describing the Brown professor who developed RIDE's formula,"He said no other state has a formula like this. He meant that as a academic, that it was innovative." Wood noted that this was not necessarily a positive thing, and commented on Wong's perhaps unintentional candor. "He was not saying it as a politician. He was just being honest."

There was a lively discussion among the attendees of the perceived shortcomings of each bill. Sen. Chuck Levesque noted that the Ajello and RIDE proposals, were described as revenue-neutral. "But they are not revenue-neutral to the local district," he noted, since towns like Portsmouth would be required to pick up an additional share.

Supt. Susan Lusi noted that a key difference between the current bills and the commission work they grew out of several years ago was the commitment to additional funding, rather than simply splitting up the current pie. "Funding our Future [the earlier formula study] presupposed more money to distribute," said Lusi. "Right now, that's clearly not the case."

Wood agreed, noting that one of the key principles that many in RI is Ready agree on is the goal of 50/50 state and local funding. The current state level, 36%, is far below the national average.

Karen McDaid saw this as the root cause of much of the disagreement about the particulars of the formula. "It seems to me that until we increase the size of the pie, we'll continue to squabble over the size of the pieces."

Nancy Zitka wondered about the lack of additional Federal funding to address obvious disparities for districts like Providence. Kathy Melvin expressed her concern about getting locked into a formula when the state budget was in such obvious distress. "You're forcing responsibility onto the local communities," she said, "And they may not be able to maintain."

And even if they wanted to, Len Katzman pointed out, S3050 is a serious political challenge to any local official who might risk angering taxpayers by seeking to exceed the cap. "That puts at great risk those proponents of education."

"That's why we have this language in our principle that says 'automatic," said Wood, describing the proposed language for relief from the cap to offset the loss in state aid.

By the end of the evening, the group seemed to have reached some consensus on the big themes — no double counting of free lunch and EWAV, the foundation amount needed to have all items included, and the goal needed to be a bigger pie over time.

"Otherwise," said Sen. Levesque, "We're fighting over the morsels and not seeing the big picture."

Full disclosure: I am a member of RI is Ready, and I helped organize this event.

Karina Wood, co-founder of "Rhode Island is Ready," a grassroots education advocacy group, will be speaking about a state school funding formula tonight at the Portsmouth Public Library, 2658 East Main Road, The one-hour event begins at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information about the group, see Rhode Island is Ready on Facebook.

Education funding formulas have become a hot topic in the general assembly this year, and the Race To The Top effort has put increasing pressure on the legislature. RI is Ready has been in the news recently with their advocacy event at the State House and testimony at the House Finance Committee.

See recent ProJo coverage:
RI Lawmakers weigh plans to establish school aid formula
Activists press need for school funding formula

RIDE Commissioner Gist (far right) testifies at HFC.

The RI House Finance Committee held hearings on education funding formulas today, and the chamber was standing room only, with over fifty people signed up to testify. The committee is chaired by Rep. Steven Costantino, who introduced the funding formula developed by the RI Dept. of Education, and they were the lead presenters this morning, with Comm. Deborah Gist and Brown consultant Dr. Kenneth Wong headlining.

In addition to the Costantino/RIDE bill (H8094), the committee considered also considered bills by Rep. Edith Ajello (H7555) and Rep. Arthur Corvese (H7123).

"I am confident that the framework in 8094 will take us from no formula to the best in the country," said Gist in her opening statement. "It is based in data and solid educational research," said Wong.

Rep. Doug Gablinski asked the question I've raised here before: "You're assuming that the money in the system is sufficient."

"[Many] Districts that are overfunded are above the state average," said Gist, arguing that many of the districts being defunded had per-pupil spending above the state's $13K average. For those districts who were spending too much, she said, "We will help them make adjustments with the Uniform Chart of Accounts."

Ajello had the opportunity to speak to her bill, and she was blunt about what she saw as deficiencies in the RIDE proposal. "I find it obscure and puzzlijng," she said. "It boggles my mind to see weights eliminated for English Language Learners (ELL) and special education." Her proposal includes separate multipliers for a variety of factors (ELL, special ed, free lunch, reduced lunch).

Executive Dir. of the RI association of School Committees (RIASC) Tim Duffy spoke to the Corvese bill, which includes new state-level purchasing and oversight proposals, but which actually defers any funding formula to a point in the future where there are two successive years of revenue increases in the state.

When the presentations were done and the committee asked questions, Rep. Ray Gallison asked what is on the minds of many in the East Bay: "There are 14 communities that lose funds," he said. "You're going to force those communities to raise property taxes. How is that fair and equitable to the kids in those communities?"

"I disagree that adjustment would result in any increase in property taxes," said Gist. (See my previous reaction to this line of argument.)

After a bit more poking from the committee, Costantino called for the witness list, and I went up there with the first group to testify.

