Home > Thinking Right > Archives > 2007 > October > 08
Monday, October 8, 2007
How education funding should roll is key question
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While the headlines go to House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s long-shot proposal to eliminate property taxes, an equally revolutionary proposal for public education will greet legislators in January.
It’s the work of a 23-member task force that Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed three years ago to explore public school funding. Georgia spends more than half its budget on education, with $7.2 billion, or 38.5 percent, going to k-12.
The work is not yet final, but two points should be made.
One is that the speaker’s tax plan, while revolutionary, has the emotion and impulse of a Boston tea party rebellion. While adherents may come, it’s largely a pocket rebellion skirmishing in Dillard, Lyons, Cairo and other outposts in hopes of gathering converts and steam before hitting the Capitol.
More planned and methodical, but just as revolutionary, is the work of the education finance task force. It should be a painless revolution. There’s nothing unsettling about it. No reason for fright.
The second point to be made here, though, is that the proper place for education debates is in the General Assembly, where the state’s education, transportation, health care and other needs compete.
But activists around the country, including here in Georgia, have drawn judges into the fray. The hope of local school officials who have failed the parents and children in their districts is to entice a judge into giving them more of somebody else’s money. Trial is tentatively scheduled for September 2008 in Fulton Superior Court. There’s no work here for a judge.
The work done by former state representative and school board member Dean Alford and others is groundbreaking. Three efforts are especially striking.
One — important but not all that novel — is to determine precisely how much money is needed to produce an educated child. Final numbers are about a month away, but as a start, the task force concludes that a system should be able to meet the academic needs of an elementary school child for $6,220, plus add-ons for other considerations — special needs, for example. Operation and maintenance of school buildings would add another $600 and transportation another $151.
The second significant contribution goes to the heart of the suits here and elsewhere. That is to identify wealth and tax it appropriately.
“There are probably better ways of measuring wealth than we use now,” said Jeffrey Williams, a consultant to the task force. “We only use property values now.” In the 1950s and early ’60s, he says, some measure of personal income was included. From the ’60s on, it’s been the property tax.
Williams examined 10 local systems spread throughout the state. Some were rich in property and wealth, some poor on both and some low or high on wealth or property.
He found that 1 mill of property tax wealth would produce $414 per student in a high property wealth/low household income wealth system in rural east central Georgia. It’s unnamed (District 1) because later parts of the equation contain some hypotheticals. At the other end, District 10, is a low property/low income rural district in south central Georgia. A mill there generates $47 per student. In a rich metro Atlanta district, it generates $263. Local systems are required under the 22-year-old Quality Basic Education funding formula to tax themselves 5 mills.
In District 1, the locals would raise $2,070 per student, and the state would add $1,948, for a total of $4,018 per student. In District 10, the locals would raise $232, and the state would add $3,687 for a total of $3,919 per student.
The question now — and this is a legislative decision — is whether and how the formula should be changed to take other forms of wealth into account.
It’s the third element, though, that’s most exciting and potentially most revolutionary. Essentially it would allow local systems to enter one of five contract relationships with the state, depending on the degree of confidence they have in their abilities to do their jobs. At one end, they could continue the existing QBE formula that focuses entirely on inputs. Do this, do that. Here’s the check. No risk. No accountability for results.
At the other, local systems could operate virtually free of state direction — take the money and run. They would, however, contractually agree to achieve specified results — graduation rates, for example — within a specific time under a three-year rolling contract. If they failed repeatedly, there would be consequences. Probably not loss of funding and certainly not a state takeover. But they could see the school removed from their control. It’s risk and reward. The burden would be on those who file suit now to perform or to be exposed.
This is not hastily considered. And while it is revolutionary, it’s not radical.
This is local control for real.
Permalink | Comments (89) | Post your comment | Categories: Column
Five things you’d do as governor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the bright lights on the Thinking Right blog, jbmlaw, reminded us last week that one of the traffic-congestion relief solutions he’d advocate is moving state offices to Macon.
It’s an idea that makes a lot of sense. For one, there’s no real need for all those departments and agencies to be in downtown Atlanta. Their work can be done from anywhere. So with downtown traffic congestion worsening, why not take the opportunity to remove thousands of vehicles from the morning and afternoon rush? Besides, downtown Macon or Columbus or Augusta could use the employment boost. And, of course, if an Atlanta-Macon train made sense at all, it would need more potential riders.
The assignment today though is to imagine that you’re the governor. Sonny Perdue’s gone. You’re there. What five things would you do? Here’s my list:
I’d cause to be created a state transportation plan to relieve congestion, involving both the public and the private sector. Features would include an outer perimeter 20-40 miles beyond I-285 that would have a wide interior corridor for rail.
I’d close existing state pension plans to new employees and offer, instead, 401(k)-like plans that employees would own and manage and could take with them when they leave.
I’d cap state spending based on population growth and the rate of inflation. Anything beyond that would require the approval of three-fourths of both houses.
I’d determine how much it would cost to produce an educated child and I’d make that sum available to parents to be used to purchase education services from any willing and competent provider.
I’d attempt to convince other Southern governors to stop paying financial incentives to companies to locate here. Everybody comes on the promise of low taxes and fair treatment, but they all pay their share.
That’s my platform. What’s yours.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
