School Spending

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   Today's Journal article....

Spending doesn’t equate to higher test scores

BUTLER COUNTY — There doesn’t seem to be a correlation between the amount of money school districts spend per pupil and how those districts fared on two state indicators, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Talawanda and Monroe districts spent the highest and lowest per student, respectively, of area Butler and Warren county schools, and each of them posted high results in the performance index that measures the percentage of students who passed the state test and the percentage of state indicators met.
Eight of the 17 districts in the two neighboring counties scored 100 percent in the state indicators section, according to 2012-13 ODE data that was analyzed by The Journal-News. Those districts spent an average of $7,691 per student, which was $1,123 less than the state average of $8,814, according to ODE.
According to the education department, the cost per pupil is a new calculation — called expenditure per equivalent pupil — that takes into account additional expenditures for items such as special education categories and economic disadvantaged funding. John Charlton, a spokesman for the ODE, said there are no plans to convert previous pupil costs to the new formula, so it would be impossible to compare the most recent data to past years.
Talawanda ($9,573) and Mason ($9,060) were the only two districts in Butler and Warren counties that spent more per pupil than the state average.
In Hamilton, the district spent $7,631 per student, and scored a 77 percent in the performance index and 59 percent in the indicators met.
Middletown, which spent $8,733, scored lower than state averages, a 74 percent in the performance index and a 33 percent in the indicators met, the lowest of any area district.
In Fairfield, the students scored an 83 percent and 92 percent on the two state indicators, while spending $6,745 per student, the second lowest in the county, and $2,100 less than the state average.
Gina Gentry-Fletcher, spokeswoman for the district, credits the “great teaching staff for going the extra mile.” She said the teachers follow the curriculum that has been established to assure the students succeed on the state tests.
Also, she said, Fairfield is “very financially prudent” with its budget.
“We’re all trying to do more with less,” she said. “Our success is a testimony to that, making sure we get the greatest outcome possible.”
Lakota scored an 88 percent on its performance index and 100 percent on state indicators and spent $7,927 per pupil, just slightly above the average in the two counties. Randy Oppenheimer, spokesman for the district, said two of Lakota’s goals are educating its students and being frugal with taxpayers’ dollars.
“Those two things are happening,” he said.
Still, he said, the amount of dollars spent in the classroom doesn’t guarantee high or produce low state test scores. He called a district’s budget “only one piece of the whole puzzle.”
Then he added: “So many other things go into the product.”
The treasurer of the Madison Local District said it’s important to get the “best bang for your buck” by providing the highest quality education at the lowest cost possible.
Brian Rabe, who has been with the district since 2009, said the spending varies for each district because of the differences in the number of special education students it serves, the size of payroll and benefits, transportation costs, and the amount of technology provided in the classrooms. For instance, he said, busing is more expensive at Madison than some similar-sized districts because it draws students from 53 miles.
He said since Madison spent $7,948 per pupil, and scored high on the test scores without the benefit of new tax dollars for the last 10 years, that indicated the quality of services exceeded their costs.
Sometimes, as in the case of Monroe, the numbers can be deceiving, said Superintendent Phil Cagwin. Monroe scored 86 and 100 percent on the two indicators and spent $6,528 per student, the lowest in the area, but the cost was that low because the district was placed in fiscal emergency on May 2012 by the state and it had to reduce its teaching staff, he said.
But that also means the district has a higher teacher/student ratio, and Cagwin is “fearful” its test scores will drop in the next two years if the state doesn’t release it from its fiscal emergency. He said teachers in the primary school have about 26 to 28 students in each class, three or four more than he’d prefer. There are 27 kindergartners in Charlotte Austin’s class at Monroe Primary School.
Still, Monroe’s scores are some of the highest in the area, 86 percent in performance index and 100 percent in state indicators met while spending more than $2,200 less than the state average and the lowest in local Butler and Warren county districts. He credited the district’s teachers and staff, and the students and strong parental support for the district’s academic success.
“Very proud and happy,” he said when asked how he felt.
Then he added: “Fearful too.”
The district was placed in fiscal emergency nearly two years ago, and Cagwin is hopeful to be out of it in the next year. Until the state approves the district’s five-year financial forecast, it must be “very cautious” every time it spends money, he said.

REPEAT.....

Middletown, which spent $8,733, scored lower than state averages, a 74 percent in the performance index and a 33 percent in the indicators met, the lowest of any area district.

SO, ALL THE MONEY SPENT ON NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, ALMOST $8800 PER STUDENT, ALL THE MONEY SPENT TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE OVER THE YEARS, ALL THE MONEY SPENT TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND PROGRAMS IN THE MIDDLETOWN SCHOOLS......ALL FOR NAUGHT TO DATE ACCORDING TO THIS INFORMATION. IT'S THE SAME OLE SAME OLE AND HAS BEEN FOR DECADES.  

NOW, YOU ARE PROPOSING TO GET IN OUR WALLET WITH A LEVY TO BUILD A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND TO ADD ON TO THE HIGH SCHOOL. WHAT IS YOUR SUPPORT LEVEL NOW FOR THEIR NEW IDEA PEOPLE? THINK VOTING FOR THEIR LITTLE LEVY WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE? HAS ANY LEVY MADE A DIFFERENCE? 

STOP ASKING FOR MORE MONEY AND START LIVING WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, USING IT WISELY AND PRODUCING SOME POSITIVE RESULTS. DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY IF YOU CONTINUALLY SUFFER FAILURE. HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO STICK YOUR HAND IN THE BAG AND GET BITTEN BY THE OLD RATTLESNAKE BEFORE YOU REALIZE IT AIN'T THE RIGHT THING TO DO? MERCY!