Financing K-12 Education in the
Bloomberg Years, 2002-2008
Leanna Stiefel and Amy Ellen SchwartzIESP, Wagner and Steinhardt Schools, NYU
New York City Education Reform Retrospective: A Review and Synthesis
of the Children First Initiative, 2002-2000
November 2010
Thanks to Elizabeth Debraggio and Lila Nazar de Jaucourt for excellent research assistance
1
Key Questions
How did public resources change during
Bloomberg‟s first two mayoral terms?
◦ Changes in levels or mixes of revenues?
How were resources distributed across
schools in NYC?
◦ Changes over the 2002-2008 period?
What role did private money play?
2
Outline
Examine publicly provided resources in NYC ◦ Compared to the rest of New York State
◦ Compared to other large cities
Examine correlates (drivers) of higher costs
Analyze distribution of resources within NYC
(across schools)
Highlight other sources of school funding
Conclude
3
NYC saw steady increase in total revenues pp
and passed NYS average by 2006NYC (2008): $19,075 NYS (2008): $18,374
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
do
llar
s
year
Figure 7: Total Revenue Per Pupil*: New York State (w/o NYC) and New York City
New York State (w/o NYC)
New York City
*CPI Adjusted with base year of 2008.*Total Revenue is the sum of State, Local and Federal Revenues*Duplicated Combined Adjusted Average Daily Membership
4
2002-2008
NYC‟s revenue pp increased by $5,785
Rest of New York State by $3,205
Disproportionately financed by increases in state
and federal funding, not local
PP Revenue to “DOE schools” (not charters or FT
spec. ed. contact) about $5,000
5
NYS NYC
total revenue increase $3,205 $5,785
percent increase from:
federal sources 2.1% 7.2%
state sources 31.7% 34.5%
local sources 66.3% 58.2%
NYC: Expenditures pp for classroom grew slowestTotal („08)= $17,696 Direct = $15,498 Classroom = $8,734
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Eight of the 100 largest school districts
spent over $15,000 PP in 2007
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Twenty-five Districts with the Highest Per Pupil Expenditures (PPE) among the Largest 100 Public School Districts, 2006-07
state enrollment PPE
Boston MA 56,388 $21,801
New York City Public Schools NY 999,150 $20,162
District of Columbia Public Schools DC 56,943 $20,029
Loudoun County Public School VA 50,383 $18,921
Columbus City OH 56,003 $16,078
Montgomery County Public Schools MD 137,814 $15,800
Cleveland Municipal City OH 55,593 $15,141
Philadelphia City School District PA 178,241 $15,077
Howard County Public School MD 49,048 $14,777
Baltimore City Public Schools MD 84,515 $14,591
Fairfax County Public Schools VA 163,952 $14,294
Atlanta Public School GA 50,631 $14,186
Los Angeles Unified CA 707,627 $13,407
Baltimore County Public Schools MD 105,839 $13,387
Prince George's County Public Schools MD 131,014 $13,174
Detroit City School District MI 117,609 $13,066
Dade County School District FL 353,790 $12,998
Anne Arundel County Public Schools MD 73,066 $12,871
Plano Independent School District TX 52,997 $12,764
Milwaukee School District WI 89,912 $12,708
Palm Beach County School District FL 171,431 $12,695
Lee FL 78,981 $12,449
San Diego Unified CA 130,983 $12,239
Fulton County GA 83,861 $11,997
Austin Independent School District TX 82,140 $11,929
Notes: Total expenditures exclude capital outlays, interest on debt, and payments to private and public charter schools.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of the 100 Largest
Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2007-08.
Did NYC‟s increased spending reflect
higher cost of inputs?
Did the share of special ed students
increase?
Were there increases in poor or LEP
students?
How much did teacher salaries increase?
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NYC schools, 2002-2008 Share PT and FT special education students up
◦ PT sped: 5.4% to 9.6%
◦ FT sped: 5.2% to 6.2%
Still, $ General Ed PP outpaced $ Special Ed PP
(35% vs. 31% increase)
But level of $ Special Ed PP is much higher than level
$ General Ed PP
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Expenditures per pupil, 2008
Total Direct Classroom
Citywide Spec Ed $65,681 $63,205 $31,971
Integrated Spec Ed* $32,710 $31,477 $15,922
General Ed $14,525 $12,348 $7,218*estimated
Significant changes in teacher salaries
2002-2008
Teacher salaries, on average, increased
nearly 25% in NYC schools (69% increase
in fringe)
Reflects both raises and changing mix of
teachers
Little change in share of poor or LEP
students
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Across Schools in NYCUnder FSF, NYCDOE proposed budget weights based on student
characteristics
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Table 2: Fair Student Funding Weights for the 2008-09 Academic Year
K-5 grade 6-8 grade 9-12
Grade Weights 1.00 1.08 1.03
Need Weights
Academic Intervention
Poverty 0.24
Achievement* - well below standards 0.40 0.50 0.40
Achievement* - below standards 0.25 0.35 0.25
ELL 0.40 0.50 0.50
Special Education
Less than 20% 0.56 0.56 0.56
20-60% 0.68 0.68 0.68
Greater than 60% (self-contained) 1.23 1.23 0.73
Greater than 60% (integrated) 2.28 2.28 2.52
Portfolio Weights
Specialized Audition Schools n/a n/a 0.35
Specialized Academic Schools n/a n/a 0.25
CTE Schools n/a n/a 0.05 - 0.26
Transfer Schools n/a n/a 0.40
Note: achievement weights are only given to 4th and 5th graders in elementary schools.
Weights are identical to those for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.
