Basner, Schoffstall, & Streif ALASKA’S K-12 EDUCATION SPENDING PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PADM 628 – DR. PROTASEL APRIL 9, 2016 Basner, Schoffstall, & Streif

“The task of the fiscal process must be to avoid the seductions of both the cynic and the sentimentalist”

“In an era of limited resources and unwavering confidence in public education, policymakers and taxpayers are asking to see demonstrable returns on their education investments. They want assurances that schools are using resources efficiently to increase student achievement. Consequently, both policymakers and education leaders want sound information that will help them ‘budget for results.’ They want data that they can use to compare the quality and cost effectiveness of various programs and expenditures” US Dept. of Education

Alaska & National Current Expenditures for Education

Alaska & National Math and Reading Proficiency

Agenda Budgeting and Politics Performance Based Budgeting and Education Return on Spending Index Alaska Education Expenditures Discussion & Recommendations

Budgeting and Politics Decision Stream/Cluster Description Expenditure “Politics of choice. Sorts through budget requests; decides who gets what, who wins, and who loses.” Implementation “Is a contest between the goal of maintaining accountability and agency discretion.” Balance “Decides three issues: (1) the role of the budget in managing the economy, (2) the scope of government programs, and (3) which level of government will balance its budget at the expense of the other.”

Performance Based Budgeting Evolved during era of scientific management First implementation at Federal level was with passage of National Security Administration Amendment in 1949 Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 further expanded it to other agencies Saw a decline in 60s and 70s with introduction of planning programming budgeting Identifies and eliminates waste or justifies programs for additional funding Identifies performance/efficiency. Results based. Expensive to implement due to amount of data which must be collected (past, present, …. )

PBB and Education Measurement- 1. Sources of resources and how have they changed over time? 2. Spending per pupil and how has that changed over time? 3. How much do teachers make and how has that changed over time? 4. How much of the education dollar is spent on instruction, administration, and other services? 5. How much is spent on administrative personnel? 6. How do patterns of resource use vary between high and low spending school districts? 7. How much of the education dollar is spent on special education? 8. How do districts that maintain higher levels of student achievement use their dollars? Additional Considerations: Expenditures, Outcomes & Demographics

Return on Spending Index (RoSI) An ROSI is a productivity statistic used to identify economically efficient schools SchoolMatter’s (S&P) RoSI:

Indicators of Efficiency 3 Phases in Education

Indicators of Efficiency OUTPUT INDICATORS State Proficiency Test Scores NAEP Test Scores College Readiness Tests Graduation Rates INPUT INDICATORS Individual & Family Characteristics Community Characteristics Expenditures

Indicators of Efficiency - Expenditures Instructional Instructional Support Noninstructional Boser (2014) Findings Some of the nation’s most affluent school systems showed a worrying lack of productivity In some districts, spending priorities were clearly misplaced **The 65 percent initiative seeks to increase classroom resources and reduce wasteful administrative costs**

Alaska’s cost per-pupil ranks near the top Top areas in per-capita spending: Washington D.C. ($20,530) New York ($19,529) New Jersey ($18,523) Alaska ($18,217) Connecticut ($17,321) United States Average ($10,763) Utah ($6,432)

How does Alaska pay for Education?

Total Cost Distribution

Alaska Costs Per Student

Discussion Summarization of elements to consider: Challenge to create an accurate formula Political challenges (i.e., trying to use results to under-fund ed.) Cost of annually collecting data (is it worth it?)

Conclusion PBB and ROSI in education useful for decision makers and planners Assist in identifying best practices and areas which require improvement PBB and ROSI only a piece of a larger puzzle Best used as a tool to identify and implement efficiency, NOT to indicate failure and reduce funding