BESE must support more equitable funding formula

As a city, we are confronted every day with the lingering effects of the inequitable system of public education that existed for far too long in New Orleans. Collectively, our organizations work toward solutions that redress these historic imbalances of power and privilege. And together, we have made progress toward the development of an equitable system of schools for our children.

Yet there remains an area where significant unfairness still exists – how we fund schools and their students. Most would agree that, while all of our students have unique needs, some of those needs are much more costly to serve than others. Though for many schools, those costlier needs do not translate into additional funds to provide for those students’ education.

A student with severe special needs, cerebral palsy, for example, requiring special transport with a dedicated aide and on-going monitoring by a health professional requires more resources and funding than other students who do not require additional supports. In an equitable system, students who require more to meet their educational needs should be allocated funding accordingly.

Many of our most high-need students are often concentrated in certain schools in our city. In fact, some of these schools serve a population where one out of every four children has a disability, many with very severe needs. Conversely, others serve a population where only one in 25 has any special needs, often with less intensive service requirements. Sadly, some of this difference in population can be attributed to enrollment policies and procedures that limit the access high-needs students have to some of the highest-performing schools in our city. And yet, those schools are receiving the same amount of funding for each student while providing such vastly different levels of services.

We now have the opportunity to rectify this wrong and ensure that all of our schools are funded equitably. This March, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will have the opportunity to approve a school funding policy for New Orleans that ensures schools serving significant populations of our city’s students with high-needs receive the funding they need to provide an excellent and equitable education to all their students. The formula currently under consideration would route additional funding to schools serving students with disabilities, English language learners, significantly over-age students, as well as those identified as gifted or talented.

As a result, schools’ funding would be weighted to ensure each student is served equitably. Considering that some schools that serve lower populations of high-needs students may see a reduction, the new funding formula would be phased in gradually to mitigate the difference.

We believe that every child has the right to an excellent education, and that every child can learn if given access, opportunity, and support. When confronted with decisions on how to allocate limited resources, students in our city who may face a more challenging road to academic excellence should receive the additional resources necessary to provide them with an equitable opportunity to achieve their dreams.

We urge BESE to approve a formula that sufficiently and equitably funds schools based on the needs of their students. Approval of a funding formula that truly differentiates according to our students’ needs is vital to continuing the progress we have made and is a clear demonstration of New Orleans’ commitment to equity for all students. Our students deserve nothing less.

This article originally published in the February 29, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.