School Cleansing - First They Came

   A Mary Fallin press release a few weeks ago read: Governor Mary Fallin Selects Her Four Appointees to Task Force on Improving State Aid Formula. The Oklahoma school State Aid Formula is the method used which determines how much funding each public school will receive from the State Department of Education (each year). The formula is based on dozens of factors which are unique to each public school, so that when entered into the equation - a public school receives a unique appropriation from the State. It usually takes an educated individual several years to learn the State Aid Formula, as even professors of Oklahoma public school finance sometimes don't fully understand it.
    A closer look at one of Mary Fallin's appointees (state aid experts) reveals just how much school finance knowledge they have and potential conflicts of interest. A good example of "the fox in the hen house" would be Stanley F. Hupfeld, a businessman who started Hupfeld Academy (named after himself) - a corporate charter school in Oklahoma City. Stan Hupfeld Academy is a member of the charter group now suing the State Board of Education over state aid funding inequities.. between corporate charters and local public schools. Corporate charter schools want more state aid than traditional public schools receive, and Stan Hupfeld is just the man to see that it's done. Stan's Academy and all Oklahoma corporate charters already receive more state aid than traditional public schools, but want more! As an example, Stanley's Academy will receive $1,600,516 in state aid for the 2017-2018 school year, with a weighted average student membership (number of students) of 526.07. Crutcho, a similar traditional public school in OKC, will receive only $1,395,051 in state aid with a higher student count (ADM 617.35). The difference is in the complicated mathematical formula used to calculate state aid. Stan's Academy only receives state funds, while Crutcho receives local and county funds as well. The local and county funds which Crutcho receives are chargeable, which means that these funds are deducted from Crutcho's state funding. The local ad valorem chargeable - $207,197, 75% of the county 4-mil - $82,720, and school land earnings - $55,189 are all deducted from Crutcho's state aid, so the total amount which Stanley and Crutcho receives from all sources is somewhat equalized. So, in the opinion of many state aid experts, Stanley wants more money! and here is how he'll get it:
   Many school funding experts believe Hupfeld was appointed to the Task Force for changing the school funding formula in order to acquire more money for his corporate charter school, by draining traditional public school resources. As a businessman, it's what he does - acquires profits for shareholders, and in his case it's corporate charter school profitability. Most traditional public school advocates believe that Stan will attempt to change the formula by making 100% of the county 4-mil chargeable (75% is currently chargeable) and 100% of the ad valorem chargeable (approximately + or - 60% is currently chargeable). If Stan can "get 'er done", then a traditional public school like Crutcho would have $345,328 in valuation chargeable deducted from its state aid, instead of the current $207,197 - and $110,293 in county 4 mil deducted instead of the current $82,720. Stan's Corporate Academy would stand to gain $165,704 in profits, at the expense of traditional public schools. Many Oklahoma taxpayers believe that Stanley F. Hupfeld definitely has a "conflict of interest" in being on the Task Force which will make recommendations to change the state aid formula.
   Another Fallin appointee, Jennifer Monies (befitting last name) is a board member of the corporate Seminole Charter School, and has served as the spokeswoman for the State Chamber of Oklahoma. On the state aid knowlege scale, Ms. Monies scores a "0" (the lowest score ever recorded), but bounces back with a 10 in corporate charter finance. I think we're starting to see a trend...
   A third appointee, Dave Lopez, serves as Governor Fallin's Oklahoma secretary of state. He previously served as president of Oklahoma City-based American Fidelity Foundation (corporate charter school supporter), and was an interim superintendent for OKC Public Schools. Mr. Lopez scores a 2 in state aid knowledge, but claims to be a fast learner of public school finance. He only scored as high as he did because he once worked for a public school. Dave Lopez also bounces back with a 9 in corporate charter funding, because of the statement - There is a sense of common purpose between the "OKC" district and the "corporate" charters,but I don't think we have fully exploited the best practices that we might be able to learn from (corporate) charters.
