Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 8 Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.2 State Board of Education Functions  Issuing and revoking teaching licenses  Establishing the length of the school year  Publishing standards for approving and accrediting schools  Developing and implementing uniform systems for gathering education data, such as standardized achievement test scores, enrollment trends, and demographics

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.3 State Office of Education  Responsible for implementing state board of education policies on a day-to-day basis  Creates list of state-approved textbooks  Establishes standards in different content areas

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.4 School District  Administrative unit legally responsible for the education of children within a geographic boundary  Governed by a local school board of lay citizens responsible for setting policies within the district  Approximately 14,000 school districts in U.S.; an average of 280 per state  Number of school districts in a state ranges from 1 (Hawaii) to 1,040 (Texas)

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.5 School Board  Responsible for establishing educational policies within a district  Lay members elected in local elections  Members often do not reflect the cultural and economic diversity within a district

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.6 School District Superintendent  Implements policies established by local school board  Usually has an advanced degree in education  Sometimes conflicts with school board over implementation of policies

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.7 Functions of the District Office  Ordering textbooks and supplies  Developing programs of study  Ordering, distributing, and analyzing standardized tests  Evaluating teachers and assisting those with difficulties

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.8 Principal  Given the ultimate responsibility for the running of a school  Most important person in the district administrative structure, because the principal works directly with teachers and students

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.9 Principal (continued)  Responsible for: Teacher selection and evaluation Teacher selection and evaluation School-level curricular and instructional leadership School-level curricular and instructional leadership Community relations Community relations Coordination of pupil services (counselors, school psychologists, etc.) Coordination of pupil services (counselors, school psychologists, etc.) Monitoring of school budget Monitoring of school budget Ensuring school maintenance Ensuring school maintenance

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.10 School Funding Sources  States contribute 49% of educational funds  Local governments contribute 43% of funds  Federal funds constitute 8% of educational monies

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.11 State Revenue Sources  Property taxes based on home and real estate values  Local income tax  Building permits  Traffic fines  Use permits for educational facilities

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.12 Federal Funding of Education  Small proportion (8%), but large impact  Categorical grants target specific groups and designated purposes  Block grants provide states and districts funds with few restrictions

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.13 District Educational Expenditures  Largest percentage (61%) spent on instruction  Administration, instructional supports (student services, teacher professional development, curriculum development), and maintenance of physical plants each take 10% of education funding dollar.  Transportation (buses) and food services each take up 4% of districts’ budgets.

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.14 Funding Inequalities  Because of differences in property taxes, wealthy districts spend more on education than poorer ones. 23% more nationally 23% more nationally About twice as much within certain states About twice as much within certain states  Legal issues surrounding funding inequalities determined by state laws and courts  Weighted student formula allocates funding to schools within a district based upon student and school needs.

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.15 Site-Based Decision Making  Attempts to place increased responsibility for governance at the individual school level  Teachers generally feel excluded from decision-making loop.  Can also involve community lay members in school governance

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.16 Different Forms of School Choice  Charter schools  Vouchers  Homeschooling

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.17 Charter Schools  Alternative schools that are independently operated but publicly funded  Often target specific areas of the curriculum Arts Arts Math and science Math and science Foreign language Foreign language  Uneven quality due to increased autonomy  Research suggests that student achievement is no better than regular public schools and sometimes worse.

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.18 Vouchers  Vouchers are checks parents use to purchase educational services.  Use for private education, especially religious schools, is controversial.  State tuition tax credits, a variation on vouchers, provide tax cuts for parents of children attending private schools.

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.19 Homeschooling  While increasingly popular, accounts for only 2% of students.  Parental reasons vary. Concerns about moral climate of schools (49%) Concerns about moral climate of schools (49%) More positive social climate (15%) More positive social climate (15%) Academic excellence (14%) Academic excellence (14%) Specific needs of individual students (12%) Specific needs of individual students (12%)  State laws regulating vary considerably.

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.20 Privatization  Takes a variety of forms EMO (Education maintenance organization) runs and manages schools or entire district EMO (Education maintenance organization) runs and manages schools or entire district Industry-operated school lunches and buses Industry-operated school lunches and buses Industry-related tech support Industry-related tech support  Arguments for Businesslike efficiency of corporations Businesslike efficiency of corporations Competition makes publicly run schools more effective and efficient Competition makes publicly run schools more effective and efficient  Arguments against Bottom line is the dollar—not children’s welfare Bottom line is the dollar—not children’s welfare Unimpressive initial results with corporations like Edison Unimpressive initial results with corporations like Edison

Kauchak and Eggen, Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 3rd Ed. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.21 School Choice and Cultural Minorities  Advocates claim that school choice provides cultural minority parents with alternatives to ineffective and unproductive local schools.  May result in increased segregation of students.  Education of parents about options and choices is crucial for future success.