Special to the garden island Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part story on the role of the Committee on Weights in the new weighted student formula. As one of four community members on the Committee on Weights,
Special to the garden island
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part story on the role of the Committee on Weights in the new weighted student formula.
As one of four community members on the Committee on Weights, Kaua‘i’s Edwin Nakaya will make recommendations for the weighted student formula being implemented for the first time as the basis for allocating money to public schools based on the educational needs of students.
But he wasn’t sold on the job at first.
“If I were doing this, I wouldn’t choose me,” Nakaya said.
Apprehensive because he only had a general acquaintance with school funding and budgeting, Nakaya came to realize that the committee was looking for the perspective of “somebody from the outside.”
Made up of representatives from education and the community, the committee is — among other things — addressing the outcomes of the recommendations of the first COW. The impact of the formula adopted last year for this school year’s budget was so severe on some schools there were serious questions as to whether these schools could continue to operate, Nakaya said.
Schools with small enrollments had proportionately a large reduction, while large schools had proportionately large increases compared to the traditional allocations. Neither COW I nor COW II were allowed to address the issue of closing schools and had to assume that all schools would remain open.
The concern for the effect on small schools prompted COW II to look at a “foundation model” that establishes a dollar amount to be taken out of the WSF fund and allocated to each school for legal or administrative costs that all schools have regardless of size.
Nakaya said the foundation approach is the most important thing COW II is recommending.
The committee began with 25 percent of the WSF fund for this foundation approach, and the budget branch of the office of the superintendent prepared an allocation summary draft to show the effect on schools using the figure.
Dr. Bob Campbell, the Department of Education’s project manager for the weighted student formula, said a significant discussion occurred during the committee’s May 23 meeting. As they looked at how much schools would gain or lose, they needed to decide what the committee needed to achieve.
The minutes for May 23 show the committee asking if their intent was to be “budget neutral” and stay the same. The eventual answer was no, that they would strive for “a formula that is fair and equitable for all schools in that it allows schools to provide basic educational services to students to meet the academic and emotional needs of students.”
Campbell said at 25 percent, small schools would not lose under WSF. Bigger schools with economically disadvantaged students would get no additional money or may even get less.
This prompted a number of principals from large schools in the Leeward O‘ahu district to present testimony at the June 24 meeting regarding the disadvantages of the 25 percent figure for the foundation, Campbell said.
The committee is now looking at 18 percent.
