Running head: ADEQUACY IN SCHOOLS 1

Adequacy in Schools 5

Adequacy in SchoolsStephen RichardUniversity of New England

EDU 709 School FinanceDr. William SmithJuly 21, 2013

Adequacy in SchoolsSchool adequacy is a wide ranged topic, from what the state expects to what individuals presume is normal funding for a particular school event. Do our schools provide adequate teachers, supplies, education and standards? The concept of adequacy is interesting because the answer determines whether or not a school is prepared to properly educate a child (Odden & Picus, 2008). Roza mentions that 30 years ago, even after inflation, the cost per pupil has doubled with very little test score differences (Roza, 2010). Is double the money for each pupil adequate compared to 30 years ago? Spending double the money per pupil should equate to more than adequacy for our schools.The authors from both texts, Odden and Picus, and Rosa view the financial side of school adequacy in a few different ways. Roza believes that school systems in the past have been flying in the dark when it comes to finances and that involves adequacy; is the school getting what it needs to be successful. According to Roza, the No Child Left Behind Act was in effort to equalize the adequacy of the nations schools and raise test scores. There is a negative tone from Roza that the efforts by States to level the adequacy simply just dont work because not all schools have the access to the same funding. Rozas undesirable view of the school systems stems from mismanagement of fund allocation and finance all together. A private schools cost per student is about 30,000 dollars (40,000 at the last school I taught at) compared to the national average funding of about 9,000, gives an entirely new prospective of funding. I believe numbers like these are why Roza believes adequacy is difficult to acquire (Roza, 2010). Odden and Picus have a slightly different view of financial adequacy. The belief that schools are in the process of categorizing spending and tracking money is in a step towards the right direction of adequacy. Separating spending by elementary, middle and high school then by staffing expenditures is the break down. Staffing by program includes regular instruction, special education, administration staff development and instructional materials. Strategy staffing involves professional development, class size, tutoring, and class type. Expenditures of spending by content area is more obvious, though all calculations types may be difficult, in some states they are mandated by court law. Thankfully staffing data has been collected and we now have charts that are separated by area of the country and by education level, which show us what adequacy in the schools should look like. Odden and Picus believe there is a shift happening from equity to adequacy. Examination of money allocated to a school and the expenditure structure for funds is a must for determining adequacy (Odden & Picus, 2008).The student may possibly see adequacy or lack of adequacy in many ways at school. Specifically, where I teach in down East Maine, adequacy may exist but is difficult to perceive. I teach at four different schools within the same AOS system and I can easily see the inadequacies between the schools because I live them on a daily basis. Some schools give me duties and others dont, some schools give me a long prep period, some schools I get an incredibly short one. I was able to take two schools on a rock climbing field trip, two did not get to go. My pay checks come from four different towns all with differing amounts of pay but I work for the same school system. Three of the schools I work for will pay for this masters class I am taking, one will not. Some schools allowed me to purchase new equipment, others did not. Without question I can see the inadequacies between schools even in the same school district. It may seem like what I just explained is an issue of equity, though assuredly, they are all issues of adequacy. If the schools had adequate staff I would be able to have an adequate prep period. If the schools had adequate money, all of my schools would be able to pay for this EDU school finance class and would be able to pay me an adequate teachers salary. Students, or at least their parents, can see the inadequacy in their school which is why most of my students want to transfer from the school they are currently in to a larger school in the same district. One of the more specific reasons students and parents want to transfer to the larger school is because of inadequate teacher to pupil ratio. Mathematically the ratio of student to teacher is close to the national average according to the charts in Odden and Picus (Odden & Picus, 2008). The issue is that too many grades are combined into one class. For example, I teach 4th 8th grade physical education in one giant class, which is difficult simply because of the maturation level differences. Parents want their students to be in a class of their own and the students do as well. From the eyes of students and parents, adequacy equates to a school being able to properly educate and give their son or daughter suitable extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately I dont disagree with the student and or parents decision to transfer. In addition to the examples I gave above, a clear example of financial adequacy is how one of the schools I teach at did not allow any budget for needed equipment. This school system is one that has had poor, inconsistent leadership for a number of years and always struggles financially. It is my belief that this school closely relates to the way Roza negatively portrays school finance. To give exact data would be impossible because I dont believe it exists. Again, mathematically, the school is not far from the national average in percentages of adequacy but a teaching principal who is a full time teacher is not adequate (Odden & Picus, 2008). The more I learn about school finance the more I realize how difficult and complex it can be.

ReferencesOdden, A., & Picus, L. (2008). School finance a policy perspective. (4th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, INC. Roza, M. (2010). Educational economics: Where do school funds go?. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.