“The Matrix” Revisited… Yet Again.

Posted on September 1st, 2009

How many of you have heard of the school “funding matrix”? The funding matrix is the brain-child of former Senator David Bisbee as a solution to some of the problems presented by the Lakeview lawsuit. Love him or hate him, you have to give credit where credit is due and Sen. Bisbee help put more in place that successfully ended court intervention than any single person in the legislature.

It is my opinion that any, and I mean ANY person seeking a state representative or state senate seat need to spend some time with Sen. Bisbee and get to know the history of, the rational behind, and the mechanics of the school funding matrix. You could offer to buy his coffee, but that probably won’t be necessary. He is always ready and enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge on this subject… and trust me… he KNOWS this subject.

The reason I bring this up is to notify you that the wheels of the legislative machine has been put in motion to review and revise “the matrix”. The end result of the “sausage grinder” of the legislative process is that we could end up back in court as various special interests around the state seek to yank pieces out of the matrix and siphon extra goodies from the school funds toward their interests. The current funding system utilizing the matrix has been declared by the State Supreme Court to be “adequate and equitable”, any meddling with it and we risk reopening that Pandora’s box.

Here (Adobe Acrobat File) is very brief introduction to the resource utilization report we were provided last biennium. Also attached is the current foundation funding matrix (Excel File) that reflects funding both before and after the recalibration (affecting years after FY07).

The complete revision of this matrix along with the associated research and all required reports will begin today and should be completed one year from today on September 1st, 2010. This will allow the Committees on Education to be prepared for the Fall 2010 budget hearings and the 2011 General Session, at which time the findings can be utilized to provide the appropriate funding for Arkansas K – 12 Education.

There has been identified, as required by legislation, five topics that must be addressed by the Department of Education, one from the Division of Legislative Audit, and an additional 27 subject-areas that will be exhaustively researched by the Bureau of Legislative Research. In addition, there are nine ISPs that are closely related to this area of work that could be included.

Pay attention folks, this may not be the glamorous and sexy policy stuff that gets people fired up and to town hall meetings, but it is very important. Legislators and candidates who fail to be informed on this do so at their constituent’s peril.

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