   The last appointee of Fallin's Quartet is Stacey Butterfield, superintendent of Jenks Public Schools. Ms. Butterfield is a public school advocate, and appears to be "the fly in the ointment" for the corporate acquisition of public tax dollars. A closer inspection of Stacey Butterfield's qualifications indicates she may have ten times the state aid formula knowledge of the first three appointees, but the corporate motivation behind her appointment is much more complicated. Stacey Butterfield is the superintendent of one of Oklahoma's largest metropolitan schools, Jenks, with 11,700 students. Also, Stanislawski, the co-chair of the Force, was once a school board member at Jenks. There are no rural Oklahoma public schools with 11,700 students. There is virtually no chance that Jenks Public Schools would ever suffer consolidation with another school district, and corporate school consolidation Legislators and their corporate bosses know this fun fact. Also, in the State Aid Formula, there exists three small school considerations that provide extra funding for small schools. "The small school district weight applies only to districts whose highest ADM of the preceding two years is less than 529 students. The district sparsity-isolation weight applies only to districts whose total number of square miles exceeds the average number of square miles of all districts and whose "areal density" is less than one fourth of the state's average "areal density". Areal density is determined by dividing ADM by the district's total area in square miles. There is then a rather complicated process in determining how the factor is determined.
   If a district qualifies for one of these weights, the formula is calculated by multiplying the district student cost factor by the district's areal factor and then multiplies this figure by ADM. The resulting number is counted as additional students" (Help For The Depressed, The Despondent, The Despised, And Those Suffering From SFLD ("School Finance Learning Disabilities), Larry Lewis, 2005). I'm quite sure the first three Commission appointees have now unraveled the complicated formula.. maybe not...
    Corporate Lawmakers and their corporate bosses have determined that if they really want to consolidate small schools through "improving the state aid formula"... they must remove the "small school factors" which in turn will help them choke our small rural schools out of existence. The "domino effect" update will then allow more state funding to flow to corporate charters and large schools. So the corporate reformers of the state aid formula believe that Stacey Butterfield may be an ally.
   One may assume that appointed members of a commission to improve the state aid formula would have intricate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of Oklahoma's formula for allocating public state funds. While Governor Fallin's appointees may be intelligent and willing to learn, the job calls for changing the formula, assuming that the formula is flawed. The formula is not flawed for our local public schools, but may be in the minds of the three Robin Hoods. The state aid formula may be flawed to voucher and corporate charter advocates such as Monies, Hupfeld, and Lopez, since they want more tax dollars flowing to their pet schools.
   Many school finance experts believe that Governor Fallin's first three appointees to the State Aid Commission have little to no knowledge or understanding of the state aid formula, but have been charged to improve it. Three members of the state aid formula improvement commission may believe they are the "Robin Hoods" of the state aid formula, but instead of "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", they will be robbing from taxpayers and giving to corporate charters. We'll take a hard look at the twelve, as yet to be named, members of the Commission as they roll in.
UPDATE: House Bill 1578, which created the School Finance Review Commission, or School Funding Formula Improvement Task Force - better known by public school supporters as the Private and Corporate Charter Funding Acquisition Task Force (PCCFATF), decrees "... The task force shall conduct an organizational meeting not later than August 31, 2017." Since it is now well past September 1, 2017, the remaining 12 members of the "FAT Force" have been appointed and had their first meeting, according to the Law. We are having difficulty in obtaining the identities of the remaining members, because presumably, they wish to remain FAT anonymous. We will continue to try to determine the identities of all FAT members in order to shine a spotlight on the qualifications and motivations for each...
   As of October 27, identifying the remaining 12 members of the FAT Force remains elusive... although they have reportedly already met and confirmed the goal of acquiring local funds for corporate and virtual charter schools. The State Superintendent of Schools, Joy Hofmeister, has stated that Oklahoma has the most equitable school funding formula in the nation and doesn't need changing or "improvement". So, if the state aid formula doesn't need fixing, why is there an assigned Task Force for changing it? The answer may lie in the fact that a corporate charter school group, the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC), is suing the State Board of Education for local funding. As we've noted, three of the four FAT members already mentioned are corporate charter school supporters and are probably supporting the lawsuit. It is believed that the FAT members of the task force will be allowed to change the formula enough to allow settlement with the state board. The funding acquisition task for the members of the still unknown committee could be complete, so that corporate charter schools will acquire local taxpayer dollars.
   A clue as to what may result from the FAT meetings is in the statement concerning "state aid" from the State Department of Education - The state aid office is responsible for the state education funding formula...The office also works in the implementation of "New" funding legislation... to calculate equitable funding for distribution to all public schools and charters. Many public school supporters interpret this SDE statement as meaning that new formula legislation will require local public schools to help fund corporate charter schools - with local, not state, taxpayer dollars. Who really knows at this point. If this scenario really plays out, not only will those public schools with charters (OKC, Tulsa, Seminole, et al...), but all rural public schools could be further choked. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so I'll continue this post after the remaining FAT members are exposed.. I mean determined.
