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SCR122............................................................by KEOUGH SCHOOLS - FUNDING - Stating findings of the Legislature and authorizing the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee to direct the Office of Performance Evaluations to conduct a study of Idaho's kindergarten through grade 12 public education funding formula and to provide for study objectives. 01/10 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/11 Rpt prt - to St Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE SENATE SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 122 BY KEOUGH 1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND AUTHORIZING THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE 3 OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO DIRECT THE OFFICE OF PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS TO 4 CONDUCT A STUDY OF IDAHO'S KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12 PUBLIC EDUCATION 5 FUNDING FORMULA AND TO PROVIDE FOR STUDY OBJECTIVES. 6 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 WHEREAS, this Legislature and the state of Idaho hold as one of our most 8 important priorities the provision of a quality public education system for 9 all of Idaho's children, regardless of where they live or their economic cir- 10 cumstances; and 11 WHEREAS, Section 1, Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Idaho 12 provides: "The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly 13 upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature 14 of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of 15 public, free common schools."; and 16 WHEREAS, the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-second Idaho Legislature 17 in 1994 directed the State Board of Education to adopt rules necessary and 18 consistent with a thorough system of education; and 19 WHEREAS, in response, the Idaho State Board of Education adopted rules 20 that further define the essential ingredients of a thorough education, includ- 21 ing establishing standards for each subject and grade level and identifying 22 minimum graduation standards; and 23 WHEREAS, to ensure success, such a system requires sufficient resources to 24 employ highly qualified teachers and other educators, the provision of appro- 25 priate learning materials and technology, and the establishment of assessment 26 programs and practices; and 27 WHEREAS, the state of Idaho spends the largest share of its general fund, 28 approximately $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2007, on kindergarten through grade 29 12 public education; and 30 WHEREAS, there is an ongoing debate about whether Idaho's public schools 31 are adequately funded, without any clear definition of what is "adequate"; and 32 WHEREAS, each year, many school districts have to seek additional funds to 33 meet their operational needs; and 34 WHEREAS, school districts and citizen groups have raised concerns about 35 the adequacy of kindergarten through grade 12 public education funding; and 36 WHEREAS, there is benefit in a clear and impartially derived determination 37 as to what is an adequately funded kindergarten through grade 12 public educa- 38 tion system. 39 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses- 40 sion of the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Repre- 41 sentatives concurring therein, that the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee 42 is authorized to direct the Office of Performance Evaluations to conduct a 43 study of Idaho's kindergarten through grade 12 public education funding for- 44 mula in order to identify and evaluate issues relating to the adequacy of kin- 2 1 dergarten through grade 12 public education funding, but exclude from the 2 study the issues of facilities and transportation. The Office of Performance 3 Evaluation study shall focus on the following objectives: 4 (1) Review research on school funding and obtain information from other 5 states and national education organizations to evaluate how Idaho's 6 approach to funding compares to other states' approaches, and identify the 7 strengths and weaknesses of those various approaches; 8 (2) From the stakeholders' perspectives, identify and evaluate adequacy 9 issues in public education funding in Idaho related to how the current 10 funding formula allocates funds to school districts and, in turn, how 11 school districts allocate funds to individual schools; 12 (3) Based on data currently available from school districts and the State 13 Department of Education related to spending, student characteristics and 14 performance indicators, attempt to verify and quantify specific issues 15 raised in addressing objectives (1) and (2); 16 (4) Evaluate how other states have addressed the same kinds of issues 17 facing Idaho, ascertain whether those efforts have proven to be successful 18 and evaluate the feasibility of undertaking similar efforts in Idaho; and 19 (5) To the extent that avoidable and unintended problems with the current 20 funding formula and allocations of state funds are identified, make recom- 21 mendations to rectify those problems and, as appropriate, identify options 22 and criteria that permit the Legislature to focus on the highest priority 23 issues that may emerge from this study. 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Performance Evaluation shall 25 report its study to the First Regular Session of the Sixtieth Idaho Legisla- 26 ture.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17506
The purpose of this resolution is to authorize the Office of
Performance Evaluations to conduct a study of Idaho's
Kindergarten through grade 12 public education funding formula in
order to identify and evaluate issues relating to the adequacy of
K-12 public education funding. The current funding formula was
established in the mid-1990's and has not been evaluated to
ascertain whether or not it is meeting the intentions for
providing funding in the K-12 public system since that time.
About half of Idaho's school districts pass supplemental levies
yearly and there are repeated calls to fund schools "adequately"
yet no definition of "adequately funded schools" exists. This
resolution seeks to begin the research needed to define "adequate
funding" for our K-12 schools in an objective manner with the
Legislature's non-partisan professional evaluation staff at the
Office of Performance Evaluations.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Office of Performance Evaluations will need to do some
outside contracting on this study and the cost is estimated to be
$200,000. This amount will be needed in addition to OPE's
regular budget which is funded from the State's General Fund.
Contact
Name: Senator Shawn Keough
Phone: (208) 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE SCR 122