An expert commission is recommending Rhode Island dramatically overhaul how it funds K-12 education in order to better educational outcomes and catch up with neighboring states.
The report released in early January by the Blue Ribbon Commission, organized by the Rhode Island Foundation and Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, calls for the state to take on hundreds of millions of dollars in costs currently borne by local school districts.
The commission suggests the state commit to a more than $500 million increase in spending on education. That would result in school districts receiving more state funding, though the districts in Newport, Middletown, Chariho and Westerly would see less state aid.
David Cicilline, president of the Rhode Island Foundation and co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission, and Brenda Santos, director of Rhode Island research partnerships and networks at the Annenberg Institute, spoke with Ocean State Media morning host Luis Hernandez about the commission’s recommendations.
Interview highlights
On why the commission recommends changing the state school funding formula, which was adopted in 2010
David Cicilline: The current formula is broken. It doesn’t reflect the current needs of students. It also is not predictable. It’s not fair. There are different costs relating to different students that are covered in some communities and not covered in others. So it’s just fundamentally not working. And the General Assembly has tinkered with it over the last several years, but I think even they recognize that it fundamentally needs to be reformed to reflect the current needs of students in Rhode Island. Funding is foundational. It’s really essential that it be properly resourced, that it be distributed fairly and equitably, and that every student have access to all the resources they need to be successful.
On what the commission recommends
Brenda Santos: One of the fundamental problems with this situation currently is that the funding formula is based on a starting figure that’s very limited. It defines instructional cost by the cost of teachers and instructional materials, and not much else. But we all know that it takes a lot more than that to educate students. It requires getting them in the building, maintaining buildings, feeding students – all of those things go into educating students and you can’t educate students without them.
So the first recommendation is to include all of those things within a funding formula to more accurately represent what it costs to educate students. Along with that, the commission also recommends that some atypical, and large and unpredictable costs be moved to the state – to be fully funded by the state. So those include the pensions of retired teachers, not current teachers, but legacy pension liability within the state, as well as high-cost special education and interdistrict busing, and some other high costs.
On the rationale for recommending the state assume more costs currently borne by local school districts
Cicilline: This (plan), if fully implemented, would require the state to spend additional resources. There would be a significant reduction of local property tax contributions to public education; it will shift more of the responsibility to state government rather than municipalities. That’s a good thing for a couple of reasons: One, property taxes are very often regressive. The poorest communities have the least ability to finance education. Income taxes and ways that the state generates money are more progressive. So there’s a reason that in most states, they’re shifting more and more and much greater responsibility to state governments rather than local communities.
On why some communities would see less state support if the recommendations are adopted
Cicilline: Communities that have wealthier tax bases and have a greater ability to generate more revenues would pay more in the aggregate, but the percentage would be the same. So every city and town is treated the same (under this plan). Right now, that’s not the case.
It also would require for the first time that every local community do their fair share, because when a local community doesn’t do its part to fund public education, it means either other communities are doing it, the state’s doing it, or the funding isn’t being provided and the students are being denied what they need to be successful.
