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| State Representative, 48th District Elected chairman of the Ways & Means Committee |
For example, I get a lot of mail about preserving “gifted education”. The state sends out tens of millions in this category every year, with an equal amount going to every district based on student population. State funding makes up about 15% of what is spent in this area every year, so 85% of the money is coming from local sources, mostly your local levies. The state budget line item is about $30 million per year, or about 0.3% of annual state school budgets. There are many other programs that distribute money the same way – evenly based on student count.
Ever think about why we don’t just combine all of these small items into one single pot? Read More >>
Districts would have more flexibility in how to spend money and would have several fewer pages in the school accounting bible that they have to comply with. Districts are still going to run gifted programs because their parents want them – witness all the email I get. School board members get elected or unelected based on programs like this because the parents tend to be highly organized.
The thing you can’t use this data for is figuring out the relative impact of a program on the community. For example bilingual education is hugely important to help kids who grow up in households that don’t speak English take advantage of our education system, but you don’t hear from their parents in email.
Don’t get me wrong – I value the gifted program in the school districts I represent. My kids took advantage of enrichment in Bellevue and school would have been a poorer place for them without the extra stimulation. We should think about how to have these programs without making school budgets complex beyond belief and requiring local districts to do lots of compliance work.
By Ross Hunter
State Representative, 48th District
Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (responsible for tax policy and crafting the bienniel budgets)
Source: Ross Hunter's Blog
I can give you a very good reason why, " combining all of these small items into a single pot" isn't a good idea. The reason is that then the money does not end up going to the specific categories of intent. Money that was once spent on gifted education ends up being spent on additional floor mops or basket balls. Don't get me wrong. Floor mops are important, and I like basket ball as much as the next person. However, having money in designated budgets protects that money and ensures that it is spent for the students who have specific needs. Without categorical budgets, specific programs such as 'gifted' often disappear.
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