TESTIMONY TO HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE MAY 13, 2010

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. My name is John McDaid. I’m the parent of a 4th grader at Howard Hathaway Elementary in Portsmouth RI, an appointed member of the Portsmouth school facilities committee, a volunteer on the district technology committee. I am also a member of RI is Ready, deeply committed to quality education for all of Rhode Island’s children, so I come here today to speak in general support of a fair, equitable funding formula. I agree with the previous witness, Osiris, that it should be a given. Based on my experience in Portsmouth, I would like to suggest two key factors such a formula needs to be truly fair to all, in particular, those districts identified as allegedly overfunded.

Portsmouth is a suburban community serving 2,657 pupils with only 9.5% on Free and Reduced Price lunch, with an adjusted EWAV property value of $4.5B. Because we are on Aquidneck Island, we have a high proportion of shoreline and waterview properties, which is a wonderful benefit, except during hurricanes and revals which drive up that EWAV number. Based on these factors, under both H7555 and H8094, our community would see substantial cuts in the state share.

Now I could argue that this is inherently unfair to our district, since we are, at a per-pupil cost of just $11,299, among those districts delivering education most effectively. I could note that we recently commissioned a facilities analysis that shows we need a minimum of $29M in repairs and upgrades over the next five years to keep our buildings code compliant, safe, and effective. I could argue that Portsmouth is already paying over 80% of the cost of education locally, and that 8094 would raise that to 91%. I could argue that in the past three years, we have been through a Caruolo action — including two audits — and won a Superior Court judgement which affirmed our funding level as appropriate. I could point out that we had a performance audit performed two years ago, and that the findings suggested we _add_ staff and $150K in funding. I could talk about the heartwrenching decisions we have had to make as a community: In the past two years, we have had to close two elementary schools. One, Prudence Island, was our state’s last one-room schoolhouse. The other, Elmhurst Elementary, is a truly unique local gem with a deeply involved parent community. I could say all that.

But I’m not here to argue against a funding formula, even if it results in less money for Portsmouth. What I do assert is that to be fair to all, first, the state share needs to be more robustly funded. For that reason, I would prefer a bill that aims to raise the foundation amount. It costs Portsmouth $3,000 more than $8,295 to put a child in a classroom, and we have a Superior Court ruling and a performance audit to testify to our efficiency. I urge the committee to consider a state goal closer to $10,600 per student, and a target percentage of 45-50%, rather than the current 37% state share. We know we’re not going to see 40% in Portsmouth, but no matter what the quadratic mean says, it is hard to wrap my mind around the notion that only 9% is truly fair.

And finally, the proposed formulas place towns like Portsmouth between a rock and a hard place when you consider the environment of the S3050 tax cap. The Portsmouth school appropriation is at the cap this year, and even without factoring in proposed reductions, the administration has estimated $583K in reductions yet to be determined for the 2010 budget. The out years are even worse, with a projected shortfall of $1.3M in 2013. With H8094, we would lose an additional $260K next year. I was disappointed to hear the Commissioner say that she does not believe this would result in increased property taxes. We are already efficient. We have already closed two schools. We have been audited. There is nothing left to cut.

The funding formulas assert that our town has the capacity to pay. However, the ever tightening 3050 cap prevents us from doing so. My very specific recommendation is to provide automatic relief from 3050 in any funding formula. On March 25, at a meeting of Rep. Amy Rice’s Aquidneck Island consolidation study group, Commissioner Gist said, quote, “I will support whatever changes to 3050 need to be made,” unquote, and explicitly identified Portsmouth as, quote, “an example of a community” unquote that needed such flexibility.

What would it take to make up for the contemplated $260K reduction in 8094? Consider this: The impact on the average taxpayer with a $300K house would be $20 next year. Not $20 per thousand. Twenty dollars.

However, the way RI General Law 44-5-2 is written, that might as well be twenty million dollars. Because of the requirement in section (e) that any appropriation in excess of cap requires a supermajority, while the option may exist theoretically, there is no way in Portsmouth — nor many other communities — that any such motion would succeed.

We all want a fair and equitable formula. But fair to all means fair to _all_. Enacting cuts to the state share without providing an automatic waiver to 3050 would, by legislative act, drive districts into deficit. I submit to you that this is inherently unfair, and I urge you to include automatic relief from S3050 in the language of any funding formula.

Karina Wood, co-founder of "Rhode Island is Ready," a grassroots education advocacy group, will be speaking about a state school funding formula on Monday, May 17 at the Portsmouth Public Library, 2658 East Main Road. The one-hour event begins at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

There are several competing funding formula bills circulating at the legislature, and given the momentum around the Race To The Top (which would subtract points from our application for not having a formula in place), it is a good idea for concerned folks from Portsmouth to get involved and influence the process.

