Document text
Medford schools near bottom of money list The district spends less per pupil than almost any other in Oregon, amid rumors of 'extra funding' elsewhere By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune For 10 years, Oregon has attempted to make sure every school district in the state receives an equitable slice of the funding pie. But Medford - one of the 10 largest school districts in the state - rests close to the bottom of the funding barrel. Medford spent $6,407 for each of its 12,678 students in 2000-01. That's $2,000 less than the Portland School District. In fact, Medford, the eighth largest district in the state, spent the eighth smallest amount per pupil, according to the Oregon Department of Education. The department's findings are based on data from 190 districts reporting out of 198 in the state. Central Point School District ranks third lowest on spending per pupil at $6,156, but with 4,600 students, it is the 31st largest district in the state. Local school officials historically have been skeptical about the huge discrepancy between Medford's funding compared with other districts like Portland. "We've heard stories and rumors that they get extra funding," said Medford schools budget director Galen Anderson. "Typically, over the years, when we've tried to make comparisons, our costs per pupil are down in the lower end of the spectrum." Despite the appearance of discrepancies from one district to the other, the Oregon Department of Education insists the state has attempted to provide fair funding to all districts ever since Ballot Measure 5, passed in 1990, shifted primary support for education from local property taxes to the state income tax. The state's formula for allocating support takes into account factors such as low-income and handicapped students, doling out more dollars to schools with higher numbers of such students. But the state has no control over how much districts receive in grants and other federal funding. "The intent of the formula is to equalize the state revenue plus the local revenue sources," said ODE financial analyst Brian Reeder. By calculating state and local funding alone, the difference in per-pupil spending between Medford and Portland is less than $300. Medford received $5,887 from the state; Portland, $6,160. This $273 difference results from Portland schools' higher percentage of students with low incomes and in English as a second language programs. All schools in the state are eligible to receive bonus dollars for poor students, ESL students, special education students and pregnant and parenting students. Small districts are also eligible for extra compensation. But when other funding sources are added in - particularly from the federal government - that's when schools start to show major differences in funding. Many schools receive federal money based on the number of students in the free and reduced-price lunch program or from various grants. By adding in these other sources, Portland schools spend $8,537 per student compared to Medford's $6,407. Medford school board member Peggy Penland said the Portland School District received extra money in the past that wasn't calculated in the state revenue. About $7 million was raised through property taxes two years ago when Portland had problems meeting its obligations to the Public Employees Retirement System. "We would have liked that $7 million that PERS got, but not the problems they've (Portland schools) got," she said. Despite these sorts of inequities, Penland believes Oregon's funding of districts is getting better. "This last (legislative) session, it was a lot fairer," she said. Central Point schools business manager Vicki Robinson said part of the funding discrepancy with her district is attributable to the 1990 census, which did not count some of the poorer areas. Because of that, the district is rated by the federal government as an affluent community. "We are ranked right below Lake Oswego," an affluent suburb of Portland, in socioeconomic status, she said. If the district were receiving the extra federal money to which it may be entitled, it might have a per-pupil spending closer to, say, Eagle Point's $6,988. But a boost in federal spending on the free and reduced-price lunch program, for example, wouldn't help the district's current funding problems, because the money would be earmarked for special programs and not placed in the general fund, she said. Robinson said the state has been working harder to make sure districts get a fair share of state and local dollars. "This year they have been very good," she said. But figuring out how to fill out the state's funding forms that are used to make these comparisons has been difficult for business managers. "There were very few that had it right," said Robinson, noting that a majority failed to fill the electronic forms correctly this year and had to resubmit them. "Yes, we were one of them," she said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.