07.19.10: Formula Fairness
By David Walrath
SSDA is one of the original sponsors of the Formula Fairness campaign that is being conducted by the Rural School and Community Trust (http://www.ruraledu.org/). Marty Strange from the Rural Trust has been instrumental in developing the data showing that the current Title 1 number weighting formulas disadvantages small high poverty rural school districts. The two title 1 formulas that have received new money in the last eight years are number weighted formulas. This means that large school districts will receive more money per poverty child than a smaller district for the same percentage of poverty students. In fact, the number weighting system rewards low poverty large districts compared to very high poverty small districts.
SSDA is working with the rural trust to change the number weighting formulas as part of the reauthorization of the ESEA. SSDA hopes that all member districts will visit www.formulafairness.com and communicate with California’s United States Senators and your Representative in the House of Representatives..
