These notes on sources and methodology relate to the article Basic state education funding, FY 07-08 to FY 11-12, first published on June 29, 2011 and updated July 27, 2011.
State aid
Most-often referred to as “formula” aid, this is the basic operating aid that a state provides to local schools. Since states vary in whether they include federal funds in formula aid, the data we report exclude federal funding from the amount reported for all states. (To have included federal funding would, in any event, have disguised state level changes in funding, because federal funding in many cases temporarily went up as a function of the now-concluded federal stimulus package.)
The number reported also does not include funding raised by a locality itself, and does not include supplemental state funding (the categories of which vary from state to state). It became clear in our research that it would facilitate data collection, reporting, and analysis if states were to adopt a common nomenclature. Name of state funding is below, followed by the source providing information.
Alabama: Education Trust Fund; Alaska: Foundation Program; Arizona: Assistance to Schools (Statutory Programs); Arkansas: Foundation Funding; California: Proposition 98 (K-12); Colorado: Minimum School Program; Connecticut: Cost Sharing Grants; Delaware: Division Funding; Florida: Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP); Georgia: Quality Basic Education Program; Hawaii: Lump Sum Budget; Idaho: Public School Fund; Illinois: General State Aid; Indiana: Local School Funding; Iowa: State Aid to Districts; Kansas: General State Aid; Kentucky: Support Education Excellence in Kentucky; Louisiana: Minimum Foundation Program; Maine: Essential Programs Fund; Maryland: Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools; Massachusetts: Chapter 70; Michigan: State Aid; Minnesota: General Education Program; Mississippi: Adequate Education Program; Missouri: Foundation Formula; Montana: Direct State Aid; Nebraska: TEEOSA State Aid; Nevada: School Support; New Jersey: State Aid; New Mexico: State Equalization Fund; New York: School Aid (Formula-Based Aids); North Carolina: Public School Funds; North Dakota: K12 State Aid Formula Payments; Ohio: State Foundation Aid; Oklahoma: Basic State Aid to Schools; Oregon: School General Fund; Rhode Island: Distributed Education Aid; South Carolina: Education Finance Act Funding; South Dakota: Program Funding; Tennessee: Basic Education Program; Texas: State Aid; Utah: Minimum School Program; Vermont: Education Fund; Virginia: Standards of Quality; Washington: General Appropriation; West Virginia: State Aid to Schools; Wisconsin: Equalization Aid; Wyoming: School Foundation
Data were self-reported to Remapping Debate by several states: Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Sources for the remaining states are as follows: for Alabama, the Legislative Fiscal Office Education Trust Fund Comparison Sheets; for Alaska, the Department of Education’s The Public School Funding Program Overview; for Arizona, Superintendent’s Annual Reports and State of Arizona 2012 Appropriations Report; for California, the Department of Education’s Budget Tables and self-reported by Department of Education; for Colorado, Minimum School Program District Summaries; for Connecticut, the State of Connecticut’s Grant Payment Reports and Enacted 2012-2013 Biennium Budget; for Delaware, Public School Finance Funding; for Florida, Florida Education Finance Program Calculations; for Georgia, Budgets in Brief; for Idaho, Legislative Fiscal Reports; for Illinois, Illinois State Budget Books; for Indiana, Part C. VII of the As Passed Budget; for Iowa, Annual Condition of Education Reports and School Aid Estimates; for Kansas, Comparison Reports; for Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Annual Comprehensive Report and House of Representatives Bill 1 of the 2011 Legislative Session; for Louisiana, the Department of Education MFP Handbooks and House of Representatives Bill 1 of the 2011 Legislative Session; for Maine, State Subsidy Allocations; for Maryland, the Department of Education Stat Books and the Maryland General Assembly’s 90 Day Report; for Massachusetts, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education’s Chapter 70 Aid and Net School Spending Requirements; for Nebraska, 2011-2013 Biennial Budget and State Aid calculated by system; for Nevada, Annual Summary of Financial Resources and Uses; for New Jersey, State Aid Summaries; for New Mexico, the Department of Education Stat Books and the House of Representatives Bill 1 of the Extraordinary Legislative Session; for New York, Budget Archives; for North Carolina, Budget Highlights; for South Carolina, Education Finance Act Funding; for South Dakota, Governor Rounds’ Budget Reports; for Texas, District State Aid Level Reports; for Utah, Minimum School Program District Summaries; for Vermont, FY 2011 Budget Recommendations and Committee Conference Report on H. 441: Act Relating to Making Appropriations for the Support of Government; for Virginia, Enrolled budget bills; for Washington, Financial History Reports and Enacted Biennial Operating Budget; for Wisconsin, Equalization Aid Listings Printed in Basic Facts, Section F (2012 figures self-reported by DOE); for Wyoming, School Finance/Capital Construction Fiscal Study.
Fiscal Year 2011-2012 data represent enacted budgets except in Louisiana (where data are taken from most recent state House of Representatives proposal).
Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, Fiscal Year 2011-2012 aid data was translated into 2007 dollars.
Per-pupil state aid
The department of education in each state provided enrollment data (in some cases available on a department’s website and in other cases gathered by direct contact with department officials). The only exception is Maryland, where projected enrollment data is available from the website of the state’s department of planning.
In all cases except Kentucky and Maryland, the most recent enrollment data available is for the current school year (Fiscal Year 2010-2011). In Kentucky, the most recent year available is Fiscal Year 2009-2010, and, in Maryland, a projection is available for Fiscal Year 2011-2012.
Thus, while Remapping Debate calculated Fiscal Year 2007-2008 per pupil expenditure by dividing aid for that year by enrollment for that year, Remapping Debate calculated projected per-pupil aid by dividing aid for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 (inflation-adjusted) by enrollment for the most recent year available.
Median household income
Information is from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2005-2009 five-year data.
Income inequality and the GINI index
Data are from the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey (five-year data were not available). The Census Bureau desribes the GINI index as a “[s]ummary measure of income inequality. The Gini Index varies from 0 to 1, 0 indicating perfect equality where there is a proportional distribution of income. A 1 indicates perfect inequality where one person has all the income and no one else has any.”
Reading and math achievement
Working with most recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and math (2009 testing), we report the percentage of eighth-grade students who tested at the level of proficient or above.
All rankings derived by Remapping Debate.