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Texas Ranks High in Enrollment Increases Despite the value of education to Americans, the National Education Association published figures showing that investments in America’s public schools remain stagnant, as the average increase in teacher salary continues to trail behind the rate of inflation for 2005–06. According to NEA’s publication, Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the States 2006 and Estimates of School Statistics 2007, the average one-year increase in public schoolteacher salaries was 2.9 percent, while inflation escalated 3.9 percent. Over the past 10 years, the average salary for public schoolteachers increased only 1.3 percent after adjusting for inflation. According to the report, the national average public schoolteacher salary for 2005–06 was $49,026. State average public schoolteacher salaries ranged from those in California ($59,825), Connecticut ($59,304) and the District of Columbia ($59,000) at the high end to South Dakota ($34,709), North Dakota ($37,764) and West Virginia ($38,284) at the low end. Rankings & Estimates provides statistics to raise public understanding of key issues affecting teaching and learning conditions in the nation’s public schools. Other public education indicators, including school population and student-teacher ratio, can be found in the state-by-state report. Among the other highlights:
Final 2007 Adequate Yearly Progress Status An additional 73 Texas campuses earned the designation of meeting federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) after winning their appeals. The final AYP evaluation ratings for both campuses and districts are available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/2007/index.html. Overall, 73 of the 203 campuses that appealed their ratings were upgraded to the Meets AYP designation. A total of 52 independent and charter school districts also appealed. Thirteen won their appeal and improved their final determination. Overall, 87.5 percent of Texas’ independent and charter districts met the requirements of the federal evaluation program. Final results show that 664 campuses failed to meet the federal evaluation process for 2007. A total of 485 of these campuses receive Title I, Part A funds and are therefore subject to sanctions under the School Improvement Program (SIP). Under the accountability provisions in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, all public school campuses, school districts, and the state are evaluated for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Districts, campuses, and the state are required to meet AYP criteria on three measures: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Graduation Rate (for high schools and districts) or Attendance Rate (for elementary and middle/junior high schools). If a campus, district, or state that is receiving Title I, Part A funds fails to meet AYP for two consecutive years, that campus, district, or state is subject to certain requirements such as offering supplemental education services, offering school choice, and/or taking corrective actions. A list of campuses and/or districts subject to school improvement actions is available here: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/titleia/sip/2007-08/2007-08_sip.html Texas Scores OK on School Food Health Kentucky and Oregon top the nation in healthy school foods policies, but two-thirds of states have no or weak nutrition standards to limit junk-food and soda sales out of vending machines, school stores, and other venues outside of school meals, according to a school foods report card from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “Over the last ten years, states have been strengthening their school nutrition policies,” said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at CSPI. “But overall, the changes, while positive, are fragmented, incremental, and not happening quickly enough to reach all children in a timely way.” No states received an A grade, though two states (Kentucky and Oregon) received an A-; six states received a B+ (Nevada, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Washington and New Mexico); nine states earned a B or B-, including Texas and Arizona; six states and the District of Columbia received Cs; seven states got Ds; including NC (D+) VA (D)and Georgia (D-) and 20 states got Fs, including Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Most improved honors go to Oregon, which upgraded from an F in last year’s report card to an A-, and Washington state, which moved from an F to a B+. Since CSPI’s last report card in 2006, Oregon passed a comprehensive school snack and beverage policy which limits calories, saturated and trans fat, and sugars in snacks in K-12 schools and limits the sale of most sugary beverages in schools. Both states previously had no guidelines beyond USDA’s bare-bones rules. “You would think that with all the concern about childhood obesity that getting junk food and soda out of schools would be easy. But, it took us six years of hard work to pass our school nutrition legislation,” said Mary Lou Hennrich, executive director of the Community Health Partnership: Oregon's Public Health Institute, who led Oregon’s effort to improve school foods. “We welcome