Budget busters

Seems like Kasha Kelley sees an opportunity to shrink government due tobudget cuts that must occur to balance the state's budget. This would be her agenda regardless of a recession, but it does beg the question about what should the state government be doing, in good times and in bad. I would agree that the state needs a reserve and that spending AND tax breaks need to be re-evaluated for their effectiveness. But much of the spending increase has come in education, which I don't think is bloated. Certainly USD 470 can make a case that they get big bang for the buck, based on studies that showed so.

JUNE 20, 2007
TRAVELER ARCHIVES

The Arkansas City Public Schools get an A-plus in efficiency in helping its students achieve high marks.

The local school district is among only 21 school districts in the state that ranked "100 percent efficient" by Standard & Poor's, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday. That is the highest ranking the state's 300 school districts could get.

The S&P Educational Efficiency Study identifies which Kansas school districts are maximizing their resources and how less efficient districts can make improvements.

"Kansas schools can learn a lot from each other, says a new report released today by Standard & Poor's, Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the Kauffman Foundation," Nicole Corcoran, press secretary for the governor, said Tuesday.

Ark City Schools Superintendent Ron Ballard said today he is pleased with the report, and he views it as a learning opportunity. He said he would issue a press release after he has read the report thoroughly.

"Ark City has come to the top of the list -- you can be as low as 60 percent (efficient)," Ballard said. "This shows we are cost-efficient in the way we are serving our kids."

The report places Ark City schools in the top 7 percent in educational efficiency in the state, he said.

"We have a great interest at some time to compare and contrast what we do with other top districts," Ballard said. "We would like to know what they are doing to serve their kids at a cost-efficient level.

"The governor's office is doing a great service to let us know whether we are meeting efficiency standards."

This S&P study follows up on an initial study in March of 2006, with the new data reflecting recent increases in Kansas' school funding, Corcoran said in a press release.

"These analyses are the first of their kind in Kansas, and are thought to be the first of their kind in the country," she said.

"We cannot spend our way to excellence," Sebelius said. "But we can achieve excellence through strategic investments in the right areas. This study is a road map of what works and what doesn't. Every Kansas child, in every corner of the state, deserves a first class education. This report helps us get the best return on our investment."

To determine a district's efficiency, Standard & Poor's analyzed multiple data points including how much the district spends per student; the district's performance on the Kansas Reading and Math Assessments; and the percentage of students enrolled in the district with economically disadvantaged backgrounds, disabilities or limited English proficiency.

Ballard said the report considers cost-per-pupil figures and factors those figures with academic state test scores in mathematics and reading.

"The final factors are (a district's) at-risk population, and the number of students with limited English proficiencies and those who need disability services," Ballard said.

The Ark City school district a high rate of at-risk students, he said.

Each school district was given an efficiency score, according to the press release. Kansas' scores range from about 60 percent to 100 percent efficient. This means that the least efficient district is approximately 60 percent as efficient as the most cost-effective districts. The average Kansas school system is approximately 85 percent as efficient as the most cost-effective districts.

Among the state's 300 school districts, there were 257 school systems that had adequate data for analysis.

Other districts that received a 100 percent ranking include: Ashland, Baldwin City, Brown County, Burlingame, Deerfield, DeSoto, Dodge City, Gardner-Edgerton, Great Bend, Halstead, Kismet-Plains, Lansing, Leoti, Lyons, Newton, Osawatomie, Rolla, Shawnee Mission, Waconda, and West Elk.

In addition, six districts achieved efficiency scores that exceed 99 percent. These districts include: Durham Hills, Olathe, Hays, Blue Valley, Scott County, Valley Center.

"There is considerable diversity in the student performance, spending levels, and enrollment characteristics of each of these districts," said Michael Stewart, director, Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services. "It's because of this diversity that we believe improved efficiency is possible for any district that is willing to put forth the effort and learn from other districts that have successfully managed their resources."

The study was paid for by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. It is being released in two parts: the first part includes an executive summary, key findings, and details about the methodology Standard & Poor's used to identify efficiency; and the second part includes comparative performance profiles for each of the state's less efficient districts.

"The efficiency analysis is a powerful tool that allows Kansas school districts to better understand how their use of resources influences student performance," said Margo Quiriconi, director, Education Research and Policy, at the Kauffman Foundation. "We hope that this tool will be important to local school communities in reviewing what they might do to improve the effectiveness of their districts."

A complete copy of the Educational Efficiency Study can be found online at www.schoolmatters.com.