State formula provides varying funding to summer schools based on districts' assessed valuation

Those lazy days of summer were short-lived for the seven students in James Brake's history class Thursday afternoon at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

It was the first day of summer school for Tigers who have fallen behind in their studies, joining thousands of public school students throughout Missouri for the annual summer session.

These days, summer education is far from guaranteed.

Unlike last year when state funding for summer school remained in question up until the final days of the legislative session, lawmakers this year settled the matter much earlier -- motivated by the angry phone calls and emails they received from educators and parents. The delay reduced summer school enrollment by about 40 percent statewide last year, as little lead time forced districts to scrap classes.

"I think the legislature caught enough heat from people throughout the state that they decided, 'If we do anything different, we'll let you know by March,'" said Kevin Dunn, superintendent of the Perry County School District.

All summer schools are not created equal, however, -- a consequence of Missouri foundation funding formula that provides significantly less state aid for "property tax wealthy" school districts than those with smaller tax bases. Cape Girardeau and Jackson illustrate the disparity that some insist needs to be corrected.

'Greater means'

The Cape Girardeau School District is slated to receive $141,000 in state aid for summer school programs budgeted to cost $207,000. Some 500 K-12 students are expected for summer school this year, including a pilot elementary program in late summer aimed at improving retention. But there's only enough funding available to pay for basic remedial classes for students at risk of academic failure. Assistant superintendent Pat Fanger said the district makes up a sizable funding shortfall through local budget dollars because it believes summer school is critical to student success.

Just to the north, the Jackson School District this summer will welcome about 1,300 students, from shorter sessions with incoming kindergartners to longer programs for students in first through 12th grades. Summer school covers everything from remedial classes in core subjects to Jackson Middle School's enrichment educational opportunities, like Clash of the Ancient Cultures, where students make models of medieval castles, construct Chinese kites and write Greek myths. The summer session starts next week.

State funding contributes $13.6 million to the Jackson School District revenue. Cape Girardeau receives less than half of that, around $5.9 million.

The disparity, in large part, is a matter of value.

The Jackson School District's assessed valuation is $385,872,698, according to the latest state numbers; the Cape Girardeau School District's assessed valuation is $561,628,626. Cape Girardeau's revenue pie is dominated by local property taxpayers, about 64 percent, with 15 percent coming from the state, according to Misty Clifton, the district's chief financial officer. The pieces of the pie are reversed for smaller, poorer property, generally rural districts, typically running at around two-thirds state-funded.

"The foundation formula's intent is that school districts that have greater means generate more dollars locally and need less support from the state," said Ron Lankford, deputy commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

While smaller districts receive near or full funding for their summer school programs based on per-pupil payments of average daily attendance counts, Cape Girardeau is paid on an average daily attendance of 28 students, Clifton said. That's a big difference between total enrollment and what the state contributes.

The Perry County School District is expecting between 500 and 600 students enrolled in summer school programs, scheduled to begin Tuesday. A mix of remedial and enrichment programs once again will be offered in Perryville.

"For us, the state pays for our summer school," Dunn said. "If they're going to have it and fund it, we're going to have it. But I know a lot of the larger districts have had to cut back."

State funding used to be a sweeter deal for smaller, poorer districts under the old foundation formula.

Lankford, a public school superintendent in his former education life, said his district used to make money through a system that boosted per-student payments.

"It is possible for a district to recoup the cost of summer school through state funding," he said.

Winners and losers

Lankford said he can't argue with concerns that the current foundation formula creates winners and losers. After legal challenges to the previous formula's fairness, the new system -- which is a long way from full state funding over its scheduled seven-year phase in -- "does not address equity as much as it does adequacy," Lankford said. The mandate is to match minimum statutory state per-pupil funding, at $6,124, the cost of providing what is deemed an adequate education in Missouri.

At its root, the funding formula is a mathematical equation for allocating state funds for Missouri's 522 school districts. Property tax wealth is a consideration in the funding stream, but there are other offsetting factors, including the count of low-income students.

Districts with smaller property tax bases, particularly those caught in the financial middle, are dealing with their own disparities. Jackson School District assistant superintendent Rita Fisher earlier this year said the district offers its students a superlative education for $2,532 less per student than the state average, noting the expenditures per average daily attendance. Spending per student in Jackson, including state aid, amounted to $7,219 in 2010, compared to the statewide average of $9,751, according to DESE.

"When you develop public policy that addresses 522 school districts it's like saying there is one size shirt every man in the state is going to wear," Lankford said. "One size does not fit all."

Funding Missouri's $3 billion public education system promises to be a continued struggle, and the future of state spending for summer school, averaging about $135 million over the past five years, is anything but certain, Lankford said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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