The Unlevel Playing Field: School Funding

                      Another example of Funding Formula Inequities
   Blanchard Public Schools received $11,166,570 in new revenue during the 2016 school year, while right up the road - Newcastle Schools received $12,515,437, a $1,348,867 difference in General Fund acquisition. Blanchard received only 89% of the total operational funds that Newcastle received. The two schools are demographically very similar and have approximately the same number of students, but Newcastle has much more flexibility in addressing the financial needs of students and teachers. Over in the Building Fund, Blanchard received $275,660 (5 mils of its net assessed valuation) in 2016, while Newcastle acquired $512,361 for its 5 mils worth. These discrepancies of funding is because the Newcastle School District enjoys a much higher net assessed valuation than does Blanchard (approximately $50 million for Blanchard compared to $90 million for Newcastle). As a matter of fact, Newcastle received $3,434,784 from local property taxes in 2016 while Blanchard received $1,897,090 for its General Fund. We sometimes feel like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. This property tax (ad valorem) discrepancy also affects bond issues for capital improvements. While Blanchard can fund new buildings at a rate of $5 million per year (10% of its $50 million assessed value), Newcastle can afford much more at a rate of $9 million per year (10% of the $90 million net). These discrepancies in General, Building, and Bond Funds, certainly are a disadvantage for our students... but not so much for our teachers, and here is why: During the 2016 school year, Blanchard Schools spent more money for teacher salaries than Newcastle did. You, the Blanchard Board of Education, expended $7,587,095 for teacher pay (no administrators or support) in 2016, while Newcastle expended only $7,430,498. Teacher pay in Blanchard amounted to 42.2% of all expenditures while teacher pay in Newcastle amounted to 33.3% of all expenditures.
   The School Transparency website of the Oklahoma State Department of Education also provides other financial facts concerning Blanchard Public Schools. For instance, Function Code 1000 - Teacher Salaries for the 2015 school year amounted to $7,214,799. For the 2016 school year, teacher salaries had climbed to $7,587,094, a $372,296 increase in teacher pay (5%). At the same time, Function Code 2300 - General Administration costs decreased from $404,231 in 2015 to $368,946 for 2016, a $35,285 decrease in administration costs (-8.7%). I believe this data represents more evidence that the Blanchard Board of Education values our teachers, by providing more funding for teacher salaries, while at the same time reducing administrative costs.