School Funding… What’s Next?

School Funding… What’s Next?

Now that the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 has been signed into law, many school board members are asking: “What’s next? Will there be opportunities to change the funding formula when its provisions are more thoroughly understood?”

The answer is yes. On Jan. 28, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, announced plans for a roundtable meeting with school administrators on March 6 to discuss the law after the first round of district budgets has been prepared under the new funding formula.

So far, much of the discussion has focused on the method to determine special education funding. One contentious aspect, even during the Senate debate on the funding formula earlier this month, has been the high cost for school districts that have a significant number of students with severe disabilities. In the end, the administration compromised by promising to include at least $20 million in the new state budget to alleviate high special education costs. One such issue that may arise in March is whether the $20 million is enough to lessen the financial burden on local districts.

Another issue revolved around how often the state should update its “adequacy amount,” which is the state-established cost of providing a thorough and efficient education. Initially, the legislation called for the adequacy amount to be adjusted for inflation after the first five years, but the final version of the bill shortens the timeframe to three years.