Kentucky 41st in per-pupil spending
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Kentucky is the seventeenth profile in The Journal's year-long series examining school funding in each of the 50 states.
Per pupil spending: $7,118
Extras
Percent funding from federal sources: 11.9 percent
State: 57.3 percent
Local: 30.8 percent
Local funding: In 1989, Kentucky's Supreme Court ruled that the state's entire education system, from funding to governance to curriculum, was unconstitutional prompting the creation of a new funding formula, the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky act.
Districts are required to levy a minimum of .30 cents for each $100 of valuation, or about $300 for the owner of a $100,000 home, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. There are five local taxes available to raise the minimum foundation, including property and motor vehicle taxes and taxes on income, utilities and occupational licenses, that can be used in any combination to raise the minimum requirement.
The first part of Kentucky's three-component funding system determines the funding for districts based on a minimum funding guarantee per pupil for the previous year's enrollment and adjusted for transportation, gifted students, at-risk students and students on home or hospital instruction, according to the NCES.
The second tier is optional and allows districts to generate revenue up to 15 percent of the funding amount determined by the first component and is equalized by the state for all districts. The school board levies this tax and voters cannot recall it, according to NCES.
The second tier allows districts to ask for voter approval to generate up to 30 percent more than the base funding and the second tier funding, according to NCES. These funds are not equalized by the states.
State funding: The state's share of funding is determined by the base funding amount set by the formula. State funding makes up the difference between the base funding amount and what local taxes raise. The state also funds an equalization effort for Tier I of the program.
Pros: The legislature enacted mandatory salary increases for school employees in 2007-08 in order to attract quality staff to the state's school districts. According to the American Federation of Teachers, in 2004-05 Kentcuky's average teacher salary ranked 31st in the nation at $41,000.
The legislation included a $3,000 increase for certified employees and a 5 percent increase for classified employees.
Cons: Kentucky's per-pupil spending ranked 41st in the nation in 2004-05 and was about $1,800 less than the average per-pupil expenditure for the entire country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Because the state computes funding based on previous year's enrollment, fast-growing districts often don't receive sufficient funding for their growing populations. Current proposed legislation would allow fast-districts to perform a student count in January to account for populations growing throughout the school year, according to the Kentucky Education Association.
* In 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2805 or mgildow@coxohio.com.
