Bringing the Vision to Life: Fair and Efficient Funding

At the Eighth Annual Vision Coalition Conference on Education, six dedicated action groups (corresponding to the Six Core Areas found in Student Success 2025) worked together to develop a list of priorities for the next six to 18 months.

The Fair and Efficient Funding action group was led by H. Raye Jones Avery, executive director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center; Dale Brown, principal of Booker T. Washington Elementary School; Daniel Rich, professor of public policy and administration at the University of Delaware, and policy director for the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission; and Daniel Thatcher, senior policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The action group discussed the recommendations of Student Success 2025, identified progress underway, developed and discussed action steps for successful implementation, and identified work that can be done in the next six to 18 months to make the recommendations a reality.

Here are the six to 18-month Recommended Action Steps for the Fair and Efficient Funding action group:

• There are many groups talking about updating the funding system to give districts flexibility and account for student needs. Coordinate those groups to strengthen their collective voice.
• Communicate that funding is THE priority. It’s the area where we’ve seen the least progress yet it’s essential to support all other core areas. Communicate that there are significant costs to inaction.
• Inventory the needs of students as a first step to developing a funding system that responds to those needs.
• Find a way to measure the impact of funding, so that when schools receive additional funds, we can know what works and scale it. Also, so we can course correct where needed.
• Coordinate resources across nonprofit, private, and public sectors.

For a full recap of the conference, click here. Check out all the photos and collaborative work from the Fair and Efficient Funding action group on our Facebook gallery.

To find a few ways to get involved in this particular issue, click here.