Study Questions Disparities in Funding Among Some Schools

The two District middle schools both draw high concentrations of children from low-income families. But Shaw at Garnet-Patterson receives $12,383 in tax dollars for each of its 257 students. Hart, with an enrollment of 619, receives $7,128 per pupil. Why?

That's one of the questions posed by a new study that describes significant, and seemingly random, disparities in funding this year among some D.C. schools. About one in four schools received less money than it was due. Officials acknowledge what they call "anomalies" in funding, reflecting a school system in transition on numerous levels.

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said the closure of 23 schools because of low enrollment at the end of the 2007-08 academic year created fluctuations in some school populations. The closings moved thousands of students into consolidated "receiving" schools such as Hart and Shaw. Officials usually "right-size" after school begins, aligning money and staffing with actual enrollment. Schools that do not meet projected enrollment lose; those with more students than expected gain.

But the District did not completely right-size this year. Although adjustments were made, some schools that were underpopulated ended up with more money per pupil. Rhee said that students and families from shuttered schools had already experienced enough disruption, and it was unfair to trigger more change by pulling teachers and funding just as they were settling into their new surroundings.

"That was our commitment to families in closing and consolidating schools," Rhee said.

As a result, Hart, which exceeded its projected population by about 80 students, struggled this fall with staff shortages and safety issues that resulted in widespread student suspensions and assaults against at least three teachers. Shaw, more than 150 students short of predicted enrollment, effectively benefited from its underpopulation. The study shows the average class size at Shaw, which is in Ward 1, is 15.4, compared with 24.8 at Hart, in Ward 8.

"Shaw is just awash in resources," said the study's author, Mary Levy, an education finance specialist with the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. "If Hart had had the resources Shaw does, it might have been a different story."

No schools across any district are funded with absolute equity. Officials in the region's other districts say that support varies from school to school. Those with small enrollments get subsidies, as do schools with large numbers of poor children.

The D.C. Council funds schools according to a uniform per-pupil rate, between $8,700 and $10,000, depending on grade level. Rhee allocates the money, holding some of it back for centrally administered functions such as utilities, and distributing the rest to schools.

The study of 112 schools shows that gaps in support grew substantially over last year, although it found no pattern of bias against elementary or middle schools with large numbers of poor children. It found that 31 schools ended up with less money than they were due.

Levy attributes the disparities to the District's failure to fully implement a new funding formula that Rhee initiated this year to guarantee art, music and physical education teachers in all schools.

Noah Wepman, the school system's chief financial officer who has reviewed Levy's work, acknowledged that the new formula, called the comprehensive staffing model, created "anomalies" that will be corrected in the proposed $763 million school budget submitted to the council March 20 by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). Wepman said his staff is also doing an analysis to ensure that any unforeseen inequity is addressed before the 2009-10 school year.