Are We Adequately Funding Our Schools?

One of the most frequently asked questions is whether we are adequately funding our public schools.

At the risk of sounding like I'm I'm "waffling" on the issue, the answer is that it depends on how you look at the issue.

I devoted my April 22, 2011 "Mendon Musings" column in the Upton-Mendon Town Crier, to this very subject.  Here is that column (copyright 2011 by Town Crier Publications, Inc.):

As we get closer to facing a Proposition 2 ½ override vote in Mendon, it’s time to take a closer look at school spending.  Is it really Mendon’s budget buster?

The answer may surprise a lot of people.  It’s “no,” borne out by almost three full decades of spending trends.

Because it certifies each town’s tax rate, the state Department of Revenue keeps tabs on how towns spend their money, including what percentage is spent on schools. The DOR, therefore, can be considered both an accurate and a fair source of information.  So, if you don’t mind spending a few hours digging, here’s what data the DOR’s website provides.

For 22 consecutive fiscal years (July 1, 1985-June 30, 1986 through July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007), Mendon spent more than 50 percent of its annual operating budget on schools. Over those 22 fiscal years, the percentage was as high as 60.3 percent and as low as 51.8 percent.  (Note: “schools” means all school spending, including the Mendon-Upton Regional School District and the Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School.)

The 22-year average for Mendon comes to 55.6 percent. Upton’s 20 year average (the DOR has no school spending data listed for Upton in fiscal years 2002 and 2005) comes to 48.2 percent. The statewide average during that overall 22-year time period was 45.4 percent.

Mendon’s percentage of school spending was higher than Upton’s in each of the 20 years that can be compared. (Yes, I know, school population percentage splits between the two towns could be the reason why one town contributed a higher percentage than the other in any given year.)

Now we come to fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Mendon’s school expenditures in those years were 49.6 and 49.1 percent, respectively.  Upton’s were 49.5 and 51.0 percent, respectively, for those same two years. The statewide average for the same time was 48.6 percent. For fiscal year 2010, which ended last June 30, Mendon spent 47.0 percent of all its revenues on schools; Upton’s same number is 45.7 percent.

These numbers mean Mendon’s average school spending over the past three fiscal years is 48.6 percent and Upton’s is 48.7 percent.  Pretty close ratio, huh?

So, if Mendon’s spending on education has dropped to below 50 percent of the budget over the past few years, you could make a reasonable assumption that school spending is not the cause of Mendon’s budget woes.

So, now that we can put an end to the outright lie that excessive school spending is causing Mendon’s budget woes – not to mention the lie that, when compared to Upton, Mendon isn’t spending its fair share on education – I’m left with one giant question.

When you take away school spending as the convenient scapegoat, what exactly is causing Mendon’s budget woes?

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Clearly, the level of spending on schools has dropped during the "great recession."  As the economy improves, and state and federal assistance to schools returns to previous levels -- and as town budgets can afford it -- we need to look at bringing support for education back to previous historic levels.