Monday, June 06, 2011

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FUNDING ANALYSIS FINDS DISPARITY + The Data Sets

SFGate 

by Louis Freedberg, Stephen K. Doig, California Watch/from the San Francisco Chonicle | http://bit.ly/ihy6KJ

Sunday, June 5, 2011 - State lawmakers have struggled for decades to bring equality to how school districts are funded, yet some districts receive thousands more per student than others, a California Watch analysis has found. And the data show spending more provides no assurance of academic success.

Last year, California schools spent an average of $8,452 to educate each student, a figure that includes money from local, state and federal sources, including one-time stimulus funds.

But that average masks enormous differences in spending. The Carmel Unified School District, for example, spent nearly three times as much as the Norris School District in Bakersfield. According to the state's Legislative Analyst's Office, some of the smallest schools in the Sierra foothills, with just a handful of students, received about $200,000 per student.

The differences can be due to funding for special programs that can come from a variety of local, state and federal sources. Put together, that can add up to quite a difference in spending.

In a show of bipartisan support to change the way schools are funded, the state Assembly approved legislation last week on a near-unanimous vote. AB18 by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, seeks a funding formula that would take into account the proportion of disadvantaged students in a school and other factors, such as students' proficiency in English. It now goes to the Senate.

As districts struggle with huge budget cuts, an extra few hundred dollars per student can make a significant difference. In a school district like Los Angeles Unified, by far the largest in the state, $500 more per student would yield about an extra $300 million, precisely the amount the district aimed to save when it sent out thousands of layoff notices this spring.

More money, however, does not necessarily translate into better learning.

The Capistrano Unified School District in Orange County, for example, spent much less than the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Yet its Academic Performance Index score, which is based on test scores and other measures, was 862, compared with San Bernardino's 699.

'Money Myth'

"Money may be necessary for school improvement, but it doesn't guarantee that improvement takes place," concluded UC Berkeley education Professor W. Norton Grubb in his recent book "The Money Myth."

He found that urban schools tended to spend inefficiently for a variety of reasons, including high staff and student turnover and conflicts over how to teach struggling students. At the same time, he said, urban districts often have extra expenses for needs such as security, dropout prevention or for teaching students who are not proficient in English.

One of those districts with higher expenses is the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto, where about two-thirds of students are English learners. The district has had to hire three full-time Spanish translators - mainly to translate lengthy special education reports as required by law - and has translators working in the school office, in classrooms and at parent meetings.

Ravenswood spends nearly $13,000 per student, yet has cut several programs and may slash two weeks from the next school year, Superintendent Maria De La Vega said.

"It is sad, when you look across the freeway and see so many other opportunities" for students there, she said, referring to the Palo Alto Unified School District, which is in a wealthier community on the other side of Highway 101.

Last year, financial frustration prompted nine districts, including Alameda Unified School District, and several dozen parents and students to file a lawsuit claiming the funding system is unconstitutional. The suit, Robles-Wong vs. California, is being heard in Alameda County Superior Court along with another suit by the Campaign for Quality Education, which makes similar allegations.

'Fundamental reform'

"We are not asking for simply more money," the Campaign for Quality Education lawsuit contends. "We're asking for fundamental reform so that existing and additional funds will be more efficiently spent."

What especially galls education leaders in Alameda is that its district receives substantially less money than nearby districts like Berkeley, Oakland and Palo Alto.

"There is a huge sense that the system is very inequitable in how it operates," said Patricia Sanders, a middle school math teacher who is also president of the Alameda Education Association, the district's teachers union. "For us not to receive the same amount as other districts near us is like saying, 'We are going to value one child more than another.' "

Four decades ago, the California Supreme Court declared the state's system of financing schools unconstitutional. In the 1971 Serrano vs. Priest ruling, the court found that using local property taxes to fund schools resulted in vast differences between a wealthy district like Beverly Hills and a low-income community such as Baldwin Park, which is east of Los Angeles.

