Governor Bill Haslam yesterday announced he’s appointed a task force to study the state’s education funding formula, known as the Basic Education Program (BEP). This is likely a response to some school districts, like Nashville, complaining that the current formula is unfair.
Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman, who will chair the group, says the plan may need revision and updating and that this task force will provide recommendations about how to “distribute available resources in a responsible manner.”
Neither Haslam nor Huffman mentioned providing more resources to the formula as a means of further investing in Tennessee’s schools.
Someone probably ought to tell the Governor that there’s a group of people (school directors, city and county representatives, school board members, and other education stakeholders) that meet regularly to review and study the BEP. It’s called the BEP Review Committee and it is required by law, specifically: Tennessee Code Annotated 49-1-302(4)(a).
This task force meets 4 times a year and makes recommendations annually for upgrades or improvements to the BEP. Here’s the latest report, issued November 1, 2013.
The top recommendation of the task force is to continue the phase-in of BEP 2.0 — a revision to the formula developed by Governor Bredesen and a bi-partisan group of lawmakers in 2007. The projected remaining cost of full implementation is $146 million. The Committee is recommending a phase-in approach, so something along the lines of $50 million a year each year for the next three years could meet this goal.
Other recommendations of the BEP Review Committee include:
- Reducing the class size ratio used to generate teachers for grades 7-12. This would have the impact of sending more dollars to districts for hiring teachers. The Committee recommends a reduction of 2-3 students at a projected cost of $81 million.
- Providing funds for professional development of teachers at a rate of 1% of the total dollars spent on instructional salaries. This would cost $22 million.
- Providing funding for a comprehensive mentoring program for all new teachers and principals with a 1:12 mentor/teacher ratio. The mentoring program would cost $14 million.
The Committee makes recommendations about changing the ratio for funding school nurses and improving technology, including creating a funding element for technology coordinators.
The bottom line is, there’s already a BEP task force, it’s been doing it’s work for some time now, and it has made solid recommendations for improving the formula.
I suppose the first assignment of the task force could be to review the work of the BEP Review Committee.
Of course, one might expect legislative Democrats to take up the cause and fight for improvements to the BEP by way of legislative proposal or budget amendment. Perhaps proposing a BEP 2.0 phase-in or championing mentoring for new teachers?
However, House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh tells us that’s not going to happen. In an interview we published yesterday, he said:
There are a few proposals before the General Assembly that deal with BEP, primarily with the state’s portion of funding. At this time, I’m not aware of any other Democratic proposals that will change the BEP, especially in light of a tight budget cycle.
So, the task force will meet and report and the BEP might (or might not) be improved. And the BEP Review Committee will continue to meet and issue reports that go largely ignored on Capitol Hill. Ignored so routinely, apparently, that the Governor forgot the Committee even existed.
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