national action to build on what we and other states have done and ensure that all children go to school in junk-food-free environments.” CSPI found that only 11 states have comprehensive food and beverage standards that apply to the whole campus, the whole school day, for all grade levels. Thirteen states limit portion sizes for snacks, and only 11 states limit portion sizes for beverages. Fifteen states limit the saturated-fat content of school snacks, and only ten address trans fat. Just five states set limits on sodium in school foods. “The majority of states still rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s outdated school nutrition standards,” said Wootan. “Those national standards limit only the sale of jelly beans, lollipops, and other so-called ‘foods of minimal nutritional value.’ Those standards don’t address calories, saturated and trans fat, sodium, or other key nutrition concerns for children today.” CSPI based its grades on five key considerations:
Over the last 20 years, obesity rates have tripled in children and adolescents, and only 2 percent of children eat a healthy diet, according to key nutrition recommendations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite that, about a third of elementary schools, 71 percent of middle schools, and 89 percent of high schools sell items such as sugary drinks, snack cakes, candy, and chips out of vending machines, school stores, or a la carte lines in the cafeteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study: Full Report Card: Located about 20 miles northwest of Dallas in Denton County, the district encompasses 127 square miles serving all or portions of 13 growing residential communities including the cities of Lewisville, Flower Mound, Carrollton, and The Colony. The district expects to add between 1,200 and 2,000 students annually to its enrollment base. A new finance methodology for Texas public schools introduces an additional challenge that district administrators must address, along with declining state financial support and moderating tax base growth. The district's demonstrated ability to implement a large capital plan to absorb rapid enrollment gains, while recording consistently strong financial results, suggests it will be able to maintain its favorable financial profile in light of the challenges it faces. As the district's service area has matured, both enrollment gains and growth in taxable assessed valuation (TAV) have moderated. Enrollment growth rates have slowed to 3%-4% annually since fiscal 2004 compared with over 5% annual growth in the prior decade. District facilities include 39 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, one ninth grade center, five high schools, and two alternative learning centers. The district currently serves a student population of nearly 50,000 and district' officials estimate reaching build-out by about 2020 with an estimated enrollment of 65,000 students. While TAV gains also moderated between fiscal years 2005-2007, the district's TAV surged in fiscal 2008, growing by a healthy 12% to a solid $21.3 billion primarily due to new commercial construction. Although slowing enrollment growth has offered a measure of relief, the district nonetheless has faced mounting spending pressures while contending with declining state financial assistance and compression of its operations tax rate. Despite these constraints, financial performance has been consistently strong with positive operating results in each of the past nine fiscal years, enabling the district to build substantial reserves. For fiscal 2007 the district reported general fund revenues exceeding expenditures by $21.3 million, primarily resulting from stronger than budgeted property tax revenue combined with the district's ongoing cost cutting measures. The district's unreserved and undesignated fund balance for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2007 totaled $118 million, or 35% of spending. Fiscal 2008 is the second year of implementation of the new state school finance structure which requires further compression of the operations tax rate to $1.00 per $100 of TAV (from $1.33 in fiscal 2007) for Texas school districts, including Lewisville ISD. Additionally, the district has adopted the four enrichment pennies for fiscal 2008 as permitted by law for a total operations tax levy of $1.04. Since TAV growth in fiscal 2008 outpaced enrollment gains (resulting in wealth per student in excess of the $319,500 threshold), the district is considered 'property-rich' and is thereby subject to reduced state support. For fiscal 2008 the district adopted a budget with a $12.8 million revenue shortfall to be balanced with general fund reserves, but district management budgets conservatively and typically achieves better results; staff currently anticipates a reduced drawdown of $11.3 million. Beyond fiscal 2008, with implementation of the state funding formula the district expects to have a per pupil deficit and anticipates using general fund reserves to balance operations; however, the district has adopted a formal fund balance policy requiring the maintenance of a minimum of $45 million in general fund balance reserves, equivalent to 13.4% of fiscal 2007 spending levels.
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