UPDATE: Three more members of the Corporate Charter Funding Acquisition Task Force (FAT Force) have been revealed as of Monday, October 30: Senator Gary Stanislawski (the FAT co-chair), Mike Anderson (Supt. of Ada Schools), and Monte Guthrie (Supt. of Stigler Schools). "Stan the Man" Stanislawski has authored HB 1578, so it's only natural that he is the co-chair of the group. He has authored several other bills in the past, though, which many believe belies his true motivation for ram-rodding the FAT Force. Senate Bill 514 was Stan's School Consolidation Bill, introduced during the last regular session. It forced the State Department of Education to study school administrative costs and force schools with (500 students or less) to consolidate. The only problem for Stan is convincing specific lawmakers to "not look at" previous consolidation studies which have all indicated that nothing is gained from administrative or school consolidation (see 2010 Capacity for Efficiency consolidation model). SB 514, much like HB 1578's formula FAT Force, is a consolidation FAT Force. SB 514 was signed into Law on May 10, 2017 by the Governor, but its task force members are largely unknown... just like the original HB 1578 members are. Can everyone see the connections between Stan's (not Stan Hupfeld, but "Stan the Man" Stanislawski) school consolidation bill and school formula bill? Its pretty obvious... The "end game" for both bills is small school consolidation! and Stan the Man Stanislawski is the Force behind the Force...
Note: Stan the Man Stanislawski will stop at nothing to consolidate small school districts. A report surfaced a couple months ago that Stanislawski, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, fired Senator Ron Sharp from his Vice-Chair position - in retaliation for Sharp opposing his school consolidation efforts... The report proved to be false, but we may need to change his moniker to "Stan the Avenger"... anyway.

Update... Only those with "Dogs in the Hunt" may apply...
   As we've examined those appointees to Stanislawski's FAT Force, some characteristics stand out in their charge to simplify the public school funding formula. The definition of simplifying for a corporatist lawmaker like Stanislawski is to provide more money for private and corporate charter schools (and a few larger public schools), and less $ for small, rural public schools. In all probabilities, no public school appointee in the FAT Force will lose funding as a result of simplifying the formula. For example, one consideration of the FAT Force is removing the Small School Weights from the Formula. According to Help for the Depressed, the Despondent, the Despised, and Those Suffering from SFLD ("School Finance Learning Disabilities"), a self-help guidebook by Larry Lewis, "The small school weight is given to districts which qualify (less than 529 students) because the state recognizes the unique financial needs of small districts" (p. 101). Stanislawski evidently believes that simplifying the Formula means removing this factor since it is very complicated for him. The Small School Weight is calculated by subtracting the ADM from 529 and then dividing by 529, which is then multiplied by several set factors to determine the Small School District Weight. One can see why Stan the Man is confused and wants to completely remove the Small School Weight from the Formula. Since there appears to be no "small school advocates" (that we know of) aboard FAT FORCE ONE, the Formula may be simplified by dropping the Small School Weight, or cutting the FAT in the words of corporate lawmakers...
   More FAT to be cut from the Formula (according to corporate lawmakers) may be the sparcity/isolation weight (SIW). Some Corporate lawmakers refer to removing the sparcity/isolation weight from the Formula as the final solution of the small school problem - not to be confused with Hitler's final solution.
   Help for the Depressed... describes the SIW : A district qualifies for a sparcity/isolation weight if the districts geographical size in square miles exceeds the state average in square miles. That amount is the "areal density". If the areal density is less than a number set by statute (2.21 at this time), the district's sparcity isolation weight is calculated. Also, the weight recognizes special funding needs of districts with large geographical areas. For example, bus transportation costs per student should be greater in a large district than a small district.
   It's no wonder Stan wants to remove this weight from the formula. If one doesn't understand it, then remove it - to simplify... after all, removing it from the Formula is the final solution.
