Pilot would test more flexible school funding

• Delaware's current system of doling out money to school districts%2C called unit count%2C is about 75 years old
• Because the legislature hasn't yet approved the proposal%2C the districts that would fall into the pilot have been selected yet.

As many in Delaware call for a change to the state's rigid, complicated system of funding schools, some school districts could get the chance to use part of their budget without some of the many rules and restrictions that come with that money.

School leaders say the program, if successful, could let them put more resources directly in the classroom and make smarter decisions, and it could make it easier for everyday citizens to understand how their schools work.

Delaware's current system of doling out money to school districts, called unit count, is about 75 years old, and is frequently criticized by school staff for being too prescriptive.

Districts earn "units" based on how many students they have. Those units then pay for specific positions – certain numbers of students might earn districts a set number of teacher positions, assistant principal positions and administrative positions.

School leaders say that system doesn't leave them much flexibility to adjust their staffs to meet different needs. If a principal thinks his school could be best served by adding another teacher rather than a custodian, for example, the rigid rules of unit count might prevent that from being done.

Gov. Jack Markell has proposed in his budget for next year a pilot program that would let up to five school districts receive 10 percent of their total unit value in cash. The districts would still need to meet all the requirements for things like appropriate services for special needs, and the right number of school nurses. But they would not be bound by the stricter unit count rules.

The intent, the governor's budget says, is to "allow decision-making closest to the student," rather than by a state bureaucracy.

Because the legislature hasn't yet approved the proposal, the districts that would fall into the pilot have been selected yet. One that is interested in participating is Appoquinimink.

"This will give districts more local control," said Matthew Burrows, the district's superintendent. "It gives us more flexibility over how things are used. And it would let us, hopefully, put more people in the classroom, where we need them the most."

Burrows said parents wouldn't likely see a huge difference in the participating districts during the pilot stage because a relatively small percentage of the budget would be changed.

"You're talking a few teachers, a few resources here and there; it's not a huge amount," Burrows said. "This is a start. It's a pilot. It's a first step."

The districts participating in the pilot would report on what they changed to the Department of Education, which would study whether student performance increased and whether the program should be expanded.

David Blowman, the deputy secretary of education, said reducing the influence of the complex unit count system could make it easier for the public to comprehend the decisions districts are making.

"The current system is so complicated, arcane and esoteric that it's very difficult to explain in simple terms," Blowman said. "In the long run, this could create a more transparent system because districts would have to justify how they're allocating resources."

Though the pilot itself likely won't make a huge impact, Blowman said state leaders hope it will show promise and expand in scope.

The flexibility pilot is one of only several attempts to restructure how the state funds schools.

As groups like the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee attempt to tackle the problem of improving high-poverty schools, they are calling for a "weighted funding formula" that would give more resources to high-poverty schools.

Educators say it obviously requires more resources to teach students who have to deal with hunger, family turmoil and even violence at home than it does to teach students from more affluent families. Yet a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education found that Delaware's highest-poverty districts received virtually the same amount as it's lowest-poverty districts.

The committee has recommended that the state completely overhaul its funding formula but, barring such an ambitious change, it has requested that the system at least be tweaked to give high-poverty schools more money.

Getting such a change passed in the legislature, however, will take an act of political will. Unless the state is to take money from more affluent schools to funnel more to the districts with poorer students, it will need to find new money to inject into the system, which is a tough task in years when lawmakers have had little cash to spend on new initiatives.

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.