Southern States Should Take Lead Role In Solving School Funding Crisis

Forbes Leadership Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Southern States Should Take Lead Role In Solving School Funding Crisis Raymond Pierce Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about how we can advance education equity and why we must. Following Click to save this article.

You’ll be asked to sign into your Forbes account. Nov 22, 2023, 04:24pm EST Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin (Author’s note: This is the second installment of a column on the financial cliff school districts are facing at the end of next school year. After outlining the issue in the first installment, let’s examine some solutions.

) If the federal government does not extend its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding or provide another funding measure to help states turn the tide in education achievement, the American South will likely feel the impact more than any other region — exacerbating the well-documented funding shortages and racial inequities that have plagued these states throughout U. S. history.

Convincing federal lawmakers to loosen the purse strings does not seem likely. In July, a House subcommittee proposal sought to eliminate 80% of Title I funding in the FY 2024 budget. Concerned about the harmful impacts to K-12 education, school administrators across the country called on Congress to preserve this funding for the education of low-income students.

A Sept. 5 letter from the National Association of Secondary School Principals to all congressional leaders and members warned of “drastic reductions” state and local education budgets if the proposal becomes law. One strategic way to focus K-12 funding could be through Outcomes Based Contracting , a strategic initiative of the Southern Education Foundation.

In this innovative model for school district and state contracts, the full payment to an external provider is contingent on meeting agreed-upon student outcomes. By focusing on what matters most — student learning — districts can rethink the use of the entitlement funds, strengthening student support and ultimately ensuring public dollars deliver the intended impact. Some states have also stockpiled billions of dollars in reserves to prepare for the funding cliff.

Georgia has a cash surplus of $10. 7 billion following three years of increases in state revenue, the State Accounting Office reported in October. Georgia Gov.

Brian Kemp acknowledged that the state coffers are full because of a growing economy. Not every state has seen that type of budget windfall. Many states have restrictions on how much school districts can stow away.

School districts across the country still have about $76 billion to spend before the deadline, according to the latest federal data . Decisions on how these reserve funds will be critical, and all districts may not have time to spend the remaining funds ways that are effective in the long term. A brief from The Education Trust and Education Resource Strategies (ERS) provides guidance for school district and state leaders to help them make data-informed, equitable decisions as they navigate this school year and the years following the fiscal cliff.

It encourages community input, collaboration with school staff, students and families, data-driven outcomes, and a focus on students with the most need. MORE FOR YOU The 64 Best Black Friday Deals That Are Already Live Fear The Walking Dead Is Finally Over Five Seasons Too Late The Russians Stuck 1950s Turrets On 1950s Tractors To Produce The Ukraine War’s Worst Fighting Vehicles. Now They’re Improving Them.

Joseph Trawick-Smith of ERS said that states can also do more to provide guidance and support for districts on how to spend remaining dollars, such as providing more flexibility on carry-forward funds and remaining balances. “This is kind of an extraordinary moment we find ourselves in,” said Trawick-Smith, noting the rare opportunity for additional investments in education. “No one wants to stockpile money, and yet at this moment when there’s so much money to spend and so little time… if ever we’re going to adjust those restrictions, now would be a good time to do it.

” How leaders in states make decisions on how to use these reserves will directly impact the future for many American families and communities — especially students in under-resourced schools and communities, where academic support and mental health services are most likely to vanish. This fall, the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) made clear that we stand with student advocates in Georgia in urging lawmakers to reassess the state’s school funding formula. The state should add an “opportunity weight,” a mechanism to provide funding to schools based on the number of students living in poverty, wrote Fred Jones, SEF’s senior director of public policy and advocacy.

“Georgia hasn’t fully updated its school funding formula in more than three decades. The formula simply does not account for the academic and social needs of learners today. Georgia is also one of only six states not dedicating additional per-pupil funding for students from low-income families,” Jones wrote.

Between now and the start of the legislative term in January, SEF and other advocates will be meeting with state legislators, the governor’s office, and other Georgia leaders about this issue. Several other southern states have shown at least some interest in updating their K-12 school funding systems and investing billions more in schools. Among the developments in other states: ● The Maryland Blueprint for America’s Future positions the state to invest billions of additional dollars in public schools over the next decade.

● The North Carolina Supreme Court has ordered state leaders to invest billions more in public schools, in the latest stage in the decades-old Leandro court case. The state legislature, however, has yet to comply with those court orders. ● After some significant new investments in education, lawmakers in Tennessee are now discussing whether to reject all federal education funding in the name of ending Washington’s “excessive overreach,” according to The Hill .

A 10-member committee formed by legislators will investigate the matter, while education advocates in the state argue that $1. 8 billion in federal funds each year supports the most disadvantaged students, and that rejecting the funding would only hurt the students struggling the most. The bottom line is that states must consider major new investments in schools, and in some states the leaders must direct budget-reserve funds toward education’s biggest needs — targeting communities where the need is greatest.

Other aspects of education — universal pre-K availability, high-quality professional learning for educators, community schools, high-impact tutoring, personalized learning, and other researched-based improvements are paramount, as well. but can easily incorporate emphasis on those least likely to succeed without the resources. Taking action would move the nation further from its history of oppression and denying equal opportunities to all its citizens.

Immediately following the Civil War, the period of Reconstruction brought promise along with the emergence of schools for newly freed Black persons. However, the end of Reconstruction in 1877 slowed or reversed progress in education and equal rights that still impacts us to this day. State governments have the opportunity to direct the last of these federal pandemic-relief funds to right the path of education and strengthen the health and security of our nation.

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