Kentucky Fact Sheet
State Funding Context
From NCES (most current available statistics):
 Pre-K
to 12 Students, 2003-04: 663,885
Annual
Public School Expenditures, 2003-04: $4.4
billion
%
Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch, 2001-02:
49.1
%
in limited-English-proficiency programs,
2001-02: 0.9
| Study Title: |
“A
Professional Judgment Approach to
School Finance Adequacy in Kentucky”
|
| Date Completed: |
May 2003
|
| Definition of Adequacy: |
The study does not attempt to
cost out a specific level of achievement.
|
| Calculated Additional
Costs: |
$2.3 billion (to $6.2 billion total),
adjusted for regional cost differences.
|
| Major Recommendations: |
Includes $0.5 billion for the adoption
of the national average teacher salary,
improving the computer-student ratio
to 3:1, and adding preschool programs
for children aged 3-4 living below
150% of the poverty level.
|
| Implementation: |
None
|
| Methodology: |
Professional
Judgment Approach
Six school level panels (two for each
high, middle, and elementary school),
two district-level panels, and one
state level panel.
School panels detailed a set of comprehensive
resources needed for each model elementary,
middle and high school. District panels
then suggested modifications and suggested
a prototypic design. A synthesis of
these designs was then presented to
the state panel.
Prototypes were then prorated based
on the actual enrollment at each school.
Adjustments for geographic cost differences
were made using an index developed
by Chambers (1995).
|
| Additional Factors: |
Current expenditures for central office
administration, transportation, and
special education were left unchanged,
remaining constant in the model ($1.6
Billion); the study excludes costs
for facilities, debt services, and
ELL services.
|
| Public Input: |
None.
|
| Prepared for: |
The Kentucky Department of Education
|
| Prepared by: |
Lawrence O. Picus and Associates |
Fact Sheet prepared August, 2006
Chambers, Jay G.
(1995). “Public School Teacher Cost
Differences Across the United States: Introduction
to a Teacher Cost Index (TCI).” In
Developments in School Finance [Online].
Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=95758
|