Update - Friday, Nov. 3:
   Another corporate suggestion for simplifying the Formula is to use the schools' Average Daily Membership (ADM) in calculating state aid, instead of the presently used Weighted ADM. Since educating students with differing socio-economic and educational backgrounds cost schools more or less, depending on the students circumstances, differing weights are applied to determine the schools state aid funding amount. For example, since it costs more to educate students with special needs, a student is assigned a weight dependent on the category of need. A physically handicapped child is assigned a 1.2 weight for state aid purposes, for instance. A school with an ADM of 1,000 may have an overall weighted ADM of 1,500. Changing the student count from WADM to ADM for simplifying state aid calculations would seriously harm schools with high numbers of special students and students who come from a high poverty situation (many Oklahoma schools, both large and small). Simplifying the Formula by removing all weights may be better for mathematically challenged lawmakers such as Stanislawski, but not for our public school students.
Update - Monday, Nov. 6:
   Removal of just one weighted factor, the poverty rate weight, from the formula could do more damage to our public schools than removal of any other weight. The number of students a school has enrolled who fall below what is typically called poverty, as judged by family income - and measured by the number of students who receive free or reduced price lunches, receive an economically disadvantaged weight of .25. For instance, if a school has 1000 students, and 500 fall below the poverty line, then 500 X .25 = 125 extra weights. The school is provided funding for 1125 students, instead of 1000. A school with no students who receive free or reduced price lunches would receive funding for 1000 students. While many rural and inner city schools have high numbers of economically disadvantaged students, very few schools in suburban or affluent neighborhoods have students who come from poor backgrounds. The rural schools in Oklahoma have done a tremendous job in educating students who are economically disadvantaged... because of the weight. For example, Monty Guthrie, Stigler Superintendent, conducted a study which compared (NAEP) test scores from Oklahoma public schools (which has 61.1% of its students considered economically disadvantaged) with the fifteen other states with over 50% economically disadvantaged. Of the sixteen poor states, Oklahoma's 61.1% poverty rate was the fourth highest, but astoundingly had the fourth highest percentage of students who scored at or above the basic level on NAEP tests. A subsequent analysis of the data indicates that Oklahoma schools are providing a large return on the economically disadvantaged investment.. of .25. The bottom line for students is this: if the economically disadvantaged weight is removed from the formula, our students will suffer the consequences. If anyone would like a copy of Monty Guthrie's study, I don't think he would mind if I shared it, so please ask..
Update - Thursday, Nov. 16:
   Most public school supporters know that many public schools receive federal monies as well as state and local funds, but it wasn't always the case. Federal funding for our public schools was initiated when the U.S. Department of Education was born in 1979. The USDE has a budget of about $68 billion, most of which is provided to public schools across the nation. Many people believe the USDE was initiated and the subsequent federal monies are utilized to control our public schools, dictating what will be taught and what kids should know. Many more people now believe the USDE is attempting to funnel state tax dollars to out-of-state corporate charters, with the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Sec. of Ed. - which leads us to the next FAT consideration:
   Most public school supporters know that approximately 34 schools in Oklahoma receive no state aid through the Formula, only local ad valorem dollars. Mostly small schools (those which Stan wants to consolidate) compose this group, so it presents a problem for those who would seek to control them at the state level. In other words, if a school receives no funding from the "state"... the state cannot control the school. It can't cut-off funding to force the school to comply with higher directives from the state. It becomes very difficult for the State Board of Education to overrule the locally elected board, if the school receives no state support. We all know what happened in Seminole schools, when the local school board ruled that the corporate charter group would not receive standing in the Seminole District... The State Board said "not so fast, Seminole Schools - we will "trump" you, and force you to accommodate the corporate charter school." Seminole Public Schools receive $millions in state aid, so the SBE (state arm of Betsy DeVos) could legally "Trump" the locally elected school board. It doesn't have as much authority over those schools which receive no state aid through the Formula. But Stan the Man has a plan:
   I don't know what was actually discussed... or will be discussed by the FAT Force concerning "simplifying" the formula for all schools, by re-distributing local ad-valorem dollars "equally" among all schools - Stan could call it "Public School Cleansing" after another infamous "cleansing." It would involve re-distributing local ad valorem dollars by "taking from the poor, and giving to the poorer". In the minds of corporate lawmakers they could kill two birds with one stone by breaking small schools and getting those that survive under control of the state. If a small school survivor receives money from state aid because their local funding has been taken - it is now officially under control of the state. If I were a patron, employee, parent, or just a small school supporter - I would be fighting this cleansing of small schools. While I am employed at a school which receives a large percentage of funding from the state, I know this cleansing (simplifying) will not help my school at all. I'm dead set against it, because what hurts some of us - hurts us all. We cannot justify not standing up for our brothers, just because "simplification of the Formula" doesn't appear to hurt "my school"...
(First They Came).