A Governor's task force on education finance is recommending that school systems be given more flexibility in how they use state funds. The task force has been trying to find a better way to allocate school funds since 2004. Task force member Steve Dolinger explains the group's key recommendation as "school systems would enter into a contract with the Department of Education. And for various levels of flexibility in their funding, they'd have to have more responsibility in the results."
That's fine, says Joe Martin, who heads a consortium of school systems that filed a lawsuit against the state in 2004, but it's not enough. He says, "We're all for flexibility - flexibility can do a lot of good in terms of helping our students. However, it's simply not a substitute for adequate funding. Martin says without a real funding solution, all that poor school systems can fall back on is the lawsuit. It goes to trial in September.
That's fine, says Joe Martin, who heads a consortium of school systems that filed a lawsuit against the state in 2004, but it's not enough. He says, "We're all for flexibility - flexibility can do a lot of good in terms of helping our students. However, it's simply not a substitute for adequate funding. Martin says without a real funding solution, all that poor school systems can fall back on is the lawsuit. It goes to trial in September.
