PA501 Introduction to Public Administration. Funding of Schools in the U.S

Funding of Schools in the U.S
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Funding of Schools in the U.S
Introduction to the Study
Background
Educational opportunities in the United States are closely tied to the jurisdiction in which a child and his or her family reside. Most states in the United States fund elementary and secondary schools through a combination of local property taxes and state aid. A relatively small percentage (from 6 - 9%) of revenue is derived by the federal government. Although the relative proportion of state to local funding varies substantially across states, local property taxes provide a significant share of school funds in many states (Blanchard & Duncombe, 1998). Real property wealth is not distributed equally across taxing districts. However, the differences among districts can be dramatic. This unequal distribution of property wealth, coupled with continued reliance on local property taxes, introduced inequities into school funding.
In the U.S, public schools provide learners with basic education from kindergarten to the 12th grade. Education up to this point is provided for free for both parents and students and the state mandates that every child goes to school at least up to the 12th grade (Gordon & Schultz, 2020). Once one has completed this basic schooling, they obtain a high school diploma which is a certification required by employers. Although education at this level is free to the population, many learners do not finish and obtain the diplomas due to personal issues and differences in the quality of education offered and the materials available in different districts.
The US Department of Education states that 8% of funding in public schools is provided by the federal government. Funding the remaining balance per learner in public schools mandates state and local governments to allocate funds towards education. The governments allocate a certain percentage of their revenue to use in funding education. The amount that is set aside for funding education is determined by the constitution of the state, incoming government officials, and propositions (Berne & Stiefel, 1999). Since the states operate in different ways, this also means that the amount of funds and support offered to public education funding varies from one state to the next, depending on individual state legislation and implementation. These funds are allocated from the revenues generated from public taxes.
The interest of this study is exploring how schools are funded in the U.S. and to offer an alternative course of action. Dr. Fred G. Burke, former commissioner of education for the States of Rhode Island and New Jersey and the lead defendant in the long running Abbott v. Burke school finance reform case in New Jersey played a crucial role in changing the rules on how education funding is done. The effects of his efforts are felt today and make the background of this study.
Historical Sketch of the Study (or Problem)
Education funding has been a bone of contention in the United States over years. This is evident due to the high number of court cases on the issue. Such legislations have contributed to school funding receiving increased attention due to the school funding reforms initiated by state legislatures and courts (Huisman, Boezerooy, Dima, Hoppe-Jeliazkova, Luijten-Lub, de Weert, & van der Wende, 2020). However, this has not always been the case. Fifty years after President Lyndon Johnson declared a War on poverty, the playing field is still not level for millions of children due to inequity at the starting gate. Researchers from the University of Michigan in their 2007 book, Inequality at the Starting Gate, came to the following conclusions:
There are substantial differences by race and ethnicity in children’s test scores as they begin kindergarten
Race and ethnicity are associated with socio-economic status (SES)
Family structure and educational expectations have important associations with SES, race/ethnicity, and with young children’s test scores
Socio-economic status is quite strongly related to cognitive skills
Low-SES children begin school at kindergarten in systematically lower-quality elementary schools than their more advantaged counterparts
State and local governments have since moved forward to formulate and implement legislations that seek to address these issues. Although some of them have not yet been achieved, trends show governments are on the right track in ensuring equity in education funding.
Methodology
As mentioned, the purpose of this study is to explore how schools in the U.S are funded. The methodology employed to achieve this is re-visiting the policy paper Dr. Burke wrote for President John F. Kennedy, and also reviewing all school finance systems by state to prepare a financial index. A demographer (GIS) professional was also consulted to help in creating and enumerating the number of school districts in each state and place the financial index within each state. Kids Count Date Center materials from the Annie E. Casey Foundation were also reviewed to enable the researcher to determine a base amount for what constitutes a “thorough and efficient education.” In addition, research on the Cost of Living Index was done use the findings to determine the variations in standards across the U.S. All state departments of education were then reviewed to determine their funding as well as education reform organizations. Finally, an administrative apparatus was recommended to fund each school district and monitor results. The findings and recommendations drawn from this study are relevant to state and federal governments in regard to funding education because it will inform and provide background for the U.S. Department of Education.
Findings
Dr. Burke’s White Paper
Fred G. Burke was famous for overseeing drastic changes in the accountability and financing of public schools during the 1970s and 1980s. During that time, he was the commissioner of education for Rhode Island and later New Jersey. He was a specialist in African affairs and a political scientist with a record of getting things done (Burke, 1190). He wrote books, taught in universities and colleges, served as a consultant for the UN, director for the Peace Corps training of volunteers, as well as the top education official for Rhode Island. He was appointed the commissioner for education in New Jersey in 1974. He had a great passion for development in the education sector, and considered the need for adequate funding as one of the initial steps to take.
Dr. Burke persuaded the legislature of New Jersey to pass a law in 1975 which called for a ‘thorough and efficient’ education for the 1.5 million students in the state. The law mandated monitoring and testing, annual assessments for teachers, and schools to be reviewed annually. Dr. Burke also wrote to the president concerning the need for accountability and equitable funding in public schools (Sterling & Burke, n.d.). Burke had noted that some of the challenges that the schools faced included poor academic performance and lack of accountability, as well as inadequate funding and disparate budgets allocation between the schools in the poor and rich districts. Much of the revenue that was used in this case was drawn from taxpayers’ money and supplemented by the state government. However, Dr. Burke was not satisfied with the distribution of funding between private and public schools, and rich and poor schools.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that the financing system used was in violation of the constitutional mandate of New Jersey to ensure ‘thorough and efficient’ education for all students (Mead, 2009). This marked a major through towards equitable distribution of resources and education funding. Further, equalization aid was to be provided to poor districts to level them with the rich ones.
Dr. Burke’s efforts led to the Supreme Court of New Jersey ordering the state to ensure that the poorest districts had as much resources and funds as the rich ones. This was in 1990, and the suit is referred to as Abbott v. Burke. Such moves marked the beginning of equitable funding in schools in New Jersey and the U.S.
Abbott v. Burke
This was a landmark ruling delivered by the Supreme Court on how state funds should be distributed between suburban and urban schools. The core principle that Abbott promoted was ensuring that schools within 31 poor communities in New Jersey received ‘thorough and efficient’ education as the state constitution guaranteed (Lichtenstein, 1991). The Abbott ruling was delivered during the early 1970s and remains one of the most crucial set of decisions made on school funding and equity.
Abbott has played a crucial role in ensuring that schools in Abbott districts receive additional education funding from the state as a requirement under the constitution. It also helped in putting the Education Law Center, which is based at Newark, on the map as the most and strongest outspoken for poor schools and students in the state (Gruber, 2012). It fought for additional state funding to schools and students from low-income profiles.
Financial index of all school finance systems by state
The funding systems of different states in the U.S are available at  HYPERLINK "https://nces.ed.gov/edfin/state_financing.asp" https://nces.ed.gov/edfin/state_financing.asp. The systems show how resources are allocated, information on how revenue is collected, and other information. The information was provided for the year 1998-99, and it shows that the states were funded differently ("Education Finance Statistics Center (EDFIN) - State Finance Programs", 2020). The funding information also shows that there were great discrepancies between the states in terms of funding due to differences in the revenue collected, legislations concerning education funding, and the available resources. For instance, a screenshot of the funding summary of Alabama is shown below, as well as that Utah. According to the information shown, Utah received funding amounting to $1,811 million while that of Alabama was $3,753.9 million. This shows the difference in education funding between the two states, a trend that is persistent through all the states.