You can read more about RI is Ready's principles for a fair formula on their Facebook page, but at a high level, they support adequate per- student costs, rapid and meaningful funding for currently underfunded districts, equitable distribution based on student needs and district ability to pay, predictable amounts districts can rely on, and enhanced accountability to ensure funds are used efficiently and focused on teaching. (Also, to be clear, RI is Ready are not uncritical supporters of any particular proposal currently before the legislature; rather, they support a set of principles.)

Yesterday, RI is Ready organized a press event and information session with legislators at the State House. You can read coverage in the Providence Journal, and see a video on the ProJo site. (Videography was clearly not the reporter's strength. A word of advice for you newspaper types: point the camera at the person whose lips are moving.)

For more information, see the RI is Ready Facebook page.

The education funding formula developed by the RI Dept. of Education (RIDE) (previous coverage) was officially introduced in the RI house today (download bill pdf), and the bill appears to track closely to the information previously released by RIDE, including the head-scratching per-pupil figure of $8,295, with the one bright spot being that it would not take effect until the 2011 school year. Update: Reader pointed out that the bill refers to fiscal year 2011, not school year — i.e., the budget year that ENDS June 30, 2011. There is no bright spot. If this passes unmodified, stick a fork in us. We're done. Thanks JD for the tip.

One feature repeatedly promised by Comm. Gist was conspicuously absent: any modification of S3050 to assist "overfunded" districts like Portsmouth facing cuts of around $250K/year. Here's the relevant text:

A community that has a local appropriation insufficient to fund the basic education program pursuant to the regulations described in this section and all other approved programs shared by the state and required in law shall be required to increase its local appropriation in accordance with section 44-5-2 or find efficiencies in other non-education programs to provide sufficient funding to support the public schools.
— p5, lines 3-7. (emphasis mine)

We — Portsmouth — is going to take a quarter-million dollar hit in 2011, and unless there is a supermajority vote by the Council to override the cap, we're going to be looking for "efficiencies."

You can read that euphemism however you like. But it ain't gonna be pretty.

Oh, and take a guess who sponsored the bill? The representative from the district which will receive a 189% increase. Here's the press release:

Hearn cosponsors statewide education aid formula

STATE HOUSE – Saying education aid from the state must be equitable, predictable and reflect the needs of students and their communities, Rep. Joy Hearn is cosponsoring legislation developed by the Department of Education to enact a statewide formula that will determine each school district’s state funding.

The legislation (2010-H 8094), which was introduced today by House Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino, would put an end to Rhode Island’s status as the only state without a statewide education funding formula, where state aid is usually based on the previous year’s amount and does not reflect changes in districts’ student populations and needs. The lack of a formula played a role in Rhode Island’s failed bid to win the first round of federal Race to the Top funding in March.

“School funding is far too important for the state to be apportioning it arbitrarily or politically. Rhode Island has limited funding. We aren’t spending it wisely if we aren’t carefully sending it where the students and the needs are today. This formula will help the state get the most value for its education dollar while finally treating students equitably,” said Representative Hearn (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence), who has pushed for the formula throughout her freshman term in the General Assembly.

The formula, which was developed with assistance from education experts at Brown University, is based on an estimate of basic education costs, currently set at $8,295 per pupil. For low-income students, who tend to have more expensive educational needs, the cost is figured at $11,600 each. The formula takes into account the actual number of students in those populations in each district, and adjusts the total by the community’s ability to pay, which is based on its tax base, low-income population and other wealth factors. The legislation phases in the formula over a decade.

Both Barrington and East Providence stand to gain under the formula. Barrington’s state aid would increase by 189 percent, from $1.99 million to $5.76 million. East Providence would go from $25 million to nearly $28.7 million. Representative Hearn said the sizes of those increases reflect the extent to which each district has been underfunded for years by a system that lacks any connection to the conditions that exist in each district, or to changes in each district’s student population. According to school officials, Barrington has received about $500 per student from the state this year, while other districts nearby received more than 10 times that amount.

Education Commissioner Deborah Gist has said she believes Rhode Island could afford to provide excellent education to its students at the current total amount it is providing in state aid – about $860 million a year – but only if it uses the formula to ensure that the money is spent where it’s needed.

That, of course, will mean some communities, like those in Representative Hearn’s district, will gain and others will lose funding. But, as Commissioner Gist said when she brought the proposal before the Board of Regents, there are already winners and losers when the state distributes aid. The formula will impart fairness upon the distribution process. And because the changes would be phased in slowly, the adjustments would be gradual.

“To focus on which communities get more and which get less is missing the point of the formula, which is to make sure students have the opportunity to get the education they need no matter where in the state they happen to live,” said Representative Hearn.
— GA press release

Full disclosure: I am a strong supporter of a fair funding formula, but it needs to be implemented in a way which does not throw our school finances into chaos.