Source: "See Your School's Budget" on the NYCDOE website
Changes in direct expenditures across schools:
Were FSF “factors” emphasized?
Yes, some…
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Increased weights for low performance across all school
levels
Also on special education in elementary and middle
schools
Direct expenditures per pupil,changes in weights: 2001 and 2008
Elementary Middle High
% free lunch 3.876 -10.034 7.129
% resource room 72.235** 27.212 -64.653
% FT special educ. 107.352*** 118.956*** -55
% LEP 4.865 8.53 13.46
% low achieving 29.116* 74.027*** 27.706**
observations 1,312 600 510
Weights on FSF factors more significant
for classroom spending
(particularly in elementary schools)
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Classroom expenditures per pupil,changes in weights: 2001 and 2008
Elementary Middle High
% free lunch 4.982* 0.617 6.849*
% resource room 29.933 29.589 -34.251
% FT special educ. 52.683*** 72.016*** 8.014
% LEP 8.997* 5.563 12.652*
% low achieving 22.416*** 51.463*** 15.958***
Observations 1312 600 510
Higher poverty schools had larger changes
in spending PP
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Changes in direct expenditures per pupil (2001-2008), by poverty quintile
Elementary Middle High
1st poverty quintile 3,962.38*** 3,436.70*** 1,880.70***
2nd poverty quintile 4,451.18*** 4,082.12*** 2,904.00***
3rd poverty quintile 4,706.83*** 6,671.72*** 5,533.61***
4th poverty quintile 5,237.03*** 6,653.45*** 3,837.09***
5th poverty quintile 5,272.94*** 5,723.34*** 3,626.30***
observations 612 194 153
Lower “class sizes” but similar
average salary in high poverty schools
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Changes in teacher salaries and class size (2001-2008), by poverty quintile
Tchr Salary Pup-Tch Tchr Salary Pup-Tch Tchr Salary Pup-Tch
1st poverty quintile 22,190.94*** -0.267 19,012.20*** -0.114 23,199.50*** 0.709**
2nd poverty quintile 24,528.35*** -0.491*** 20,035.99*** -0.187 23,404.59*** -0.497*
3rd poverty quintile 23,473.79*** -0.577*** 21,178.33*** -0.924*** 25,690.27*** -1.221***
4th poverty quintile 22,825.21*** -0.816*** 20,225.95*** -0.998*** 22,298.35*** -1.315***
5th poverty quintile 22,076.55*** -0.718*** 19,109.62*** -0.961** 24,290.51*** -0.84
observations 612 612 193 193 153 153
Elementary Middle High
Bottom line on Distributions Across Schools
Children First and FSF changed resource
distributions for elementary and middle schools
◦ Weights on special education and achievement increased
◦ Cross-sectional models in 2008 better explained the
variation in expenditures
Higher poverty schools had larger increases in
PPE, larger decreases in class size, but smaller
increases in teacher salaries
The distribution of resources across high schools
still largely unexplained
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What about private money?
Private/philanthropic support supplements public funding
◦ Fund for Public Schools (FPS) works with NYCDOE
◦ Foundations also help education oriented nonprofits
◦ Alumni and parent organizations, private philanthropists
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The Fund for Public Schools (FPS) Responsible for facilitating private-public
partnerships and soliciting philanthropic
funding
Restructured under Bloomberg and Klein ◦ Predicated on need for “greater leadership and
accountability…to create meaningful partnerships with
the private sector” (FPS, 2005)
◦ Works with NYCDOE priorities
Two broad initiatives:◦ Securing private funding for education reform
◦ Raising awareness about the needs of public schools
Raised $255 million from 2002 and 200918
Private funds also sometimes flow
through intermediary organizations
Table 11: Program Expenses of Select New York City Service Providers or Intermediary Organizations, 2006-2008
Organization 2005 2006 2007 Total
Achievement First $4,273,833 $7,051,904 $9,098,704 $20,424,441
Good Shepherd $36,197,537 $44,672,271 $53,291,887 $134,161,695
Harlem Children's Zone** $26,410,020 $30,506,330 $41,063,619 $97,979,969
New Visions for Public Schools** $14,363,009 $13,710,069 $18,254,984 $46,328,062
Outward Bound $3,720,135 $4,286,244 $4,286,244 $12,292,623
The After School Corporation** $28,587,083 $30,561,487 $30,847,880 $89,996,450
Urban Assembly $2,411,566 $3,257,934 $4,522,773 $10,192,273
Total $115,963,183 $134,046,239 $161,366,091 $411,375,513
** Program expenses may include administrative expenses
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Private dollars comprise a relatively small share
of the direct spending on education in NYC.
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Key findings
Since Bloomberg assumed office, inflation adjusted per pupil revenues increased by roughly $5,000
The composition of NYC students changed◦ Larger share of special education students
◦ Shift from segregated to integrated classes
School characteristics identified in FSF formula explained more of the variation in intradistrict expenditures
While private philanthropy may have provided strategic funding, the shares were quite small
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Lessons for the future Real growth in revenue during Bloomberg‟s first six
years is highly unlikely to continue◦ Public awareness of NYS‟ structural deficit will likely
result in budget slowdowns
Federal government funds comprise a small share of total revenues – prospects for federal “bailout” dim
NYC government faces demand from other areas (health, infrastructure, etc.)
SPED management could yield savings…
What will teachers receive?
Philanthropy cannot substitute for public dollars22
Lessons for other districts NYC experience suggests private money
directly coordinated with district‟s mission
may provide flexibility
◦ Is this dependent on corresponding increases in
public dollars to implement?
Importance of garnering support from
teachers and unions
Growth in special education requires
thoughtful decision about most effective
means of service provision
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