Week+Three,+Part

Week Three Assignment, Part 3 – Analyzing Contrasts in Two Texas School Districts and Developing a Paper addressing these contrasts

WIKI Group - Kevin Taylor and Joe Waldron and Annette Vierra

In Texas Public School funding, a figure referred to as Weighted Average Daily Attendance (WADA) is used to help equalize funding to allow for the added expense of educating students with special educational needs. As the theory goes, students with special educational needs require additional manpower in order to address those needs. When a district is allowed additional funds based on the identified needs of its students, that district could theoretically hire additional professional support to help address those needs. The comparison we made during week three of the course is a great example of the intent of the program. District 1 and District 2 may have similar enrollments, but the similarities end there. Below is a table of several of the differences and similarities between these two districts. Highlighted cells mean the district has higher figures for that category.


 * Funding Element || District 1 || District 2 ||
 * ADA || 3893.75 || 4032.94 ||
 * WADA || 5555.82 || 4794.08 ||
 * WADA @ compressed rate || 5044 || 7206 ||
 * Teachers, Lib, Nurses, Coun || 281 || 307 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District Property Value || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$145,968,635 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$2,916,187,709 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I&S Collections || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$94,871 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$8,836,256 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">M&O Collections at Compressed Rate || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$1,234,863 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$33,845,023 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Total Tax Collections || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$1,464,211 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$44,715,365 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 1 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 2 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">%African American || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">0 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">%Hispanic || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">100 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">16 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">%White || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">0 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">79 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">%Economically Dis || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">93.3 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">20.7 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">%LEP || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">48 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Staff || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 1 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 2 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Total Staff FTE || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">618 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">560 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Total Teacher FTE || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">265 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">265 ||

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This table shows us many things. First, when comparing students and teachers the numbers are very close. Each district has about the same teachers, but District 1 has a few more staff members, probably due to the higher Auxiliary staff in that district assisting with the increased number of LEP students.

The overwhelming difference is the cost per WADA between the two districts. District 1 has a WADA $761 higher than District 2, but when you compare the WADA @compressed rate figures District 2 is $2162 ahead of District 1. This tells us that when figuring the Target Revenue for each district (WADA X WADA @ compressed rate = Target Revenue) District 2 has an enormous advantage in funding.

District one is a property-poor district unable to adequately fund its district with local funds alone. District One was able to raise approximately $9,811 per student with its local tax effort while district Two, a more affluent district, was able to raise over $13,000 per student. With this difference in revenue, it makes sense that district one was allotted more state aide than district two. Based on the use of WADA to determine state funding levels, one might assume that district one was then able to hire additional professionals to work with its more needy student body. A comparison of the total number of professional employees indicated in the table above, however, tells a different story (See line 4). District two, the more affluent district, employs roughly ten percent more professional employees such as teachers, librarians, and counselors than does district one. Both districts earned 265 teacher FTE’s but district two was able to provide a significantly greater amount of professional employees. Clearly, the intended affect of more state aide did not hit its mark. The vast difference in local funding and the inadequate amount of the state funding was not able to help the district reduce the student teacher ratio to meet student needs. As a matter of fact, these similar student bodies have dissimilar professional staffs serving them.

District 2 has a healthy fund balance which can create more opportunities for its students, fund additional staff and provide a safety net for the district should a crisis occur such as the budget this past legislative session. However, district 1 has not only depleted its fund balance but it is in the red. It will be difficult for this property poor district to establish a healthy fund balance during this time of budget concerns and because of their property tax revenue.

Week Three Assignment, Part 5 – Examining District Funding and Facilities
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Funding Element || <span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 1 || <span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District 2 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District Property Value || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$145,968,635 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$2,916,187,709 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I&S Sinking Fund || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$94,871 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$8,836,256 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chapter 46 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$572,716 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$0 ||

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Due to the significantly higher Tax Base in District 2 they have more available funds for debt/school facility management than District 1, see line one of the chart above. District 1 with a negative fund balance over $900,000 and a low property value, cannot make instructional facilities improvements because their only use of funds would be their fund balance. District 2 on the other hand, can rely on a larger fund balance to improve facilities. I would have to agree with other groups who are concluding, that the facilities in district 2 would be newer and more modern due to the fund balance surplus.