Colorado Superintendents’ Modernized School Finance Formula House Bill 18-1232 Colorado Superintendents’ Modernized School Finance Formula and its impact on the Hanover 28 School District The modernized school finance formula proposed by Colorado Superintendents aspires to provide all 178 Colorado school districts with an increased level of funding for all students, while at the same time establishing a more equitable distribution of funding for students who are underserved and/or face the greatest challenges to achieving Colorado’s Graduation Guidelines and finishing high school ready for college and career. Since passage of the existing Public School Finance Act of 1994, expectations of Colorado’s public schools have increased substantially both in terms of expected outcomes of students and levels of public accountability for schools and school districts. During this same period, the programming and services Colorado’s schools must provide to meet the increasing needs and challenges of students have also expanded exponentially. In response to these challenges, Colorado Superintendents began work on developing a school finance formula that supports the current needs of all of Colorado’s public schools and the students they serve

Background Better able to meet Graduation Guidelines and be Career & College Ready More equitable distribution of funding for students Tools and Resources all students deserve to reach their full potential Colorado Superintendents are the right people to work on a new formula for the distribution of funds to districts, because they have first hand knowledge of what it takes to meet the expectations set by communities and law makers. Pg 2

Values-Driven Update Meet the needs of students Recognize student differences Provide resources for innovative solutions to challenges Allocate resources to support graduation requirements Streamline funding formula so it is transparent and easy to follow Meet the needs of schools/communities Recognize district size and geographic differences Provide stability for basic functions so we can focus on innovative solutions Supporting a quality educator in every classroom Still recognize aspects of formula that are necessary The creation of this distribution formula was guided by research of school finance formulas across the country and numerous interviews with Colorado educators determining what it takes to have sufficient resources to meet expectations of communities and Colorado law. Pg 3

Objectives Student-weighted Distribution Recognizing District Differences Students living in poverty English Language Learners Gifted and Talented students Special Education needs Cost differences related to size Impacts of geography Cost of doing business Competitive teacher salaries The Colorado Superintendent’s modernized school finance formula as it exists today was developed to achieve the following objectives: Pg 4

Equity & Adequacy Dual Focus Student-centric Equity Adaptability for: Poverty ELL Special Education Gifted and Talented Full-day Kindergarten Preschool District Differences Stability of communities Solid base funding Enrollment (size) Distance from the metro area Cost of doing business Ability to hire and retain quality teachers in all schools Equity & Adequacy Here is another look at the balance of Equity and Adequacy. It is the balance of student-centric and district differences. It is the balance of student programming and the ability for every system to meet the needs of students even without specialized programs. Pg 5

Old to New Comparison 1994 Act Modernized Formula Complicated formula (multiplicative and confusing) Not tied to educational outcomes Student characteristics considered outside of the formula Heavily impacted by a cost of living adjustment Accounts for impacts of size of district Modernized Formula More transparent (additive and simple) Built on current expectations of schools Needs of students are the central focus of the new formula Student-centric Accounts for impacts of different size school districts Our state has changed over the past 20 plus years. The expectations on our schools have changed significantly as well. The Superintendents’ Modernized School Finance Formula’s greatest change is shifting from a formula that was not tied to educational outcomes to a system that is primarily focused on the programming needs of students to get them to meet our new statewide graduation requirements. Pg 6

What does it look like for my school district? Impact for Hanover 28 School District These numbers are based on non-partisan Legislative Council’s analysis of House Bill 18-1232 and incorporates enrollment figures as of February 2018. The numbers are subject to change during this process. Now for the question that has been on your mind since the first slide. What would this modernized formula mean to us? Pg 7

Additive, Student-centric Formula The math in this modernized formula changed significantly too. The 1994 formula had factors multiplied against each other making the order of operations very significant, and drastically compounding the impacts of the first parts of the formula. This formula is primarily additive, putting the student characteristics is weighted by the value in the formula, not in the order in which is placed in the math. Transparency of the formula was a goal as well. Pg 8

Impact for Hanover 28 School District Modernized Formula Total Number of Pupils 290 Special Education Students 43 Students in Poverty 166 English Language Learners 41 Gifted and Talented Students 3 Pre-K Students 26 Notes to Presenters: Take time to verify your numbers prior to the presentation. Know these numbers come from CDE data pulls and therefore are not necessarily your best current number, but rather the best number submitted in a count previously. If you find that the numbers are significantly different, contact the Superintendents’ Planning Group or the Colorado School Finance Project. Walk your audience through the numbers on the next few slides. Pg 9

