Issues+Impacting+A+State+Formula

I believe these are three or four basic issues that impact a state formula: The first item that I think impacts state formula includes the taxes that fund education. Taxes are dependent upon many issues; public education in Texas could not survive without the taxes generated statewide. Taxes are also probably the most contested part of school funding since the distribution of these taxes differs from district to district. The property taxes collected can vary depending upon whether you are from a property wealthy area or not. The second item that impacts the state formula is the weighted average daily attendance also known as “WADA.” Since WADA tries to balance the playing field for districts by taking into account the additional education needs of students, this WADA can be critical to a school district. I believe the next two items I selected are the third and fourth issues that have a major impact on state formula funding. Average Daily Attendance, also known as “ADA” is critical because we can't teach the students if they are not in attendance. The emphasis the state puts on schools by provided funding based on ADA is important, but in some cultures parents do not understand or value the importance of education. As a result, a choice of the family or culture becomes a financial burden to the district without any impact on the family. Many schools are providing creative solutions to entice attendance, but the bottom line is that the district suffers for the decisions of the family. I also think that the compensatory education funding is important because it provides financial support to the school district to teach educationally disadvantaged pupils and underachieving students. This might be the funding that compensates for the ADA deficiencies of those families who are disadvantaged or at risk that do not support education by getting their students to school.

From Rob: The first major issue for funding is near and dear to my heart. I constantly strive to increase ADA. District funding is uniquely tied to it and for us, every tenth of a percentage point is important. Additionally, I’ve been trying to beat our intermediate school for years and can’t seem to sneak past them. :) For our district a 1% hike in attendance is enough to fund an additional teaching position. A second issue is property tax revenue. Our district is unique in our area in that there is little or no industry. Consequently, much of the tax burden falls on homeowners (who are your parents, of course). I was fortunate to grow up in Palacios ISD which was one of the first in the state to benefit from revenue contributed by a nuclear project. –Talk about funding. I work in a Chapter 42 school. We are the recipient of additional funding as a result. Dr. Nicks refers to my final issue in his lecture. –WADA. I believe this element is of ultimate importance because, quite simply, it requires more revenue to educate some students than others.