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Time for a new plan
Local school officials want funding to better reflect students’ needs
Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
The way Nevada determines funding for the state’s 17 school districts is based on such an old formula that Lyndon Johnson was president at the time it was devised by lawmakers. The world has changed dramatically since the Nevada Plan went into effect in 1967 and so, too, have the children who attend public schools.
As reported Tuesday by the Sun’s Anthony Ramirez, the Clark County School Board has proposed that the Nevada Legislature redo the formula to provide adequate funding to educate all students, regardless of their needs. Included are students who are gifted and talented, those in career and technical education, those learning English as a second language and those who range from mildly physically handicapped to profoundly autistic.
State lawmakers ought to consider this issue when they meet next year because the school funding formula should reflect today’s student body, not that of yesteryear. The problem with the formula is that it accounts for only two broad categories — students with special needs and those without.
These classifications are outdated for at least two reasons. One is that educators know more about students with learning disabilities than they did 40 years ago. Some students who may not have been diagnosed with a learning disability in the 1960s are more likely to receive specialized education today.
Another reason is that the Clark County School District has experienced changing demographics. This is reflected in the growing need to serve students who are learning English as a second language. The county’s Hispanic residents increased from 11 percent of the population in 1990 to an estimated 28 percent in 2008, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.
As Ramirez reported, a typical class with 33 students would include 15 who are poor and qualify for free or subsidized meals, six who are learning English as a second language and three with physical and learning disabilities.
The funding formula should reflect each type of special needs education rather than treat it as one broad category. The hard part comes when retooling the formula so it is still fair to the smaller, rural school districts that may not have as many students who need specialized education. Many rural districts have razor-thin budgets because they, too, are struggling with joblessness and shrinking tax bases.
The Legislature will certainly have its hands full dealing with a projected state budget deficit of $3 billion for the next biennium. But lawmakers also should muster the courage to deal with antiquated ways the state conducts business, whether through taxation or funding formulas such as the Nevada Plan that have outlived their usefulness. The goal should be to ensure that every student who attends a public school receives a quality education. We can think of few greater accomplishments that lawmakers could achieve in 2011 than to help schools deliver the quality students deserve.
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Who establishes the "formulas?"
Is budget input permitted at the local level?
What portion of the budget goes to hire Spanish-speaking teachers? What percentage of the student population is comprised of children of illegal aliens?
Do we know what percentage of the money allocated to education has to be sent to Washington to support the federal Dept of Education?
In the salary line of the budget, what percentage is allocated for administrative salaries and what part goes to classroom teachers?
Why is the school required to provide free meals? Can't the kids brown-bag it like they've done ever since public schools began?
Budget details such as these would be of interest and value to the taxpayers who pay the bills. While this article has great emotional appeal, when it comes to spending, logic and common sense will often trump emootion.
Read the studies in the LA Times. No matter how much money is spent, no matter the background of the students, no matter the problems at home or in the neighborhood students are stuck with the luck of the draw for teachers.
Students entering one teacher's room, year after year, made progress compared to their peers, while students entering a different teachers room fell behind.
Same students at the same school with the same results year after year. There are good teachers and bad teachers and until schools deal with those who cannot teach, students will lose.
If you want a new formula let it be vouchers and giver students and parents freedom of choice in education. End the monopoly and the luck of the draw.
We, the Nevada taxpayers, refuse to pay any new taxes to fund the Clark County School District.
We the people of Clark County refuse to pay taxes where the money is funding bilingual teachers to teach the children of illegal aliens.
We refuse as citizens to pay millions of our tax dollars to fund the teaching of illegal aliens children.
Doesn't our state lawmakers understand that to keep the presence of illegal aliens to as low as level as possible, it would be saving our state funded money to work for our citizens.
Why is our state and federal government going broke trying to operate business as usual? Don't you think that the millions of illegal aliens in our country is costing our local and state government millions and then some. Sad day for the citizens.
It is worse to know your government is aware of the reasons why they are having failures in their systems, sad thing is they're not going to do a thing to fix it.
Same old retard republican BS.
1. Those darned illegals. They ruin everything, us white folks had a good thing going until the Meskins brung their wives and made all them there anchor babies. As part of the republican retard mantra we must NEVER EVER mention that someone, most likely a Libertarian or a republican has hired them and has caused the problem to fester. Remember the republican retard creed "Thou shalt hate Meskins at all cost and always say you don't really hate em so you can live with yourself.
2. Use the Gomer Pyle Method of Civil disobedience: Complain, Complain, Complain.
Complain about Washington.
Complain about Meskin speakin teachers.
Complain about the Dept. Of Education.
Complain about "free" lunches for the working and unemployed poor.
Complain that some teachers are better than others.
Complain, Complain, Complain.
3. Talk about vouchers like they are the Holy Grail. Like they are going to get parents who don't give a rip to put down the Cheeto's and help little Juan or John read?
Republican retard theater, on display here daily in the comment section of the LasVegasSun.com webpages.
I can see the lobotomy twins made it in this morning. They are already talking cranial.
Another thoughtful left-wing post from "JeffFromVegas" You know sticking up for the little guy is fine' But then thinking that sh#ting on the people that pay all the taxes and everyone elses bills' Well Jeff that is not a winning strategy.
POWERPLAY:
Right is right and wrong is wrong. When republicans and libertarians are right again, I will be back with em. I don't think dems are much brighter nowadays, but at least they pretend to have a heart.
I have no problem with either the little people or the big people like you. The problem is with you. Think it over.