‘Results-based’ plan aids richest schools

High-income areas benefit most from Ducey proposal

A $38 million program Gov. Doug Ducey is pitching as a way to boost highperforming schools, particularly in lowincome areas, would most benefit the state’s richest district and charter schools, according to an analysis by The Arizona Republic.

The “results-based funding” program proposes to give $400 per student to the state’s poorest high-performing schools and $250 per student to highperforming schools in higher-income areas.

Overall, it would give $13.5 million to the state’s low-income-area district and charter schools and $25 million to middleand higher-income schools, with $15 million of that going to the state’s richest schools. Also, a disproportionate amount of money would go to charter schools, which can more easily weed out lower-performing students.

“Look at the districts and charters that have zero to 10 percent of their students qualifying for free or reducedprice lunch; that’s where most of the bucks are going,” said Chuck Essigs, director of governmental relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials.

“This is a good example of when people propose changes in the schoolfunding formula, it’s very important to simulate what impact that change is going to have,” he added.

Ducey gave the plan cursory mention in his State of the State address, listing it as Nos. 14 and 15 in his litany of school-funding proposals. But he gave it top billing in his budget.

He proposed spending $38 million on it next year, more than any of his other education ideas. By comparison, he proposed $13.8 million for teacher raises and $10 million for full-day kindergarten.

“It’s a fundamental change in how we look at school funding,” Ducey

spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said of the plan. “If a school is performing exceptionally well, we’re going to provide them additional dollars. If they are a school that happens to be low-income, we’ll provide them even more per pupil. We think it will make a real difference.”

Ducey is still negotiating budget details with the Legislature behind closed doors, and it’s unclear whether this plan has the votes to pass.

How rich schools benefit