Saturday, October 16, 1999
Reforms in Ky. education may provide model for Ohio
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Look inside a Kentucky classroom this fall: Teachers sit on the floor with a circle of students in beanbag chairs instead of standing at a chalkboard before a row of desks. Lectures are a thing of the past.
Check Kentucky students' progress on national exams: The state is moving from the bottom to the middle, posting significant improvements in reading, math and writing.
Rate the funding gap between Kentucky's poorest and richest schools: In 1989-90, the richest schools spent 36 percent more than the poorest schools. In 1997-98, that difference dropped to 10 percent.
Ten years after the Kentucky Supreme Court found the state's school funding system unconstitutional, most Kentucky schools now operate as innovative learning centers working toward set educational goals.
Kentucky's 10-year success at creating a more equitable funding system intertwined with academic reforms is touted as a model — one that can offer lessons to Ohio legislators now in the midst of a court-ordered battle to equalize funding.
“If you want to point to a state that's successful, Kentucky would be it. Kentucky is implementing what Ohio wants: an accountable system,” said John Augenblick, a Denver school finance consultant.
Both states traveled similar roads toward education reform.
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that the state's education system was unconstitutional in curriculum, governance and finance.
The Kentucky Education Reform Act, or KERA, took effect in 1990, powered by a 1-cent increase in the state sales tax that generated $1.3 billion in new education spending. Academic reform, which detailed what and how students learn, holds schools accountable based on their performance on state tests. Good schools get financial rewards; schools with poor performance get sanctions.
In Ohio, the battle started with the 1991 court case filed by the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the state's funding system was unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on local property taxes, creating disparities among districts. The Ohio legislature enacted laws to increase funding and set higher standards for students and schools.
Yet the coalition, which represents most of Ohio's 611 districts, wants another overhaul, saying the state needs to reduce its reliance on property taxes. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 16. A decision is expected early next year.
Kentucky's strategy
Kentucky's system works because the state's communities were willing to pay more for education, Mr. Augenblick said. He helped Kentucky legislators develop the funding system now in use and worked with Ohio legislators to create a fairer system.
“Kentucky was way behind the 8-ball and recognized that,” Mr. Augenblick said.
Jack Jennings, director of the Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C., said Ohio must consider what additional money for education will buy.
“Ohio is just dealing with the financial question and it will help the poorer schools, but you see all the arguing. The richer districts are fearful.”
KERA required more local funding from property taxes and additional revenue from the state. KERA also demanded changes in the way teachers teach.
Traditional “sage on the stage” lectures were replaced by hands-on activities and interactive lessons that incorporate several media. Schools made investments in technology, giving students cordless computer keyboards to carry instead of textbooks.
Most significant is the state testing system, which set achievement goals in seven subjects and other areas such as parent involvement for each school to meet.
The reform gave schools an opportunity to evaluate how they operate by letting local districts determine which programs work best for them, said Gene Kirchner, principal at Walton-Verona High School in Boone County.
Walton-Verona has proved that KERA can work. The school, located in a working-class community, has met its testing goals every year.
“That fact that we can successfully compete with districts with higher socioeconomic standings speaks volumes about our staff and students,” Mr. Kirchner said.
The school posted some of the best scores in the state on the 1998 exam, including second-best in writing. Those successes came from realizing that schools needed to change their style.
Roy Hill, superintendent of Lockland (Ohio) City Schools, said his district — a working-class community losing local tax dollars because of a loss of industry — would benefit from more equitable state funding. The state should develop a system that recognizes the individual needs of children and the schools they attend, he said.
Mr. Hill said his school struggles to educate a highly mobile student population, a characteristic often found in poor districts.
“We are sitting here next to a Wyoming (a wealthy Ohio district), and we could not replicate what they do there. We'd fall flat on our face because we are dealing with a different population,” Mr. Hill said.
Funding formulas
Kentucky's funding system attempts to recognize differences in school size and wealth. During the 10 years the system has been in place:
• The level of local support from taxes rose 130 percent.
• Property tax rates rose by 41 percent.
• State aid was 54 percent higher in 1997-98 than it was in 1989-90.
• The poorest districts received 53 percent more state aid per pupil than the wealthiest districts.
Before KERA, schools relied on revenue generated from local property taxes and a subsidy from the state that was roughly the same for all districts. Now districts continue to raise money locally, but the poorest receive more. Part of their subsidy comes from revenue skimmed from the wealthier districts elsewhere.
Total spending on elementary and secondary schools increased 46 percent from 1989 to 1995, to about $3.5 billion annually.
Kentucky is in no way a major success, said Mr. Jennings with the Center on Education Policy, but the state is moving up toward the middle when it used to be toward the bottom on national test scores.
“Kentucky was very fortunate in that it was so far back — 49th or 50th in the nation — that there was a willingness to make radical changes,” Mr. Jennings said.
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