Background
In 2006, the ABEC board of directors identified
School Finance Reform as one of its top issues of concern. Arizona's current school funding formula was created in the early 1980's. ABEC believes the current funding formula has gaps which must be addressed. Furthermore, the current school finance system may not be appropriate to support the 21st Century Learner. ABEC firmly supports the belief that education is a long-term investment and the foundation for Arizona's future economic success - improving student achievement is paramount!
The original scope of the initiative and the charge given by the ABEC board of directors were to examine public policy that governs school finance of Arizona's K-12 public school system,
INCLUDING (but not limited to) maintenance and operations, capital, and new school construction by:
- Establishing guiding principles;
- Reviewing current spending practices to understand what and why those practices exist;
- Understanding current sources of revenue; and
- Reviewing alignment with pre-kindergarten and postsecondary funding.
The intent of the initiative is to promote not only fiscal accountability, but also an equitable and adequate funding model for the State of Arizona. This new model for education funding should:
- Be flexible, feasible and obtainable;
- Be easy to understand;
- Be accountable;
- Recommend equitable funding sources;
- Provide incentives for districts to spend their funds effectively and efficiently;
- Ensure funds are distributed and used in the best possible ways for increasing student achievement; and
- Lead to a system that provides a better-prepared, competitive workforce leading to a higher quality of life for all.
It has been clear from the beginning that ABEC's goal is not to "tinker around the edges" or to "fix" problematic aspects of the current system, but rather, to rethink fundamentally the way Arizonans pay for public education. This requires setting aside the current system and building a new one that fully supports higher student learning - an objective completely absent from the current system.
ABEC knows that designing such a system will be a challenge, especially while engaging and building support from various audiences. The initiative has been designed to allow for maximum participation from business and education stakeholders throughout the design process.
An expected outcome of this ABEC-driven initiative would be the development of a series of proposals for public policy representative of this new model for education funding. Additional expectations include:
- To educate the public on public school funding
- To invite, encourage and secure stakeholder participating in the process
- To build consensus among stakeholders on an equitable funding model for the state
- To take this project through to the end
For additional background information, see
Why Previous Efforts Have Failed.
