home

I am not sure that we will need this but I though I would go ahead and set it up just in case.

Does anyone know contact info for Annette Chambliss? I did not find her info on the faculty blog. If you do have info please post on this site or text me so that I may invite her to be apart of all this fun.

I have completed most of the work for week 1 and Dr. Eason emailed out to everyone that we will be starting these next week so maybe it will be useful.

Thanks for joining and if anyone has any questions please post to this page and we can help each other.

Lee Vi Moses

NOTE: We have been given an extension of 1/20/11, but are expected to complete this week's assisgnments. Thanks for starting the WIKI. My responses for parts 1-3 are below and on the Week One wiki. we can start by suggesting changes on the Week One wiki. I did not see Annette's email.

Many historical events contributed to the current Texas School Finance policies. In my opinion the following three events have made the most important impact. The new Texas Constitution of1845 provided for the establishment of free schools and called for one-tenth of the state revenue (Permanent School Fund) to support education. This critical action illustrated the dedication of the Texas legislature to quality education. The equalization of funding provided under the Robin Hood Plan designated districts as Chapter 41 (wealthy) or Chapter 42 (poor) to provide a way to equally distribute funds to districts despite the property value inequalities from district to district. Districts with lower property values received a distribution from affluent areas to provide equity in educational services and technology. The 1945 Legislative Session produced the Gilmer-Aikens Laws of Texas Education which began to set standards of operation with the state’s supplement to local taxes to provide funding for public education in addition to the reduction of the number of districts, teacher salary increase, formalization of the school year calendar, and new guidelines for the State Board of Education and employment of the Commissioner of Education. All of the above changes occurred in the past 200 years in Texas Public Education have served to scaffold the financial foundation of Texas Education for the 21st century.
 * PART 1: History of Finance**

PART 2 State Funding Issues

**Three major issues impacting Texas State Funding Formula** Due to the economic downturn districts have been hit with elements that effect state funding. 1) Property Tax Values decreasing and the large number of foreclosures have reduced the amount of revenue the state has for public education. Public education has found that it too is subject to the strains of the economy. 2) Keeping up with inflation for teacher and staff salaries and benefits including rising health care costs, has also put a strain on state funding. Mandates for district and state contributions for health care have also impacted state funding. 3) The shift in demographics within the state requires additional professional development for teachers including bilingual programs, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), multiple languages within districts. Some districts have students whose home languages cover more than 20 languages. Students of poverty also move from one area to another increasing services needed to close the achievement gap and increasing the number of students served by Title I.

**PART 3 Defiitions** //Equality-// Each student in each school should receive the same amount of money to fund their education. Examples include “Robin Hood” and Per Pupil expenditures for each district. //Equity- //Each student in each school should receive the same access to the same educational resources. Providing the same opportunities for a Free Appropriate Education may require special education or 504 services for students. //Adequacy- //Providing the needed funding for students to achieve on comparable levels with students across the state//.// No Child Left Behind provides some adequacy funds through AYP initiatives. Other students may need Title I support to bridge the educational achievement gap in Math and Science.