Report: Most 2018 teacher protests led to big boosts in school funding — but not enough to make up for earlier cuts
Teacher protests in 2018 helped lead to a big boost in education funding in four states, but a new report says it wasn’t enough to make up for earlier cuts. In those states and more than dozen others, state spending on general education is still less than before the 2008 Great Recession.
And the report, issued Wednesday by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says most of the places that increased general education funding did it in ways that are not sustainable.
The study found that when education spending has grown relative to pre-recession levels, that growth has come at the local level. And that’s a problem for poor districts because local funding is dependent on property taxes. Wealthier areas have more to spend, and funding from the state and the federal government can’t make up the difference between affluent and poor districts.
“These trends are very concerning for the country’s future prospects,” said Michael Leachman, senior director of state fiscal research at the center and co-author of the report with senior policy analyst Eric Figueroa.
The report focuses on general education funding over the last decade in the 12 states that made the deepest cuts during the recession: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and state budgets, the authors said state general education funding in those 12 states “remains well below 2008 levels.”
States distribute most of their education funding through a formula that allocates money to school districts to support general educational activities, including teacher salaries, supplies and textbooks (but usually does not include transportation or pension contributions). Each state has its own formula. Most target some extra money to poorer districts, which disproportionately educate children of color. But those districts can’t raise as much in local money as wealthier ones. CONTINUE READING: Report: Most 2018 teacher protests led to big boosts in school funding — but not enough to make up for earlier cuts - The Washington Post
