Arts Plan Could Cause Funding Gap, Study Says

D.C. Schools Chancellor Pushes Rigid Financing

In the midst of a contentious and politically turbulent first year as D.C. schools chancellor, Michelle A. Rhee drew near-universal acclaim with one goal: to place music, art and physical education instructors in all public schools.

But a study by a coalition of public education advocates says that the rigid financial formula Rhee imposed to fulfill that promise would trigger unintended consequences -- including teacher shortages, large class sizes and per-pupil funding gaps between some schools in low- and high-income areas of the city.

"This has made bad matters worse," said Iris Toyer, chairperson of Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools, which joined the 21st Century School Fund, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and the Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators in producing the analysis of school budget documents.

If classes began today, the study found, Garrison Elementary in Ward 2, where 77 percent of the students are from low-income households, would have an average class size of 30 students per teacher -- exceeding the limit of 25 specified in the city's contract with the Washington Teachers' Union. Stoddert Elementary in Ward 3, where 23 percent of the children live in low-income families, would have 23 students per teacher. The gap in per-pupil funding would also be significant, according the analysis: $8,025 per student at Stoddert and $6,064 at Garrison.

The study also shows six other elementary schools, King and Patterson (Ward 8) Burrville (Ward 7), Shaed (Ward 5) and Bancroft and Tubman (Ward 1) would be short three to five classroom teachers under the new budgeting system.

"They'll have less than they need and less than they're entitled to," said Mary Levy, school budget analyst for the Public Education Reform Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. "There may be schools with very large classes."

In a letter to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) last week, the group expressed "alarm" at school budgets for the upcoming year and urged him to ensure that "DCPS does not further disadvantage children who are already disadvantaged."

Mafara Hobson, Rhee's spokeswoman, said the study is flawed because it is based on preliminary budget data now under revision. She said numerous "corrections and adjustments" have been made and will be announced soon. Those changes will include additional staff and funds and will be based on petitions from school communities that have appealed their initial budgets.

"Both Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee are committed to ensuring that classrooms across the District are fully staffed to fully meet the needs of our students," Hobson said.

The D.C. Council funds public schools according to a uniform per-pupil rate, currently $8,770. Officials allocate the money as they see fit, and for the last decade have applied a weighted formula that funded schools based on student needs. Schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families, or with limited English skills, for example, generally drew higher per-pupil allocations.

The "weighted student formula" has gained favor in many big-city school districts in recent years to ensure that dollars follow children, regardless of where they enroll.

Rhee contended that many schools were ill-served by the funding method. In her view, the system gave too much power to principals who sometimes made questionable staffing decisions. It also penalized some low-enrollment schools unable to generate sufficient per-pupil revenue to maintain quality academic programs.