Funding local schools is a critical part of our state budget. This decade, Missouri’s schools have received at least as much or more in funding every year, despite economic challenges.
Currently, schools are funded on a per-pupil basis. High-performing districts are identified and consideration is given to the local costs to educate students. This becomes the standard statewide. Put simply, the state helps local districts meet the per-pupil spending benchmark established by high-performing schools.
In addition, when the latest school funding formula was crafted, schools were promised that they would not receive less funding from the state. These are known as “hold harmless” districts. For rural Missouri, another key component of funding is the small schools grant program. This provides districts with fewer than 350 students a grant of $500 per pupil.
To give some real-world perspective, I have provided information on school enrollment, spending and performance in the last five years for schools in our area. Please note, the data only compares two years (five years apart) and does not translate into trends.
In the 21st Senatorial District, of the 44 school districts, only seven have increased enrollment. Six of these school districts are serviced by four-lane highways: Macon County R-1 – Macon (+9.01 percent), Sweet Springs (+6.70 percent), Callao (+5.45 percent), Atlanta (+5.45 percent), Kearney (+3.79 percent), and Boonville (+2.13 percent). Obviously, the four-lane highway has played a role in the increased enrollment in these districts. This may be another argument for improved transportation infrastructure in rural areas.
School districts that have seen a drastic drop in enrollment are Miami (-47.18 percent), Cooper Co. R-IV – Bunceton (-31.76 percent), Stet (-27.10 percent), Malta Bend (-24.20 percent), Macon Co. – New Cambria (-22.72 percent), Bosworth (-22.61 percent), and Keytesville (-22.01 percent).
Even though an overwhelming amount of schools in our area have decreased enrollment, every single district has increased per-pupil spending. This is most evident in the same schools that have decreased enrollment: Miami (+54.92 percent), Stet (+52.53 percent), Norborne (+49.37 percent), Keytesville (+49.11 percent), La Plata (+45.63 percent), Macon Co. R-IV – New Cambria (+45.41 percent), and Cooper Co. R-IV – Bunceton (+44.96 percent).
If average ACT scores are an indicator of performance, there seems to be little to no correlation with funding. Several districts of varying sizes, located in different counties and reporting different spending levels, placed above the state average for the ACT.
The information I provided in this column simply compares two different years and, considering the small class sizes in many rural districts, may not clearly show trends. However, this five-year sample shows the increase in funding per student throughout the state. All of us should expect this type of stable, predictable funding in the future.
For more information or a copy of the table referenced above, visit www.senate.mo.gov/stouffer.
Ed. note: Below is a transcription of the table. This table was included in the letter e-mailed but, as of the time of uploading the missive, was not found on Sen. Stouffer's Web page.
| County | District Name | 2005 No. of Students | 2010 No. of Students | % Change | 2005 Per-Student Funding | 2010 Per-Student Funding | % Change | 2006 Avg. ACT | 2010 Avg. ACT | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll | Bosworth | 137 | 106 | -22.61% | $9,938.00 | $13,049.00 | 31.30% | 19.0 | 17.7 | -6.84% |
| Carroll | Carrollton | 1055 | 927 | -12.18% | $6,716.00 | $7,892.00 | 17.51% | 19.3 | 19.5 | 1.04% |
| Carroll | Hale | 149 | 153 | 2.82% | $9,226.00 | $9,742.00 | 5.59% | 21.3 | 18.5 | -13.15% |
| Carroll | Norborne | 229 | 190 | -17.17% | $6,865.00 | $10,254.00 | 49.37% | 19.2 | 18.7 | -2.60% |
| Carroll | Tina-Avalon | 196 | 172 | -12.04% | $7,464.00 | $9,280.00 | 24.33% | 21.4 | 20.1 | -6.21% |
| Chariton | Brunswick | 271 | 236 | -13.03% | $7,833.00 | $10,073.00 | 28.60% | 21.0 | 18.8 | -10.48% |
| Chariton | Keytesville | 184 | 144 | -22.01% | $7,275.00 | $10,848.00 | 49.11% | 20.2 | 20.7 | 2.48% |
