BEP LITIGATION UPDATE OR “HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION”
D. Scott Bennett & Mary C. DeCamp www.leitnerfirm.com
A SHORT REVIEW OF IRONY IN POLITICS • “I believe we have peace for our time.” • Neville Chamberlain, September 30, 1938
• “I am not a crook!” • Richard M. Nixon, November 17, 1973
• Mission accomplished • George W. H. Bush, May 1, 2003
• We’ve fully funded the BEP! • Almost every Tennessee administration since the adoption of the BEP
THE SMALL SCHOOLS TRILOGY • In 1993, in Small Schools I, the Supreme Court held • That the State Constitution provides Tennesseans with a fundamental right to an education; and • That Tennessee’s then-existing system of funding education led to substantially unequal educational opportunities across the State
• In 1995, in Small Schools II, the Court held that the State had to include the cost of employing teachers in its funding formula (the BEP) • In 2002, in Small Schools III, the Court held that the cost of employing teachers had to be identified and equalized across the State • The funding gap was $3,800 per teacher per year
THE BEP? • The mechanism developed by the State to address inequities in funding of education • There are dozens of cost components recognized as essential to the operation of a local board of education • The BEP Review Committee determines these costs and makes recommendations to the TDOE and the General Assembly regarding funding
• The State then allocates funds, which are then distributed to the local boards based upon • A cost split; and • The LEA’s fiscal capacity, or ability to pay
• But the State doesn’t always allocate as much money as the Review Committee recommends, e.g., salaries, insurance and technology
SAME OLD SAME OLD? • Since Small Schools III, the State has done essentially nothing to fund the cost of teachers • There was one-time salary equity money in 2007 • But the funding gap is now approximately $10,000 per teacher per year • The State only pays for 11 months of insurance
• And the State has never funded its full share of the BEP • And meanwhile, back at the ranch… • Anybody know about Response to Intervention? • What about TN-Ready? • Number of devices? • CTE? • New employees?
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? • With $734 million in costs unaccounted for by the State, LEAs are having to pull that money from somewhere • In most of southeastern Tennessee, they are pulling it from instructional materials • Hamilton County: 1998 v. 2004 v. 2015 • What about BEP funds?
• To the extent that many schools have quality instructional materials, it is because of fees and donations • Those schools that lack outside funding sources lack these instructional materials
• And this problem will only get worse • Who pays for computers? • Who pays for benchmark testing?
WELCOME TO THE VOLUNTEER STATE • After the November 2014 elections, there was discussion about cutting the sales tax by 0.25%, resulting in $250 million in reduced revenue • This proposed tax cut triggered questions within Hamilton County about whether the BEP was fully funded • These questions, in turn, triggered discussions about scrapping the BEP altogether because it was “too complicated”
• After months of pressing for a commitment to fund the BEP, the boards of Knox and Hamilton Counties voted to explore litigation against the State • Hamilton County actually set a deadline with “soft” expectations
STATE’S RESPONSE • In March, the Governor met with the CLASS superintendents over concerns regarding underfunding of education • Explained his plan to fund a 4% raise for teachers with $99.7 million in new dollars
• Problems • No commitment from the General Assembly • This proposal did nothing to address the existing funding gap of $734 million • This proposal would actually have required more funding from the local boards!
• With no commitment from the General Assembly to fund the BEP, several local boards filed suit • Why?
OUR CLAIMS • The State has failed to provide a system of free public education • The State has failed to account for the actual cost of education in Tennessee
• The State’s failure to fund education has resulted in substantially unequal educational opportunities in Tennessee • Some students have to pay for quality education • Some students go without
• The State has failed to follow its own laws that it enacted to address constitutional inadequacies • The State has imposed a series of unfunded mandates upon local communities
STATE’S ARGUMENT • The General Assembly gets to decide what constitutes basic education • Not the BEP Review Committee; not the courts
• The per-pupil spending disparities between LEAs have essentially been eliminated • The BEP law preserves the General Assembly’s discretion in how to fund education • As long as the State funds some of the costs of education, it may push the rest of the costs onto local governments
SO WHAT DO WE NEED? • Collect facts and data • • • •
How are you funding teacher salaries? Instructional materials? TN-Ready? TRI?
• Educate the decision-makers • Speak with your county commissions and your mayors • Speak with your local delegation
• Change the conversation
PUBLIC EDUCATION MATTERS SO LET’S SUPPORT IT