Urban Schools Need More Funding

A state comptroller’s report issued today says that urban school districts are being shortchanged on funding.

It’s the second report on school districts that have failed to improve on a series of indicators according to standards set under No Child Left Behind. The last report was issued in 2001.

The Basic Education Program, or BEP, is the funding formula for distributing state education dollars. Researcher Katie Cour says the BEP puts urban districts like Metro Nashville’s at a disadvantage.

“The urban districts have a high percentage of English language learners and at-risk students and the BEP understates the cost of educating those students. What happens is all of the urban districts have to provide significantly more funds, above and beyond what the BEP recommends and it’s just slanting against the urban districts.”

Cour says Metro has other challenges, including professional development for teachers. She says there are lots of opportunities but there’s no plan to guide teachers on what classes to take.

The report also found that while Metro’s graduation rate improved to 68-percent last year, getting kids to stay in school remains a challenge. Metro was one of five districts studied as part of the report.