Transcript What do charter school founders think about?

2010 Georgia Charter Schools Association Conference
March 11-12, Marietta, Georgia
Andrew W. Broy
Associate State Superintendent
Georgia Department of Education
404.651.8734
What do charter school founders think
about?
Overview
 School Funding in Georgia
 Charter School Funding
 Statutory requirements
 Understanding a school’s funding
 Commission school funding
 Example
Public School Funding
 Formula-Driven
 “Foundation Formula”
 Guarantee base level of funding for every student in
State
 Base amount is guaranteed without regard to local
property wealth: Assessed valuation per pupil does not
affect base amount
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Foundation amount theoretically set at the minimum
threshold to provide a “basic” education
 Foundation amount is only starting point
 Most districts have substantial local revenue to
supplement this amount
 Actual funding each district receives is a function of
funding formula, local property valuation, and millage
rate, among other things
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Relative state and local contributions can vary
dramatically
 As a general rule, districts with high relative property
wealth rely more heavily on local revenue
 Conversely, districts with low relative property wealth
rely more heavily on state revenue
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Beware per pupil expenditure figures
 Any number of factors can affect this calculation and
figures vary greatly
 Among districts
 Among schools within districts
 Facilities funding
 Federal title funding
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Funding itself is driven by:
 Number of students (FTE count)
 Characteristics of students (Special education
populations; ESOL populations, Early Intervention
Programs)
 Additional categorical weights (federal funding and
otherwise)
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Base Funding weight is typically a general education
high school student (1.0 FTE)
 Other weights (Georgia as example)





Primary grades (1.28)
SPED Cat I (2.37) – SPED Cat IV (5.73)
Alternative education (1.59)
ESOL (2.49)
Kindergarten Early Intervention Program (2.02)
Public School Funding (con’t)
 Why not just apportion revenues equally by pupil
throughout State?
 Theory that certain categories of students are more
expensive to educate
 Creates wrong local incentives concerning millage rates
and local tax policy
 Political difficulties (local control of local revenue)
 Cost of living differences
Charter School funding
 What type of charter school?
 Locally approved?


Start-up or conversion?
Career academy?
 State chartered special?
 Commission charter school?
Charter School funding
 Charter School funding requirement:
 “The local board and the state board shall treat a startup charter school no less favorably than other local
schools within the applicable local system with respect
to the provision of funds for instruction, school
administration, transportation, food services and,
where feasible, building programs.”
O.C.G.A. Sec. 20-2-2068.1(a)
Charter School funding
 How is charter funding determined?
 How much flexibility does a school have?
 How are funds currently allotted?
 Salaries, 70-75%
 Facilities costs, 10-15%
 Vendor contracts and supplies, 10-12%
Charter School Funding
Charter
School Grants
Operating
Funds
Planning Grant
State QBE funds
Implementation
Grant
Local funds
Facilities Grant
Federal program
funds
Pupil Counts
 FTE Count serves as basis for funding
 2 FTE counts
 Fall count - First Tuesday in October
 Spring count - First Thursday in March
 Pupil count factors in previous 3 FTE Counts (note:
weighted to prioritize most recent count)
 Floating average
 Implication: Schools – not just charter schools – are
“behind”
Pupil Counts

Case study
Charter school in second year of operation
School has 100 students in year one, 200 students in
current year
FTE count will take into account 3 FTE counts (Fall
2007; Spring 2008; Fall 2008)





100 + 100 + 200
Particular issue with charter schools that add a grade
Determining funding

Allotment sheet
Type of school




Start-up, conversion: federal, state, local
State chartered special: federal, state
Commission: federal, state, local approximation (less
3% withhold on all funds except federal)
Determining funding – general case

Allotment sheet
Calculate state share
1.



Earned by pupil
Add categorical programs (central admin, media
center, etc.)
If state chartered special school, stop
Determine what local share should be
2.


Compare district’s state allotment to school’s state
allotment
Create ratio
Determining funding – general case

Allotment sheet
Use that ratio to determine local share
Example:
3.
4.





$1,000,000 in state funding
$100,000,000 in district state funding
Ratio: 1:100
Total local property tax digest equals $75,000,000
How much local funding due charter?
Determining funding – specific case

Allotment sheet
Calculate state share
1.


Set aside by pupil
Add categorical programs (central admin, media
center, etc.)
Determine what local approximation should be
2.

Take average per pupil in local district and provide
that to the school based on a pro rata share
System
No
System Name
Clayton County Public
631 Schools
Cobb County Public
633 Schools
DeKalb County Public
644 Schools
Fayette County Public
656 Schools
Forsyth County Public
658 Schools
Fulton County Public
660 Schools
Gwinnett County Public
667 Schools
Paulding County Public
710 Schools
Rockdale County Public
722 Schools
761 Atlanta Public Schools
# of Enrolled Amount of
# of Ivy
Students - Budgeted
# of Ivy
# of
Prep
District and
Local
Prep
FY 2009
Enrolled Students Commission Revenue per Students
Budgeted Students - Enrolled by Charter
Enrolled enrolled by Local Share by
Local Revenue District
District
School
Student
District
District
155,270,000
49,508
3
49,511
3,136.07
3
9,408.00
497,551,332
106,747
3
106,750
4,660.90
3
13,983.00
506,193,920
99,775
59
99,834
5,070.36
59
299,151.00
101,233,994
22,118
1
22,119
4,576.79
1
4,577.00
143,427,450
32,374
3
32,377
4,429.92
3
13,290.00
549,807,162
88,299
10
88,309
6,225.95
10
62,259.00
619,495,103
157,219
216
157,435
3,934.93
216
849,944.00
79,676,028
27,908
1
27,909
2,854.85
1
2,855.00
61,685,728
521,902,687
15,705
49,032
2
1
15,707
49,033
3,927.28
10,643.91
2
1
7,855.00
10,644.00
Total Annual Payment to
Ivy Prep
3% Admin Fee
Net Annual Payment to
Ivy Prep
299
3%
1,273,966.00
38,219.00
1,235,747.00
Ivy Prep bottom line
 2009 as State Chartered Special School
 Total students: 138
 Total funding: $435,694
 $3,157 per pupil
 2010 as Commission School
 Total students: 306
 Total funding: $2,224,871
 $7,270 per pupil.
 Gwinnet average: $7,997
Questions?