Today Mayor Adrian Fenty and State Superintendent of Education Deborah Gist presented the Fiscal Year 2009 Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) Recommendations to the Council of the District of Columbia. The UPSFF determines the bottom-line budget for DC Public Schools and public charter schools. During Fiscal Year 2007, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) reviewed issues related to education needs and costs, consulted with the policy community, and sought guidance from a technical working group to develop these recommendations.
The recommendations address the following:
- Recommendations 1-3 will provide increased funding for students with a baseline 5.38 percent increase of funding from $8322 (FY 2008) to $8770 (FY 2009).
- Recommendation 4 will provide critical information for the reform of our program service delivery models, allowing the District to pilot several inclusion model schools for serving high intensity special needs students within the District, who are currently being served in large numbers in private placements outside the District of Columbia.
- Recommendation 5 will ensure a full-time nurse in each public school through coordination with the Department of Health, giving students easier access to nursing services.
- Recommendation 6 proposes retention of the funding for school security within the formula until a more effective alternative is developed.
- Recommendation 7 addresses the need to develop a methodology for calculating a charter school facilities funding amount that is adequate, equitable and realistic.
"The OSSE is pleased to join Mayor Fenty to present the UPSFF recommendations to the Council," says Deborah A. Gist, State Superintendent of Education. "We are confident the recommendations address the appropriate levels of funding necessary to produce high quality educational environments for our students in all public schools in the District of Columbia."
View the Recommendations for Revisions to the FY 2009 Uniform Per Student Funding Formula: