scholarly journals Some pennies are more equal than others: Inequitable school facilities investment in San Antonio, Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marialena D. Rivera ◽  
Sonia Rey Lopez
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
San Antonio ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Educational Facilities ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Property Wealth ◽  
State And Local

In Texas, local taxpayers fund the majority of educational facilities construction and maintenance costs, with local wealth influencing facilities outcomes. The traditional school districts that comprise the predominantly Latino and segregated San Antonio area vary considerably in property wealth as well as district capacity and expertise. We conducted an analysis of 12 San Antonio area school districts to address the questions: 1) To what extent do state and local investments vary by district? 2) How do district actions and constraints affect facilities quality and equitable investment? Methods include descriptive quantitative analysis of facilities investment data and qualitative interviews with school district leaders, staff, and school finance experts. Examining Texas school finance data demonstrated the variance in school district investments in educational facilities. Despite some districts with lower property wealth exerting higher levels of tax effort, they were able to raise less money per student for educational facilities through interest and sinking taxes. Interview findings revealed that several districts acknowledge lacking the capacity to maintain high-quality facilities for all students. Respondents frequently criticized current state policies and funding for educational facilities as inadequate, inequitable, and inefficient and expressed a need for policy improvements in an era of increasing state disinvestment.

scholarly journals On Leadership: Responding to COVID-19: Short- and long-term challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (8) ◽  
pp. 60-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua P. Starr
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
State And Local

In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, school district leaders’ most immediate priority was to ensure that students have access to regular meals. However, efforts to provide a range of other social services must follow close behind. As a start, superintendents can look to their data systems to help them identify those students and families that are most likely to need social services to make it through this phase and beyond. But even while racing to ensure students’ health and safety, they cannot afford to ignore the longer-term challenges that their districts will face, given not just the need to move instruction online but also given that COVID-19 is all but guaranteed to do serious damage to state and local economies.

Teacher Layoffs: An Empirical Illustration of Seniority versus Measures of Effectiveness

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Boyd ◽  
Hamilton Lankford ◽  
Susanna Loeb ◽  
James Wyckoff
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Teacher Layoffs ◽  
Measures Of Effectiveness

School districts are confronting difficult choices in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Today, the financial imbalance in many school districts is so large that there may be few alternatives to teacher layoffs. In nearly all school districts, layoffs are currently determined by some version of teacher seniority. Yet, alternative approaches to personnel reductions may substantially reduce the harm to students from staff reductions relative to layoffs based on seniority. As a result, many school district leaders and other policy makers are raising important questions about whether~other criteria, such as measures of teacher effectiveness, should inform layoffs. This policy brief, a quick look at some aspects of the debate, illustrates the differences in New York City public schools that would result if layoffs were determined by seniority in comparison to a measure of teacher effectiveness.

scholarly journals “What the Hell Is This, and Who the Hell Are You?” Role and Identity Negotiation in Research-Practice Partnerships

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841984959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Christopher Harrison ◽  
Cynthia E. Coburn
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Identity Negotiation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
New Members ◽  
Role Negotiation ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Collaborative Efforts

In research-practice partnerships (RPPs), the line between researcher and practitioner can be blurred, and the roles for everyone involved may be unclear. Yet little is known about how these roles are negotiated and with what consequences for collaborative efforts. Guided by organizational theory, we share findings from a multiyear case study of one RPP, drawing on observations of partnership leadership meetings and interviews with school district leaders and partners. Role negotiation occurred in more than one third of leadership meetings, as evidenced by identity-referencing discourse. When roles were unclear, collaborative efforts stalled; once partners renegotiated their roles, it changed how they engaged in the work together. Several forces contributed to these dynamics, including the partner’s ambitious yet ambiguous identity and the introduction of new members to the group. This study offers implications for those engaged in partnership work and provides a foundation for future research regarding role negotiation in RPPs.

The Equalization Equivalence of Flat Grants and Foundation Programs: A Further Comment

1976 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-244
Author(s):  
Wayne K. Talley
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
The State ◽  
Tax Base ◽  
State Tax ◽  
Foundation Program ◽  
Subsidy Program ◽  
Education Subsidy ◽  
Definition Of

In a paper by Gilmer and Morgan (1973) in this journal, an attempt was made to demonstrate that within a state's school finance system, flat grants, foundation programs, and equalized apportionment formulas create equivalent fiscal equalizations effects. Talley (1974) challenged this conclusion by demonstrating with Gilmer and Morgan's assumption, that the tax base of the ith school district and the state tax base in the ith school district being identical, it follows that either the state or local school districts are financing 100% of the subsidy program—which is contrary to the definition of at least one of the education subsidy programs considered by Gilmer and Morgan. Talley did not prove that the formulas considered by Gilmer and Morgan were not equivalent, but in being equivalent Gilmer and Morgan no longer had at least one of the following formulas—flat grant formula, foundation program formula, and equalized apportionment formula.

scholarly journals Opportunities and Access: Exploring How School District Leaders Make Meaning of Equity in Practice through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Clayton ◽  
Donald Robertson ◽  
Tania Sotomayor
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Positive Behavioral Interventions

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how PBIS and equity interacted according to school and district leaders.Research methods/approach: This study examined how five schools made meaning of the implementation process, ongoing efforts, and structures created. Through a case study including interviews, focus groups, and observations, the primary research question was explored: How do school leaders and teachers make meaning of implementing and assessing PBIS in their schools as a component of a journey toward equity?Findings: While the five schools had unique aspects, four common themes emerged across schools, including the benefits of PBIS, the power of relationships, the importance of communication and leadership, and PBIS challenges.

How States Fund Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Srikanth ◽  
Michael Atzbi ◽  
Bruce D. Baker ◽  
Mark Weber
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Funding Equity ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Funding Disparities

In the United States, the vast majority of funding for K–12 education is provided through state and local governments to school districts. Throughout history, school districts have remained highly segregated both by income/wealth and by race, leading to reduced levels of funding available for higher need districts compared to wealthier districts. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze funding disparities within states and to determine differences between states with respect to funding equity. First, the chapter begins with a discussion of the sources of revenue for education at the state and local levels. Second, it explains the purpose and design of state aid formulas to reduce funding disparities between districts. Third, using data from the School Finance Indicators Database, the chapter calculates funding effort and progressivity indices for each state. Fourth, it provides case studies on two states with more progressive and less progressive funding, New Jersey and Illinois. Finally, the chapter concludes with policy recommendations on how states can improve their school finance systems to provide adequate levels of funding for higher need districts.

District Leaders Engaged in School Turnaround: Identified Challenges and Espoused Responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coby Meyers ◽  
Jonathan Sadler
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
District Leadership ◽  
School Principal ◽  
School Turnaround ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders

School turnaround initiatives have prioritized the school principal as the change lever. Little overall consideration about the critical role district leadership plays. In this study, we analyze the turnaround launch and, improvement plans of school district leaders participating in a university, turnaround program. We find that district leaders identify certain systems, levers as more significant challenges than other ones, but their espoused, ways to address these challenges are disparate if determined at all. Implications for districts and schools are discussed.

scholarly journals Developing Leadership Capacity in New Rural School District Leaders: The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Augustine-Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School District ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Leadership Institute

Understanding the context of rural school settings is critical to beginning school district leaders.  Rural communities present multifaceted challenges that leaders must embrace as diverse community expectations unfold.  The majority of Kansas school districts are in rural settings.  Mentoring and induction shapes the experiences encountered during the first year of practice.  The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute provides high quality mentoring and induction for new superintendents and principals in Kansas.  Mentoring and induction provided by veteran superintendents familiar with leadership complexities in rural communities is offered through on-site visits.  In addition, new superintendents participate in activities focused on building capacity through regional cohort networks, attendance at professional organization and state meetings, and in professional learning seminars.  The rural superintendent wears many hats in serving their local district. Professional learning opportunities that provide leaders with strategies to focus on achievement, plan for change, and build leadership capacity in rural environments are critical for success.

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