Notable Quotable
“A common myth is that public school principals are CEOs of their schools, with autonomy to allocate resources based on the school’s priorities and to make staffing and spending decisions. But the reality is much different. Most school principals are treated more like middle managers with limited budgetary authority and little room to innovate.” — Aaron Smith, Reason Foundation
Student-Based Budgeting in the News
LAUSD Teachers Stike and Negotiations Highlight How Little Autonomy Principals Have
Education resources are scarce and a key consideration in the Los Angeles Unified School District negotiations should be: Who gets to make the decisions on school budgets, priorities, and tradeoffs — distant central officials or school principals and teachers?
Dwindling Reserves Put LAUSD at Risk for Takeover
The LAUSD negotiations have long-term fiscal consequences and a county-appointed fiscal adviser would have considerable power over the district’s financial decisions, including rewriting budgets and overturning school board decisions.
Unfair Local Funding System Prevents Families from Seeking Better Options
Despite the advantages of open enrollment policies, many school districts limit transfer students or prohibit them altogether.
California’s New Funding Model a Success, But Still Work Left to Do
The state’s Local Control Funding Formula left a loophole that favors school district politics over parents, as Basic Aid districts receive more than their fair share of funding.
Here’s What Millennial Parents Are Getting Right about their Kids’ Educations
A new report suggests that today’s young parents care about more than just test scores, and are increasingly supportive of educational choice.
Research and Resources Spotlight
Winter Education Finance Workshop in North Carolina!
Join Reason Foundation, Allovue, and John Locke Foundation on January 29th for a workshop that will highlight best practices for state and district school finance reforms. District leaders, state legislators, and education advocacy groups are encouraged to attend! For more information and to RSVP, please visit here.
Video: Introduction to Student Based Allocation
Edunomics Lab presents an overview of how districts can transform their school finance systems by delivering dollars based on students.
Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School
Ashley Berner, deputy director of the Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins University, discusses National School Choice Week and her book, “Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School,” at Reason’s Washington, DC, office on January 23.
Follow School Finance Groups and Experts on Twitter
Education Research Strategies @ERStrategies
Center on Reinventing Public Education @CRPE_UW
Afton Partners @aftonpartners
Edunomics Lab @EdunomicsLab
Public Impact @publicimpact
EdBuild @EdBuild
Reason Foundation @AaronGarthSmith
Allovue @AllovueBalance
Allovue @jessgartner