After Boston switched last year to funding its schools through a formula that assigned financial “weights” to students based on their educational needs, I wrote an article outlining why the 57,000-student district made the change, and how such funding formulas were being adopted in other school systems around the country.
From 2 to 3 p.m., July 24, I’m pleased to be moderating a free Education Week webinar with finance officers from Boston and a principal of a high school in that city, in which they will talk about what led them to adopt this system, and some of the benefits and pitfalls of making such a change. They will also field questions from our readers. Those who are interested in joining the conversation can sign up here.
Generally, school systems that implement a weighted-funding formula say that it offers more transparency and fairness in funding than traditional school-funding systems. However, some school systems, like Seattle, have backed away from the practice, saying that the district’s principals didn’t have that much flexibility in spending their school allocations.
We’ll explore those questions and more during the Tuesday webinar—hope you tune in!