School Finance Formula Funding

Transcription

1 School Finance Formula Funding Craig Harper Joint Budget Committee Staff Todd Herreid Legislative Council Staff March 16, 2016

2 Colorado s School Finance System Issue: Under the current school finance system, school districts that appear to be similar under the school finance formula experience different outcomes. The negative factor affects districts differently based on the availability of local revenues to support school finance. Mill levy overrides contribute to differences between districts. 2

3 Colorado s School Finance Formula The State s school finance formula builds on a statewide base per pupil funding amount to adjust for factors that affect individual school districts costs. Cost of Living: Provides additional funding for districts with high cost of living. Size: Provides additional funding to compensate for the lack of economies of scale in small districts (currently applies to districts with up to 4,000 students). At-risk: Provides additional funding based on the number and concentration of at-risk students (those qualifying for free lunch and certain English language learners). 3

4 Estimated Statewide Factor Funding for FY Without Negative Factor At-risk Cost of Living Size Other Other Size At-risk Cost of Living With Negative Factor Negative Factor Base Base

5 Per Pupil Funding with Base Funding, FY $16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $4,000 $2,000 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee

6 Per Pupil Funding with Base and Cost of Living, FY $16,000 $14,000 Base Cost of Living $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $1,097 $1,343 $791 $1,055 $691 $4,000 $2,000 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee

7 Per Pupil Funding with Base, Cost of Living, and Size Factor FY $16,000 $14,000 Base Cost of Living Size $12,000 $10,000 $8,994 $8,730 $8,000 $6,000 $1,115 $221 $1,097 $1,343 $437* $791 $1,055 $691 $4,000 $2,000 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee *Includes minimum per pupil funding, equal to $232

8 Per Pupil Funding with Base, Cost of Living, Size Factor, and At-Risk, FY $16,000 $439 $582 $14,000 Base Cost of Living Size At-Risk $12,000 $10,000 $8,994 $8,730 $8,000 $6,000 $207 $1,115 $766 $221 $1,097 $1,343 $311 $437* $791 $1,055 $691 $4,000 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $6,121 $2,000 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee *Includes minimum per pupil funding, equal to $232

9 Per Pupil Funding with Negative Factor, FY $16,000 $16,609 $16,125 $16,123 $14,000 Funding before Negative Factor $14,455 $12,000 Funding after Negative Factor $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $8,541 $8,451 $7,355 $7,660 $6,667 Base $4,000 $2,000 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee

10 Comparison of Negative Factor (NF) and Override Revenue Per Pupil, FY $18,000 $17,738 $16,000 Funding before NF Funding after NF $16,609 $14,455 $16,125 $16,123 $14,000 Funding after NF with Overrides $12,000 $10,660 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $8,541 $8,451 $7,355 $8,915 $7,660 $7,050 $6,667 Base $4,000 $2,000 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee

11 Percent Change of Final Per Pupil Funding (After the Negative Factor and Including Overrides) from Per Pupil Funding Before Application of the Negative Factor (Excluding Overrides), FY % 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% -5.0% Clear Creek Denver Mesa County Valley Hinsdale Weld-Pawnee -10.0% -15.0%

12 Percent Change of Final Per Pupil Funding (After the Negative Factor and Including Overrides) from Per Pupil Funding Before Application of the Negative Factor (Excluding Overrides), FY

13 School Finance (Total Program) Mill Levies Issue: Total program mill levies vary significantly throughout the state, affecting each district s reliance on state funding to support total program. Professors Roza and Reschovsky indicated that a consistent mill levy is preferable to ensure local effort, stabilize funding, and reduce pressure on state funds. For FY , total program mill levies in Colorado ranged from a low of 1.68 mills to a statutory limit of 27.0 mills. In some cases, low local mill levies require a significant state share even for high property wealth districts. 13

14 Current School Finance Mill Levies, FY

15 Mill Levy Overrides Issue: Differences in the level of local property wealth (assessed value) between districts affect the viability of mill levy overrides to provide additional funding. With voter approval, school districts may collect additional property taxes through mill levy overrides. Override revenues are not considered as part of the school finance formula. 115 districts collected $826.5 million from overrides in FY Current law caps mill levy overrides for most districts at 25.0 percent of total program funding (the cap is 30.0 percent for some rural districts). For some districts, reaching that cap requires a relatively low override (in terms of additional mills). For others, reaching the cap would require prohibitively large increases in the mill levy: 19 districts would require more than 50 additional mills and 6 would require more than 100 mills. One district would require an override of mills to reach the cap. 15

16 Mill Levy Needed to Reach Maximum Override Limit, FY

17 Total Funding Available (All Sources) School districts receive funding from a variety of sources outside of total program funding. Other state revenues include categorical funding, READ Act funds, B.E.S.T. grant funds, as well as a variety of other programs and grants. Other local revenues include overrides, fees and charges, bond proceeds, and property taxes for debt service. Federal funds support a variety of uses, including nutrition programs, funding for at-risk students, categorical programs, etc. 17

18 Statewide Average Total School District Funding Per Pupil, FY $12,000 $11,406 $10,000 $8,000 $6,651 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $0 $549 $979 $843 $1,013 $1,085 $133 $152

19 $25,000 Total School District Funding Per Pupil, FY $24,008 $1,461 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $15,101 $486 $1,200 $2,607 $2,093 $395 $14,293 $1,555 $1,547 $1,691 $1,614 $507 $315 $9,342 $751 $573 $626 $477 $185 $406 $19,024 $512 $580 $1,983 $2,105 $13,843 $1,828 $2,146 $1,554 $806 $16,213 $5,000 $8,320 $7,011 $6,324 $0 Clear Creek Denver Mesa Valley Hinsdale Weld Pawnee SFA Other State Funding Override Revenue Prop Tax for Debt/Other Local Fees/Charges Federal Revenue Bond Proceeds Other