Formula Funding - School Finance

Darla, I agree with your explanation of formula funding. Local property taxes formulated with state general funding, federal funding and adjustments for special instructional programs all have a starring role in the way state funds are allocated. Simply stated, the state attempts to equalize funding through revenue recapture and formula funding. A school district depends on it's local property taxes for funding. the size of the district, the amount of property owners and the value of property owned play a huge part in the amount of revenue a school district collect from ad valorem taxes. And of course , the results are as diverse as the staate of Texas itself. So a formula is used to adjust the amount of money received by the district which distributes more money to lower property tax schools and less money to schools that collect more property taxes. This idea of revenue recapture is commonly known as "Robin Hood" and by its very nature has been criticized and the state has seen much litigation due to this policy. The State of Texas presently has its own financial woes, and in order to repeal the recapture laws, the state would have to supplement the revenue lost by the districts on the receiving end of this program, making a repeal unlikely. The state also considers federal funding that schools receive for the formula fund expenditures. Again, federal funds are limited and it is unlikely that a bail out by the federal government will suddenly be granted. The state is realistically responsible for fomula funding.Funding for special instructional programs impacts formula funding as well. Special Education, Compensatory Education and a few other programs that deal with special populatons are taken into consideration when the formula funds are allocated. Funding for education in the state of Texas is in turmoil right now. The results of the latest legislative session are yet to be seen, but it is highly likely that we as educators will be forced to remain abreast of the changes, use our creativity and act conservatively with the funds we do have.