| Chariton | Northwestern (Mendon) | 188 | 156 | -16.93% | $9,887.00 | $11,944.00 | 20.81% | 21.4 | 21.2 | -0.93% |
| Chariton | Salisbury | 506 | 442 | -12.55% | $7,131.11 | $9,108.00 | 27.72% | 21.7 | 22.0 | 1.38% |
| Clay | Excelsior Springs | 3270 | 2984 | -8.75% | $7,531.00 | $9,132.00 | 21.26% | 21.6 | 21.6 | 0.00% |
| Clay | Kearney | 3375 | 3503 | 3.79% | $6,284.00 | $7,342.00 | 16.84% | 21.6 | 21.6 | 0.00% |
| Cooper | Blackwater (K-8) | 183 | 157 | -13.84% | $6,871.00 | $8,649.00 | 25.88% | |||
| Cooper | Boonville | 1444 | 1475 | 2.13% | $6,975.00 | $8,637.00 | 23.83% | 21.6 | 21.7 | 0.46% |
| Cooper | Cooper Co. (Bunceton) | 206 | 141 | -31.76% | $8,216.00 | $11,910.00 | 44.96% | 20.6 | 19.9 | -3.40% |
| Cooper | Otterville | 269 | 231 | -14.09% | $7,622.00 | $9,992.00 | 31.09% | 19.3 | 18.8 | -2.59% |
| Cooper | Pilot Grove | 277 | 274 | -1.01% | $7576.42 | $8,941.00 | 18.01% | 21.2 | 22.2 | 4.72% |
| Cooper | Prairie Home | 158 | 152 | -3.95% | $8,513.00 | $9,163.00 | 7.64% | 15.8 | 19.3 | 22.15% |
| Howard | Fayette | 691 | 629 | -8.99% | $7,924.00 | $8,374.00 | 5.69% | 21.6 | 21.0 | -2.78% |
| Howard | Howard Co. (Glasgow) | 286 | 244 | -14.74% | $8,001.00 | $9,780.00 | 22.23% | 21.0 | 21.9 | 4.29% |
| Howard | New Franklin | 436 | 411 | -5.68% | $6,739.00 | $7,960.00 | 18.12% | 19.7 | 21.3 | 8.12% |
| Lafayette | Concordia | 496 | 459 | -7.56% | $6,574.00 | $7,741.00 | 17.75% | 21.2 | 19.9 | -6.13% |
| Lafayette | Lafayette Co. (Higginsville) | 1065 | 945 | -11.29% | $6,941.00 | $8,358.00 | 20.41% | 20.3 | 19.8 | -2.46% |
| Lafayette | Lexington | 1021 | 896 | -12.20% | $8,626.00 | $9,617.00 | 11.49% | |||
| Lafayette | Odessa | 2197 | 2051 | -6.67% | $6,555.00 | $8,736.00 | 33.27% | 20.5 | 21.2 | 3.41% |
| Lafayette | Santa Fe (Alma) | 442 | 390 | -11.78% | $7,633.00 | $9,024.00 | 18.22% | 20.2 | 23.4 | 15.84% |
| Lafayette | Wellington-Napoleon | 465 | 387 | -16.68% | $6,984.00 | $9,568.00 | 37.00% | 19.8 | 21.6 | 9.09% |
| Macon | Atlanta | 204 | 215 | 5.45% | $7,717.00 | $8,947.00 | 15.94% | 21.1 | 19.0 | -9.95% |
| Macon | Bevier | 244 | 237 | -3.20% | $6,545.00 | $7,515.00 | 14.82% | 18.8 | 20.1 | 6.91% |
| Macon | Callao (K-8) | 86 | 91 | 6.17% | $8,796.00 | $10,049.00 | 14.25% | |||
| Macon | La Plata | 359 | 302 | -15.82% | $6,792.00 | $9,891.00 | 45.63% | 21.5 | 18.0 | -16.28% |
| Macon | Macon | 1209 | 1318 | 9.01% | $6,857.00 | $7,785.00 | 13.53% | 21.3 | 21.3 | 0.00% |
| Macon | Macon Co. (New Cambria) | 162 | 126 | -22.72% | $8,624.00 | $12,540.00 | 45.41% | 19.0 | 22.4 | 17.89% |
| Ray | Hardin-Central | 209 | 195 | -6.52% | $8,291.00 | $9,685.00 | 16.81% | 22.4 | 18.1 | -19.20% |
| Ray | Lawson | 1372 | 1258 | -8.31% | $5,787.00 | $7,655.00 | 32.28% | 20.7 | 21.2 | 2.42% |
| Ray | Orrick | 440 | 406 | -7.79% | $6,851.00 | $9,098.00 | 32.80% | 21.2 | 20.3 | -4.25% |
| Ray | Richmond | 1655 | 1523 | -7.97% | $6,129.00 | $8,309.00 | 35.57% | 21.2 | 21.3 | 0.47% |
| Ray | Stet | 102 | 74 | -27.10% | $9,733.00 | $14,846.00 | 52.53% | 18.8 | 18.4 | -2.13% |
| Saline | Gilliam (K-8) | 66 | 59 | -9.98% | $7,773.00 | $10,838.00 | 39.43% | |||
| Saline | Hardeman (K-8) | 79 | 69 | -12.91% | $7,833.00 | $8,403.00 | 7.28% | |||
| Saline | Malta Bend | 122 | 92 | -24.20% | $10,901.00 | $13,171.00 | 20.82% | |||
| Saline | Marshall | 2384 | 2381 | -0.14% | $7,476.00 | $8,383.00 | 12.13% | 20.6 | 21.5 | 4.37% |
| Saline | Miami (K-8) | 110 | 58 | -47.18% | $9,378.00 | $14,528.00 | 54.92% | |||
| Saline | Orearville (K-8) | 67 | 58 | -13.35% | $8,102.00 | $11,176.00 | 37.94% | |||
| Saline | Slater | 339 | 317 | -6.30% | $8,591.00 | $10,045.00 | 16.92% | 18.9 | 18.9 | 0.00% |
| Saline | Sweet Springs | 420 | 448 | 6.70% | $6,256.00 | $7,584.00 | 21.23% | 19.5 | 19.2 | -1.54% |
| 28824 | 27081 | -6.05% | $346,332.42 | $435,562.00 | 25.76% | 20.4 | 20.3 | -0.10% | ||
| Missouri Avg. | 21.6 | 21.6 | 0.00% | |||||||
| 1. Performance Districts' Average Expenditures per ADA (State Adequacy Target for FY12/FY13): $6,131 | ||||||||||
| 2. Includes all funding sources: state, local and federal. | ||||||||||
| 3. Some information including ACT averages not made available to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | ||||||||||
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