Every year principals in school districts sit down to begin their budgeting process for the next school year. Principal administration engages in conversation with the superintendent, business manager, and other stakeholders involved in the budget process. Each year important decisions must comply with state constitutional education mandates regarding funding, allocation per student, equity, and adequacy. Let’s take a closer look at what those terms mean and the implications for administrations, staff, and students.
Legal Terminology
Equity and adequacy. Sure, those are clear words that belong in conversations about school budgeting and students. How we understand their definition and impact on budgeting, however, is a bit murkier.
Equity in school budgeting starts with allocating the same funds or resources at all levels. Do all students have access to the same level of educational funding regardless of effort? For equity to be measurable and accountable, budgets must employ analytical metrics to account for the variable costs of providing educational opportunities to different groups of students and districts.
Adequacy is defined by states as the opportunity to attain an education of quality. Quality education can be difficult to define as state standards and metrics that define “what constitutes real need in education” varies widely. Adequacy links funding to student performance while keeping mindful of spending, educational improvement goals, and the resources needed to attain those goals.
Legal
States have constitutional control and authority to pass education mandates in the United States. Two major legislative cases are important to know as they inform and guide school funding work everywhere; Brown v Board of Education (1954) and Vincent, et al v. Voight Summary. These are by no means the only legislation that schools and administrative budget teams need to embrace, but they are significant. Schools found in non-compliance with state and/or federal laws find themselves in a heap of trouble and negligence is not an excuse!
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional. This judgment started the path for much of the racial, equity, and equality legislation that underpins public education today.
Vincent, et al v. Voight Summary
The Wisconsin Supreme Court noted, “An equal opportunity for a sound and basic education is one that will equip students for their roles as citizens and enables them to succeed economically and personally… So long as the legislature is providing sufficient resources also that school districts offer students the equal opportunity for a sound basic education as required by the constitution, the state school finance will pass constitutional muster.”
Next Steps
So, the next time someone you work with or even yourself sits down to work the budgeting process for your school, take a minute and remember these two cases. Your principal, ILT members, director of finance, and perhaps other school personnel have difficult work ahead of them. Equity and adequacy are the foundations of how to view student expenditure needs. If we all keep these cases and definitions in mind, supporting students, and the budget decisions that make that possible might make tough choices easier to understand and support.
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