The Funding Formula Technical Working Group met on September 3rd at Highline Community College. This meeting was full of much discussion, but not a lot of decisions. While discussions were frustrating at times, many members of the Working Group seem to better understand the intent of ESHB 2261 and have gotten on the transparency bandwagon (The presence of Sens. Rosemary McAuliffe and Eric Oemig and Reps. Ross Hunter and Skip Priest may have helped with that). Working Group members also seem to better understand the need for a school-based allocation model, well, maybe.
Questions surfaced again around dollars generated by high-poverty schools. Many district representatives thought the district should decide how to best spend those funds, while some other group members felt the schools that generated the allocations should receive those funds. Rep. Hunter clarified during a brief presentation that both categorical (LAP) funds generated by low-income students were meant to be spent on those kids, and similarly for enhancement funds generated by high-poverty schools. Julie Salvi also clarified at one point that the Legislature selected 50 percent Free and Reduced-Price Lunch as the enhancement cutoff because of research indicating that is the tipping point for many schools.
NERCs or MSOCs or whatever we are calling non-staffing costs continue to drive debate. Where should be put technology? What about library supplies? On and on and on and on. Yes, these allocations are important for schools and districts (hopefully students too), but the back and forth is exhausting. Members had to keep reminding one another to not get too in the weeds and remember that the allocation and reporting models could be different.
The Planning Time Subgroup came back with a recommendation on how to handle teacher planning time in the model. Ultimately, the Working Group decided on 20 percent of the day for secondary teachers and 15 percent of the day for elementary teachers. Two other subgroups were created, one to look at poverty levels and the other to examine small schools/districts.
The next meeting of the Working Group is Thursday, September 17 at the Puget Sound ESD.
