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Article published Apr 18, 2004
Education funding: Local, state funding for school districts has
soared well above recommendations
ASHLEY LANDESS
For the Herald-Journal
There has been a great deal of
confusion lately on exactly how much we are spending on schools. Some reports
claim that the per-pupil expenditure from the state is only $1,777. But those
who use that figure frequently do not adequately explain that the amount is only
from one funding source.In order to have a comprehensive discussion about
education policy, we need a much clearer understanding of the funding picture.
The real state per-pupil expenditure is much higher than $1,777, and when
federal and local dollars are thrown in, it is much higher still.In other words,
no child is being educated in our public school system on only $1,777.The
Education Oversight Committee recently released a report that addressed how much
it costs to educate a child in current dollars in our state. The EOC report
concluded that we should be spending $5,259 per student. That figure includes
local and state revenue but not federal revenue.Another report issued by the
South Carolina Policy Council (the organization for which I work) sought to
address how much is actually being spent in our schools. That report found that
the average per-pupil expenditure (also excluding federal dollars) was at $5,748
in 1996 and at $7,574 in 2002.In other words, last year we spent $2,315 more per
child on average than the Education Oversight Committee said we should. We
already are spending well in excess of that $5,259 figure and have been since
1996.According to the Policy Council report, local education spending from
1996-2002 increased on average by 37 percent, state funding by 40 percent and
federal funding by 58 percent (all the numbers are adjusted for inflation).
During that same time period, the average student population grew by only 1
percent.The report looked at every district over the 1996-2002 period but also
chose 13 target districts to examine over an 18-year period. In all of those
districts, funding clearly has increased.What is startling is the level at which
that is true in some areas. For example, one school district in the Midlands saw
an increase of 155 percent in total revenue from all sources (state, local and
federal). That same district shows a decrease in student population of 11
percent. An Upstate district shows an increase of 236 percent in funding, while
the student population increased only by 14 percent. In the Lowcountry, one
district's funding increased 149 percent, and student population decreased by 2
percent.Not all the examples show those extreme disparities between funding and
student population, but the report found that in only one of the 13 districts
studied was funding at pace with student growth.These figures raise more
questions than answers, and it is critical that policy-makers begin to focus on
what kind of education we are providing rather than how much money we are
spending on it. For example, if we have the same number of students to educate,
why does it cost so much more to do it today than it did eight years ago, or
even 10 years ago? What has changed in the classroom or in how our schools are
spending their money?One thing on which most everyone agrees is that more money
should go into direct instruction. That is not to say that other education
expenditures are not important, but as dollars flow down to the districts,
teachers have said they are still paying for school supplies themselves. The
question has to be asked: If we are spending 40 percent more total on education
today than in 1996, where is the money going?There is no easy answer to that
question. But we, as a state, need to make a serious commitment to finding out
exactly what our education priorities are and how to put them into place.Anyone
who looks at this report should understand that we have made a commitment to
fund public education -- a commitment that also has been made at the local and
the federal levels. The next level of the discussion should focus on ensuring
that dollars are spent in the classroom, where the real work of education takes
place, and also on innovative ways to raise achievement levels for all South
Carolina children.A copy of the Policy Council's full report is available at
www.scpolicycouncil.com.Ashley Landess is vicepresident for public affairsof the
S.C. Policy CouncilEducation Foundation, anonprofit, nonpartisan research
organization in Columbia.