Report of Findings on the Student Transportation Cost Component of the EPS Funding Model

Background Prior to 2005-06, Maine used an expenditure-reimbursement model for funding transportation costs. School administrative units annually submitted their transportation expenditure to the State, and the school administrative units (SAUs) were reimbursed for a portion of these expenditures based on an ability-to-pay formula. Beginning 2005-06, Maine implemented Essential Programs and Services (EPS), a cost-based school funding model based on two fundamental premises. First, there must be adequate resources in each Maine SAU and school to achieve desired outcomes. In transportation, desired outcomes include safety, reasonable ride times by age group, meeting all student transportations needs including special needs, and others. Second, there must be equity in the distribution of these adequate resources among Maine SAUs. Equity means similar school administrative units should be treated similarly in the school funding formula, and dissimilar school administrative units should be treated dissimilarly

The Relationship Between Maine School Administrative Unit Size, Costs, and Outcomes

Maine should be very proud of its public school system. Without question, since passage of the Sinclair Act in 1957, Maine has made great strides in the last 45 years in improving the quality of its public schools, and in expanding educational opportunities for more and more of its children. Maine citizens have increased their investment four-fold in their public schools since 1960; from approximately $1,870 per pupil in today\u27s dollars to over$8,000 per student in 2002-03. At present, Maine spends approximately $900 more per student than the national average. And this investment has paid off. Year in and year out, Maine\u27s 4th and 8th graders score in the top five in the country on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Maine has one of the most favorable teacher-pupil ratios in the country; it ranks 11th best in the country in terms of the high school graduation rate, and 7th highest in the country in how well Maine prepares students for college. But as Maine citizens enter the new century, they are faced with significant challenges. Thus, they must address these challenges if they are to insure that all their children receive a quality K-12 education. They must find more efficient ways to operate their public school system to ensure equity of education opportunities for all of Maine\u27s youth. Among the emerging proposals for resolving these and related issues is the idea that more economic efficiencies and greater education opportunities for students may be found through further regionalizing of educational services. This study examined the question of whether some degree of consolidation of school districts or regionalization of functions might have the potential to yield reductions in educational costs without sacrificing educational quality. It reports the results of a study of the relationships in Maine school districts between district size, expenditures, and outcomes. (Contains 4 tables.

Adequacy-Based Funding for Small, Isolated Schools: An Approach for Maine

How to adequately fund small schools is becoming a pressing issue in Maine due to numerous factors, including state and federal accountability laws and declining enrollments. The Maine Planning office projects a decrease of 12.5 % in school-age enrollment throughout the state between October 1, 2004 and October 1, 2013. Four Maine counties are predicted to experience declines in resident enrollment of over 20%. (Maine Department of Education, 2004). Moreover, small schools are expected to be among the hardest hit by enrollment losses. Schools with fewer than 300 students are expected to average approximately a 20 % drop in enrollment. Among the changes on the horizon in Maine in addition to declining enrollments are additional state requirements pertaining to Maine’s Learning Results, and new Federal accountability requirements due the No Child Left Behind law. Along with high per-pupil costs, small schools in rural areas are often challenged in ways that may impact their ability to operate efficiently while meeting the state and federal accountability requirements. Mathis (2003

The Relationship Between Maine School Administrative Unit Size, Costs, and Outcomes

This study examined the question of whether some degree of consolidation of school districts or regionalization of functions might have the potential to yield reductions in educational costs without sacrificing educational quality. It reports the results of a study of the relationships in Maine school districts between district size, expenditures, and outcomes

Analysis of the Essential Programs and Services Disadvantaged Youth Cost Component

Prior to implementation of EPS, Maine’s funding formula had little in terms of prescribed levels of adjustment to insure vertical equity. But beginning in 2005-06, three vertical equity adjustments were put into place (special needs, LEP, and Disadvantaged Youth), and provisions were included in the law for three year reviews of these adjustments. The Disadvantaged Youth adjustment was first reviewed in Fall 2008. This report describes the results from the second regularly scheduled review in 2010-2011

The Relationship Between Maine School Administrative Unit Size, Costs, and Outcomes

This study examined the question of whether some degree of consolidation of school districts or regionalization of functions might have the potential to yield reductions in educational costs without sacrificing educational quality. It reports the results of a study of the relationships in Maine school districts between district size, expenditures, and outcomes

Essential Programs and Services Report of Findings: System Administration Component

SUMMARY This analysis of the System Administration component of Maine’s Essential Programs and Services school funding model was prepared for the Commissioner of Education as part of the ongoing review of the cost formula, as required by Maine statute. Specific elements for analysis were determined in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education