Education Funding in Alabama


Education Funding in Utah
Kids Count Date Center materials from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
New Jersey is still struggling with educate its citizen so that they can be competitive in the international market. It also faces the constitutional challenge of effectively implementing the ‘thorough and efficient’ system in its public schools (O'Brien, 2013). Notably, content standards in the core curriculum have attempted to define ‘thorough and efficient’ by describing the skills that students should gain by the time they complete their public education in thirteen years.
The standards set were not meant to guide the implementation of the curriculum. They define the expected results but fail to outline the strategies that should be used to ensure these expectations are realized (DeJarnatt, 2018). The overall aim of the curriculum is to ensure that it produces excellent doers and excellent thinkers by defining what the students should be capable of doing in different disciplines by the time they finish their public education. However, one of the challenges that some states like New Jersey are facing is ensuring that the core aim of the curriculum is realized.
The curriculum contains 85 standards with 1195 indicators to the Department of Education. However, the standards were reviewed to five standards that prepare students for employment after their education (O'Brien, 2013). Therefore, the primary aim of the ‘thorough and efficient’ system of education is to ensure students acquire the following five standards;
All learners should develop workplace readiness and career planning skills.
All students should learn how to use information, technology, and other tools.
All students should develop and use decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
All students will show self-management skills.
All learners will apply safety principles.
Therefore, all states in the United States are focused on ensuring that students within their jurisdiction achieve these five standards. The capacity to achieve these standards depends on the funding done, availability of resources, and the quality to teachers and teaching. Some of the states are struggling to meet these standards due to underfunding, further showing the need for equitable funding to public schools.
Cost of Living Index variations in standards across the U.S.
The cost of living refers to the amount of money required to enable an individual sustain a particular standard of living such that they can afford such basic needs as food, housing, and healthcare. In the U.S, the cost of living varies from one state to the other ("Cost Of Living Index by State 2020", 2020). One of the main factors for this variance is housing. Further, the index of the cost of living shows the percentage difference of the cost of living between one place and another.
Mississippi boasts of the lowest cost of living, with its index of the cost of living standing at 84.5. Housing index in the state is currently 67.1, which is the lowest in the U.S ("Cost Of Living Index by State 2020", 2020). The average cost of a home in the state is $128,000, while the average cost of a 2-bedroom house is $746. Further, the living wage in this state is the lowest of all states, at $46m084 for one child and 2 adults.
On the other hand, Hawaii has the highest index of cost of living, which stands at 192.9. This implies that the state has a cost of living...