Agenda - 03-30-1995 - II - Laserfiche WebLink

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Winter 1995 School Law Bulletin 1 aid. School capital outlay increased from$75 million in state aid they received and would have done better still 1984 to more than 5500 milhon i. 1991, and retrained if they had leveraged their state aid through borrowing. above $400 million in 1993. During the periods follow- Many low-income counties made good use of debt to ing each survey of needs, spending at least equaled re- leverage state aid, but others did not borrow at all or ported needs on a proportional basis, assuming reported reduced their indebtedness. needs in each survey were ten-year needs (the 1988 and Second, why have reported needs escalated so 1993 reported needs were specified as ten-year needs). sharply?Reported needs totaled$3.7 billion in 1988 and Many counties did very well in meeting reported $5.6 billion in 1993,but if we count the school construc- construction needs. For example, in half the counties tion spending from 1989 to 1993 as meeting needs re- spending between 1986 and 1993 at least equaled needs ported in 1988, in effect reported needs increased by $4 reported in 1984, and exceeded 150 percent of needs in billion, thereby doubling between 1988 and 1993. Tak- 27 counties. On the other hand, 17 counties spent less ing into account construction spending between 1989 than half of reported needs. Despite the sharp increase and 1993, reported needs actually doubled in 30 coun- in reported needs between 1984 and 1988, during the ties between 1988 and 1993 and at least tripled in 11 of five-year period 1989 to 1993 half the counties spent an those counties. The escalation in needs reported by the amount at least equal to half their ten-year needs re- various counties since 1981 cannot be explained,except ported in 1988, and in 11 counties spending exceeded in part, by inflation in construction costs, enrollment the estimate of needs. However, 22 counties met less changes, or increased numbers of teachers provided by than 25 percent of reported needs. the Basic Education Program. This analysis of reported needs, state aid, and Third, why do reported needs vary so much from construction spending raises a number of questions county to county and change so drastically during rela- and issues. tively short periods? Needs reported in 1993 varied First, why have some counties met their reported from $485 per student to more than $27,000 per stu- needs so well, while others have met only a fraction of dent. In one county reported needs per student fell by their reported needs? One reason some counties were more than $7,000 between 1988 and 1993, while in Cable to do so well is that they leveraged state aid by another county they increased from about $3,500 to borrowing money. Of the counties that did not meet more than $27,000 per student. Between 1988 and their reported needs, many did not spend as much as 1993 the total amount of reported needs fell greatly in they received in state aid. Some of them are apparently some units but increased several hundred percent in saving up the annual receipts from state aid until they others. have enough money stashed away to build their Finally, after all the funds that have been made schools. Other counties have taken advantage of state available by the state and all the money that has been aid to reduce their school indebtedness, rather than us- spent on school construction since 1981, why is it that ing the money to build schools. the superintendent of public instruction can still point Although poorer counties generally have not met to obsolete and inadequate school facilities as a way to their reported needs as well as wealthier counties, justify additional state aid? The 1981 survey of school many poor counties have done very well. For example, needs found that the total cost of replacing all obsolete from 1986 to 1993, 4 of the 10 lowest-income counties school facilities was $827 million, just over half the spent an amount at least equal to their 1984 reported amount of state aid that has been made available since needs, and 26 of the 50 lowest-income counties met at 1984 and just over one-quarter of the $3.2 billion spent least 80 percent of the schools' reported needs during on school construction from 1982 to 1993. that eight-year period. Other poor counties would have Why have those obsolete and inadequate buildings done much better if only they had spent the amount of still not been renovated or replaced? ■