http://www.tea.state.tx.us/comm/page1.html
April 6, 2006
Librarians included in proposed 65 percent rule
AUSTIN School librarians will be included when calculating
instructional costs under proposed revisions to the stat's school financial
rating system, which is designed to provide the public with a clear look at
the spending practices of each school district, Commissioner of Education
Shirley J. Neeley said today.
Draft rules for the revised School Financial Integrity Rating
System of Texas (FIRST), including an indicator that focuses on
instructional costs, have been posted on the Texas Education Agency website
at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/home/coeprop.html. The rule will be
posted to the Texas Register website on April 21 and the official 30-day
public comment period begins then.
While there are a number of updates to the financial rating
system, most of the attention has been focused on one of the 26 indicators
contained in the system. This indicator deals with the percentage of funds
that districts spend on instructional costs.
In an executive order, Gov. Rick Perry directed the commissioner
to include an indicator in the system that requires that 65 percent of
school district funds be expended for instructional purposes as defined by
the National Center for Education Statistics.
Neeley said, Gov. Perry made it clear from the beginning that he
realized that one-size does not fit all school districts and gave the Texas
Education Agency some flexibility in designing this measure. He also
recognized that school district spending plans can't change overnight and so
was agreeable to a three year phase-in.
The draft rule follows the NCES definition of instructional
costs, except that it adds expenses related to librarians into the
calculations.
Costs included in this calculation, under the draft proposal,
are:
a.. instructional costs;
b.. librarians;
c.. extra-curricular activities;
d.. payments to fiscal agents of shared service arrangements;
e.. and payments to Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs
(JJAEP).
The above categories are known as Functions 11, 12, 36, 93 and 95 to
school business officials.
The proposed rules call for a three year phase-in, with districts
required to spend at least 55 percent on instructional costs in 2006-2007,
60 percent in 2007-2008, and 65 percent in 2008-2009 in order to receive
full credit for this indicator in the rating system.
The proposal allows a school district that does not meet the 65
percent expenditure rule to post its check register, excluding the payroll
register, and an aggregate total payroll expenditure to the district's
website and receive full credit for this indicator. The check register
lists payments to all vendors.
The 65 percent instructional cost indicator is worth five points in the
School FIRST system. The maximum points a districts can obtain from the
complete set of 26 indicators is 100 points. Districts receive a rating of
Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard or Substandard
based on the points they accumulate.
We think this proposal is fair. It gives credit to those districts that are
driving dollars to the classroom. It recognizes that librarians provide an
important direct instructional service to students. It provides an
alternative to districts that don't meet the 65 percent standard and makes
districts finances transparent to the public, Neeley said.
Schools are often the biggest business in town. The public wants to know
that their tax dollars are well spent, but citizens do not turn out in large
numbers for public hearings on school district budgets or tax rates. This
provision gives school officials the chance to show their public in a high
profile manner that they are efficiently and effectively using their public
funds, Neeley said.
Because the ratings are based on audited financial data, the first ratings
issued using the new criteria would be released in June 2008.
Based on audited data from the 2004-2005 school year, the average
expenditure statewide on instructional costs is about 62 percent.
Other proposed changes in the School FIRST ratings include:
posting the superintendent?s contract;
listing any outside employment by superintendents;
disclosing all gifts to superintendents and board members valued at
$250 or more per year;
linking the financial and academic ratings by requiring a district
to earn an academic rating of Recognized or Exemplary in order to qualify
for a superior achievement rating in the School FIRST system.
If the proposed rule is approved with minimal changes, the rule
will become effective July 16. If substantial changes are proposed, the
rule must be reposted for additional comment.
Mary Ludwick, Librarian K-5 Elementary
Owen Elementary, The Colony, Texas (near Dallas)
ludwickm@lisd.net (school address)
ludwick@swbell.net (home address)
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