Spend Smarter
Not enough of Delaware’s education dollars are making it into the classroom. In 2008 the Governor’s LEAD Committee identified between $86 million and $158 million in the state’s annual education budget that could be spent more efficiently to free up dollars for proven programs that improve student achievement. The LEAD Committee also proposed how Delaware’s 59-year-old education funding system should be improved to ensure that all of our unique and diverse students have what they need to excel. Our priorities are for elected officials to make these recommended changes to the state’s funding system. Learn more.
Take Action Now
The current budget crisis means that there will be no additional funds for education.
Ask the Governor and your legislator to immediately cut the $86 million to $158 million in annual waste and inefficiencies in the state’s education budget and reinvest those savings in education programs that will make the most difference for kids.
Facts:
- At $11,426 in per pupil spending, Delaware is ranked 11th in the nation (Quality Counts 2009), yet we rank only in the middle of the pack in student academic performance; for example, we are 27th in 8th grade Math (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
- There is a 45% difference in per-pupil spending between Delaware’s highest and lowest funded school districts. The gap is even larger when one includes vocational districts, which have higher per-student spending. DDOE, Delaware School Profiles.
- School leaders in Delaware have decision-making authority over just 8% of their budgets, which limits their ability to respond to the varying needs of their students. Many of the world’s highest-performing school systems allow school leaders to control 75% of their budgets. DDOE, “Education statistics,” 2003-04.
- Delaware received an “F” on college affordability on the National Report Card. National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. “Measuring Up 2006: the National Report Card on Higher Education: Delaware
Solutions:
- Immediately take advantage of proposed savings in administrative services, purchasing, transportation, energy and construction, as identified in the 2008 LEAD Committee Cost Efficiency Study. Keep these savings within the education budget but focused on changes that will make the greatest difference in student learning. The General Assembly enacted some cost savings last spring , but the savings were not redirected to improve education and instead were used to offset the state’s general budget deficit. Such an approach doesn’t help students.
- Use a simple and fair funding system in which dollars are allocated based on the varying learning needs of individual students, rather than our current one-size-fits-all formula. The LEAD Committee’s report in December 2008 establishes what this system could look like, and recommendations are awaiting action by the Governor and the General Assembly.
- Give qualified school leaders greater flexibility to control more of their budgets so that they can make the best decisions about what is right for the students in their schools. Imagine running a business and being responsible for its success, but only being able to make decisions using 8% of your company’s resources. That’s the situation faced by Delaware’s principals today. We need to give qualified school leaders the ability to really run the schools that they know so well.
