The Week In Review and Looking Forward into Next Week
The Joint Legislative
Program Evaluation Oversight Committee heard a presentation by
Sean Hamel, on the mechanisms for resolving funding disputes between local
boards of education and boards of county commissioners. That presentation is
linked here. Hamel discussed
the current dispute system and made recommendations for future improvements. Of the 2,070 annual budget resolutions passed by LEA's
between 1997 and 2015, only 2% used the
dispute resolution process, and 0.19% proceeded to the litigation phase. While
it is rarely used, Hamel found that litigation is not a cost effective method
to resolve funding disputes.
In light of this, he recommended that
the General Assembly consider the following two measures:
-
Revise the current system to remove litigation and replace it with a default funding mechanism. This mechanism establishes that if local boards of education and boards of county commissioners fail to agree on a budget, a funding level will be dictated. For example, Tennessee uses a default funding mechanism that requires schools to be funded at a predefined minimum plus 3% if the local board of education and board of county commissioners fail to agree on a budget for three consecutive years. This incentivizes cooperation at the local level, and avoids costly litigation.
-
Establish a working group with the Local Government Commission and UNC-CH School of Government, as well as representatives from North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, North Carolina School Boards Association, and North Carolina Association of School Business Officers. This working group would develop recommendations for local boards about how to best manage fund balances.
The committee also heard a presentation by Principle Program Evaluator,
Jim Horne, on the North Carolina Education Lottery. That presentation is linked
here. Horne was tasked to examine the current
lottery system, and to make recommendations on how to improve it. He found that
the lottery has slightly higher participation and returns to the state than the
average of the 44 states that host lotteries. Horne made several
recommendations to even further improve the lottery, such as
examining the retailer compensation structure, as well as setting specific goals
that must be met. The ultimate goal is to increase funds benefiting education in North
Carolina.
The Joint Legislative Study Committee on the Division of Local School Administrative Units heard a presentation by Dr. Eric A. Houck and Dr. Kevin C. Bastian, both scholars from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These two scholars explained current information on the relative efficiency of LEAs of different sizes. Their presentation is linked here. Through rigorous review of the available academic literature, Houck and Bastian arrived at a few conclusions. They found no consensus within the current research on optimal size for LEAs, and a more general lack of research on the topic. That being said, the existing research suggests that there is some optimal size for LEAs, but that there is debate about where that optimal size falls. With that understanding, there may be some possibility of a benefit to dividing Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools or Wake County Schools, but there is not currently enough information to be certain.
The Committee on Intellectual and
Development Disabilities met on Wednesday, March 28. The following workforce options were discussed:
The presentations can be viewed at this link and their next meeting is April 16th at
1:00 p.m.
|
See this link for a complete list of bills impacting K-12 education.
|
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
10:00 a.m.: Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee 643 LOB | Audio
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
9:00 a.m.: Jt Leg Study Cmte on the Division of Local School Administrative Units 643 LOB | Audio
ONLINE RESOURCES:
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CONTACT INFORMATION:
-
Cecilia Holden – Director of Legislative Affairs and Special Initiatives | 919-807-3406
-
Anne Murtha – Legislative Specialist | 919-807-3403
-
David Smith – Legislative Intern | 919-807-3407
To view previous 2018 Weekly Legislative Updates click here.
The NC Department of Public instruction offers a number of topics for subscription.
- To subscribe to the Weekly Legislative Update, click here.
- To subscribe to other NC Department of Public Instruction topics, click here.
|