Impact for Hanover 28 School District Base Per Pupil Funding ( 288 students) (Excludes Online and Extended High School) $6,546.20 Total District Base Funding for students grades PK-12 Includes: Kindergarten Funding (Full-day = 1 FTE Half-day = .5 FTE) Pre-K Students Funding (.5 of base amount for students served) $ 1,883,996 Notes: In the modernized formula, Kindergarten funding reflects the kind of program you offer. If you offer half-day kindergarten, it is 0.5 funding. If you offer a full-day kindergarten program, you receive full funding, 1.0. Pg 10

Impact for Hanover 28 School District English Language Learners Funding (Adjusted for size for smallest districts) (Excluding NEP) (Range: .35 to .29 of base) 41 0.35 of base $ 93,938 Gifted and Talented Funding (Adjusted for size for smallest districts) (Range: .18 to .15 of base) 3 0.18 of base $ 3,535 Poverty Funding (Federal requirements of free and reduced lunch) 166 .31 of base $ 336,867 Notes The factor funding for ELL, GT and Poverty reflects district size. There is an efficiency with district size which impacts specialized programming. It costs more per student to educate 20 gifted students than it does if the district has 100 gifted students. Therefore, the funding has a different weight if you are an extremely small school district. Schools under 495 students receive the higher weight, school larger than 1700 students get the smaller weight, and all schools in between are on a consistent slope so that the weight reflects the enrollment. Pg 11

Impact for Hanover 28 School District Special Education Students Funding Tier A - Mild (Adjusted for size for smallest districts) (Range: .38 to .67 of base) 36 0.60 of base $ 141,398 Special Education Students Funding Tier B - Moderate (Adjusted for size for smallest districts) (Range: .88 to 1.27 of base) 7 1.18 of base $ 54,072 Total from Student-centric Factors (Excludes Categoricals: Severe Special Education, NEP, CTE and Transportation) $ 629,810 Notes The factor funding for ELL, GT and Poverty reflects district size. There is an efficiency with district size which impacts specialized programming. It costs more per student to educate 20 gifted students than it does if the district has 100 gifted students. Therefore, the funding has a different weight if you are an extremely small school district. Schools under 495 students receive the higher weight, school larger than 1700 students get the smaller weight, and all schools in between are on a consistent slope so that the weight reflects the enrollment. Pg 12

Impact for Hanover 28 School District Base Funding (based on pupil count of 288 ) $ 1,883,996 Total from Student-centric Factors $ 629,810 Cost of Living Adjustment (Maximum factor value of 5%) $ 91,318 Size Adjustment (if applicable and based on enrollment) $ 1,753,643 Notes: To show the formula on one slide, all the student-centered factors are totalled from the other pages into one number here so you can see how they are added to the base before the cost of living adjustment and the size adjustment. Pg 13

Impact for Hanover 28 School District Online / Extended High School Students $ 12,438 Minimum funding equal to 95% of statewide average (If applicable and follows current state statute) $ - Hold Harmless (if applicable) NEW Total Program Funding (TPF) $ 4,371,205 Notes Not every district is subject to Minimum Funding. This is a component that is in current law. Only 7 districts with unique situations recieve hold harmless funding. This is designed to make sure that despite local characteristics, every school receives funding at a minimum of prior to the Budget Stabilization Factor (Negative Factor). Pg 14

Impact for Hanover 28 School District What is currently funded to Hanover 28 under 1994 SFA: $ 2,943,037 What would be funded under the Modernized School Finance Formula: $ 4,371,205 Impact for Hanover 28 School District (Total Program Funding does not include categorical funding for Special Education, ELL, GT, CTE, Transportation and Small Attendance Centers) (New Total Program Funding includes funding for ELL, GT and Mild/Moderate Special Education) Notes: This slide shows the impact compared to what you receive today. Your “Current” funding is after the Budget Stabilization Factor (formerly Negative Factor) This is displayed this way because it is the true comparison of what you are able to buy with your dollars today compared to what you will be able to buy under this system if funded Pg 15

What Questions Do You Have? Call Superintendent, Dr. Grant Schmidt 719-382-1260 OR email gschmidt@hanoverhornets.org Tell You Legislators to Vote YES !! Senator Kevin Grantham 303-866-4877 Kevin.grantham.senate@state.co.us Representative Paul Lundeen 303-866-2924 Paul.lundeen.house@state.co.us Representative Lois Landgraf 303-866-2946 Lois.landgraf.house@state.co.us House Bill 18-1232 Pg 16