The Supreme Court ruled that differences in the basic amount spent per student - so-called "revenue limit" funding - had to be within $100 across all districts. Taking inflation into account, the permissible difference is now $350 per student. Although larger differences remain among some districts, disparities in the basic amount districts receive from the state have been substantially reduced.

But that reduction has been wiped out by local, state and federal funds for close to a hundred different programs. A large part of the money is based on formulas established in the 1970s for meals, transportation and other services that often have little connection to current student needs.

 

THE DATA:

California school district spending and test scores

from California Watch | http://bit.ly/kxlaTW

June 2, 2011

Despite years of efforts to equalize spending in California schools, some districts receive thousands of dollars more per student than others. And although some districts spent much more than the average, the bigger expenditure didn't assure higher scores on the state's Academic Performance Index, which is based on student test scores and other academic measures. Download a spreadsheet of spending per student and Academic Performance Index data for all school districts here.

California school district spending and test scores

Los Angeles Unified School District

June 2, 2011

How does Los Angeles Unified compare to other California districts?

Spending per student

$10,015 Median: $8,234

API score in 2010

709 Median: 783

LAUSD: $10,015 spent per student ($5.8 billion total expenditures)

Districts with similar spending per student

Del Norte County Unified
$10,071

Fallbrook Union High
$10,068

Roseland Elementary
$10,059

Los Angeles Unified
$10,015

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
$10,010

Little Shasta Elementary
$9,951

Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary
$9,941

Spending per student
in districts with similar attendance

Los Angeles Unified (576,700.40)
$10,015

San Diego Unified (110,420.40)
$9,855

Fresno Unified (67,444.60)
$9,199

Long Beach Unified (81,638.70)
$8,719

Santa Ana Unified (51,936.20)
$8,396

Elk Grove Unified (58,583.70)
$8,057

Corona-Norco Unified (50,531.90)
$7,303

Spending per student in adjacent districts

Beverly Hills Unified
$11,122

Compton Unified
$10,586

Pasadena Unified
$10,104

Los Angeles Unified
$10,015

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
$10,010

Lennox Elementary
$9,759

Centinela Valley Union High
$9,366

Inglewood Unified
$8,931

Long Beach Unified
$8,719

Lawndale Elementary
$8,390

Glendale Unified
$8,325

Montebello Unified
$8,292

La Canada Unified
$8,197

Lynwood Unified
$8,061

Alhambra Unified
$8,047

Sulphur Springs Union Elementary
$8,037

Acton-Agua Dulce Unified
$7,931

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified
$7,812

Hawthorne Elementary
$7,806

Las Virgenes Unified
$7,742

El Segundo Unified
$7,733

Burbank Unified
$7,659

South Pasadena Unified
$7,647

Culver City Unified
$7,599

Downey Unified
$7,572

William S. Hart Union High
$7,507

Torrance Unified
$7,505

Simi Valley Unified
$7,300

Newhall Elementary
$7,056

Wiseburn Elementary
$6,884

LAUSD: 709 API score in 2010

Districts with similar API scores in 2010

Colusa Unified
710

Emery Unified
709

Southern Kern Unified
709

Los Angeles Unified
709

Sunnyside Union Elementary
708

Trona Joint Unified
708

Big Springs Union Elementary
708

API scores in 2010
in districts with similar attendance

Corona-Norco Unified (50,531.90)
801

Elk Grove Unified (58,583.70)
791

San Diego Unified (110,420.40)
785

Long Beach Unified (81,638.70)
759

Santa Ana Unified (51,936.20)
723

Fresno Unified (67,444.60)
711

Los Angeles Unified (576,700.40)
709

 

