The current system gives schools little control over financial resources. If we are to hold educators accountable for performance, they also need greater control over the resources that are available. Research has shown that decentralization must go hand in hand with giving schools greater control over their budget. Control over the budget is a core ingredient of decentralized management. We also want to create a system that recognizes the needs of our students.
Different students require different resources.
A student with special needs or a student who does not speak English requires more than a native speaker of English or a child with no disability. Some schools enroll students from poorer family backgrounds who on average start school at a disadvantage compared to students from more affluent families. One reason for developing a new formula was to assure that the most disadvantaged are able to gain the extra resources they need. Another goal of the new formula is to improve the equity in the system while assuring that all schools remain viable. Under the current funding system, a relatively small number of schools, called outliers, receive very high per-pupil allocations that take resources from the other schools.