Being a spend thrift has mixed results. On the one hand it keeps local taxpayers happy. On the other a district must sacrifice state aid and, as a result, educational programming.
CPS levies at the lowest rate a district is allowed without receiving a state funding penalty. It does not, however, meet the Local Effort Rate (LER) that the state has set as a district levy expectation. The state has set this target at $1.00 per $1,000 valuation. CPS is at 95 cents. The state assumes CPS does not need additional resources because they do not ask their taxpayers for the LER set in Lincoln. Thus CPS loses state programming dollars for which they would otherwise be eligible.
CPS is one of 61 districts in the state that levies 95 cents or less — 192 districts levy more. This includes 90 districts that levy more than $1.05 per $1,000. (Lynch is highest at $1.62.) Ironically, many of these higher levy districts also receive more state aid than districts that sacrifice programming to keep their levies low.
Columbus’s educational spending per student is low when compared to statewide and national averages. CPS is one of the 15 lowest spending-per-pupil districts in the state. In the 2005-2006 school year, CPS spent $7,487 per student. The state average that year was $8,736. The national average was $9,138. This was the most recent year for which state and federal comparative data could be found. It is likely this disparity would also be seen if 2007-2008 figures were available.
What makes this more remarkable is that Columbus also has a higher percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds than the state and federal averages. For example the state average for English Language Learners, or students who are not yet proficient in English, is 6 percent. Columbus’s percentage is 17 percent. Likewise, Columbus’s percentage of students from poverty and diversity backgrounds is above the state average. Despite these greater needs, Columbus programs for them at below state average per student cost.
On a side note, another funding issue for CPS is state support for school facilities. This could be the topic of a whole column. When paying for school buildings, CPS is not able to use taxes generated by the business and industry east of town. Taxes from that area go to the Lakeview School district. There also is no state aid in Nebraska for school facilities.
The net result of these two facts is that bonded indebtedness falls largely on the residents of Columbus with minimal assistance from the large industrial base of Columbus. This is true although many of the workers in these industries are CPS parents and residents.
For school districts like CPS it is a real “Catch 22.” On the one hand they want to keep the levy rates as low as possible for local taxpayers. On the other hand, they do not want to sacrifice educational opportunities for students by turning away state funding.
This is an issue with which school districts such as CPS are struggling with across the state. Do they want to continue to lose state dollars and educational programming by staying below what the state considers an appropriate LER? The state is giving financial incentives in the new state funding formula to answer no. These questions are ones that the Columbus Public Schools, like districts across the state, are going to have to debate as they respond to these funding changes.
Paul Hillyer is superintendent of the Columbus Public Schools.
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