API scores in 2010 in adjacent districts

La Canada Unified
933

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified
912

South Pasadena Unified
911

Newhall Elementary
896

Las Virgenes Unified
882

El Segundo Unified
881

Beverly Hills Unified
872

Torrance Unified
853

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
844

Wiseburn Elementary
843

Glendale Unified
842

Burbank Unified
832

Sulphur Springs Union Elementary
828

William S. Hart Union High
824

Culver City Unified
824

Simi Valley Unified
816

Alhambra Unified
814

Lawndale Elementary
794

Hawthorne Elementary
785

Downey Unified
771

Long Beach Unified
759

Acton-Agua Dulce Unified
758

Pasadena Unified
758

Lennox Elementary
754

Inglewood Unified
711

Montebello Unified
710

Los Angeles Unified
709

Lynwood Unified
689

Compton Unified
679

Centinela Valley Union High
644

A note about the data: Spending figures refer to "current expense of education" per student in average daily attendance in 2009-10. The figures exclude certain expenditures, such as retiree benefits, food services and facilities acquisition and construction costs. Figures should be interpreted in the context of local conditions.
The state's nearly 1,000 school districts are responsible for reporting the information to the state. If individual districts spot problems with the state-reported statistics in our database, California Watch will confirm and update the data while encouraging districts to correct any errors with the state so that the public has the most accurate data available.
Interactive by Agustin Armendariz and Michael Corey. Reporting by Louis Freedberg and Stephen K. Doig.
Source: California Department of Education

 

 

10 highest-spending districts

Districts with 500 or more students average daily attendance

District
$ spent per
student
Location

Taft Union High
$21,932
Kern County

Shoreline Unified
$17,791
Marin County

Saint Helena Unified
$17,671
Napa County

Carmel Unified
$17,451
Monterey County

Portola Valley Elementary
$16,981
San Mateo County

Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified
$15,244
Humboldt County

Tamalpais Union High
$15,100
Marin County

Rancho Santa Fe Elementary
$14,287
San Diego County

San Pasqual Valley Unified
$14,028
Imperial County

Coast Unified
$13,775
San Luis Obispo County

10 lowest-spending districts

Districts with 500 or more students average daily attendance

District
$ spent per
student
Location

Norris Elementary
$6,112
Kern County

Lammersville Elementary
$6,170
San Joaquin County

Rosedale Union Elementary
$6,176
Kern County

Hickman Community Charter
$6,192
Stanislaus County

Solvang Elementary
$6,206
Santa Barbara County

Dixon Unified
$6,287
Solano County

Spreckels Union Elementary
$6,322
Monterey County

Mccabe Union Elementary
$6,330
Imperial County

Central Elementary
$6,388
San Bernardino County

Ripon Unified
$6,394
San Joaquin County

Choose from California's largest districts

Los Angeles Unified
San Diego Unified
Long Beach Unified
Fresno Unified
Elk Grove Unified

Santa Ana Unified
Corona-Norco Unified
Capistrano Unified
San Francisco Unified
San Bernardino City Unified

Garden Grove Unified
Sacramento City Unified
Riverside Unified
Sweetwater Union High
San Juan Unified

Or choose a county

Alameda County
Alpine County
Amador County
Butte County
Calaveras County
Colusa County
Contra Costa County
Del Norte County
El Dorado County
Fresno County
Glenn County
Humboldt County
Imperial County
Inyo County
Kern County
Kings County
Lake County
Lassen County
Los Angeles County
Madera County

Marin County
Mariposa County
Mendocino County
Merced County
Modoc County
Mono County
Monterey County
Napa County
Nevada County
Orange County
Placer County
Plumas County
Riverside County
Sacramento County
San Benito County
San Bernardino County
San Diego County
San Francisco County
San Joaquin County
San Luis Obispo County

San Mateo County
Santa Barbara County
Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County
Shasta County
Sierra County
Siskiyou County
Solano County
Sonoma County
Stanislaus County
Sutter County
Tehama County
Trinity County
Tulare County
Tuolumne County
Ventura County
Yolo County
Yuba County

Interactive by Agustin Armendariz and Michael Corey. Reporting by Louis Freedberg and Stephen K. Doig.

Source: California Department of Education

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