That complaint uses data from both the TEA PEIMS Financial web site and the DISD My Data Portal web site to clearly show that as Title 1 funding increased in a school due to increased poverty, and as other need based federal funding increased, there is a clear pattern in Dallas ISD of local school funding decreasing.
Often the difference in local funding was over $1,000 per student, even over $2,000! The same week the complaint was filed the TEA uploaded financial data that is a year newer. The new data reflects the same patterns documented in the complaint, but with some fascinating adjustments that will be addressed as they are studied.
Here are links to the actual 2013-14 spending for the two DISD elementary schools mentioned in the WFAA coverage on this complaint to DOE: Stevens Park Elementary compared with Lakewood Elementary. Notice that the difference between them grew by 16 dollars in Regular Education funding for each student in the dollars actually spent and shown in the updated data this week. The chart below is a comparison of these two budgets for all funds allocated.
The PEG failing schools list for Texas for 2015-16 includes Stevens Park Elementary. Is this lack of funding a reason?
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| Lakewood and Stevens Park elementary schools in Dallas ISD budgets compared Click on image above to enlarge or print. |
Due to the needs of the 96.4% of Stevens Park students in poverty it was documented that they required an average of $2,513 in more funding per student than the students at Lakewood where only 12.6% of students lived in poverty. But once Lakewood was given $1,956 more in "Regular" funding, along with other adjustments, this difference shrunk to an average of $1,014 more available per student at Stevens Park than at Lakemont. Does that mean the money allocated to those special needs had been over-allocated by almost $1,500 and DISD can correct that by taking away regular education funds to use in other locations in the district? As you study either 2013-14 or 2014-15 budgets for all the schools in DISD you find a very consistent pattern of Regular Education funds decreasing as Title 1 and other needs-based supplementary funds increase from school to school. It is a pattern repeated in school after school.
While the underfunding of Texas schools at the state level is one reason for this pattern, this pattern does not exist to the extent it does in DISD in several other districts that were studied and that are mentioned in the complaint. It is illegal! Districts avoid it! Google the words - supplanting title 1 funds Texas - to see what is posted widely about this illegal practice.
This is all public record. The 2013-14 budget report was used for the complaint filed last week against DISD for using Title 1 funds to replace Regular Education funds. The resulting money appears to then have been used to fund special projects in DISD, including millions of dollars in additional administrative salaries and positions.
One arguments used is that the higher tenured teachers at Lakemont Elementary have higher salaries and that is the reason for this $1,956 difference in "Regular" funding. Here is a study done on that argument that shows the salary differential only accounts for less than 10% of this difference:
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| Per student teacher salary comparison Lakewood & Stevens Park Elementary, Dallas ISD |
Since filing the complaint on 3-25-15 even worse situations have been uncovered.
Worse Numbers!
If you select out the 19 current elementary "Improvement Required" failing DISD schools that are not receiving extra funds from Imagine 2020, a painful pattern emerges in the 2013-14 budget. These schools received an average of $35,000 less in Reqular Education funding than the average DISD schools that were ALREADY deficient in such funding, consistent with allegations in the complaint filed last week.
(See spreadsheet at bottom of this blog for this data by school. Email bbetzen@aol.com for Excel format file to check and then report back your finding.)
The public is encouraged to look over these financial documents and check the patterns with the new TEA data just downloaded last week with 2014-15 budgets and the 2013-14 actual expenditures. We now have much more recent data that was not used in this complaint, but shows the same pattern. The more the public knows about this the better!
Go to http://tea.texas.gov/financialstandardreports/ for the main web site for financial data on Texas schools. You may also Google “PEIMS financial” to pull it up any time. At the top of the page for district budgets on that page, is a link to a document that explains all the terms used in these documents: AboutBudget 2015 .
The more the public studies this data, and the law, the more they will be upset about the budgeting in DISD by DISD administration, and in Austin by the Texas Legislature for underfunding public schools. The "rich" schools in Dallas, like Lakewood, who are getting more Regular Education funding that the "poor" schools are really not winners. They are just getting a taste of how underfunded all Texas schools are if the "Regular Education" finding is distributed equally as it should be. In DISD that agony was being hidden by manipulating Regular Education monies.
Here is an article published today on this type of funding irregularity: http://www.educationdive.com/news/4-takeaways-to-note-from-education-trusts-school-funding-report/380189/ Sadly the DISD irregularity shows a much greater percentage of the local funding being moved from some of the most poverty stricken schools in DISD than the 10% difference mentioned in this article.
The chart below tracks the 2013-14 allocation for "Regular" money from local taxes allocated to Dallas ISD elementary school campuses. On the Texas Education Agency web site is a documented "About Budget 2014" that defines these expenditures as "Regular program expenditures are costs to provide the basic services for education/instruction to students not in special education (program intent code 11). " How does it make sense for these expenditures to go down as the poverty level in a school goes up?
| Using a $4400 Floor for Regular Education $$: DISD Elementary Title I Campuses | ||||||
| School | 2013-2014 | Enrolled | Total Reg.Ed | At a Floor $4400 | $$ Difference | |
| Bayles | $ 4,454 | 563 | $ 2,507,602 | $ 2,477,200 | $ (30,402) | IR |
| Blanton | $ 3,729 | 691 | $ 2,576,739 | $ 3,040,400 | $ 463,661 | IR |
| Bryan | $ 4,036 | 591 | $ 2,385,276 | $ 2,600,400 | $ 215,124 | IR |
| Burleson | $ 3,315 | 723 | $ 2,396,745 | $ 3,181,200 | $ 784,455 | IR |
| Cochran | $ 3,667 | 581 | $ 2,130,527 | $ 2,556,400 | $ 425,873 | IR |
| Douglass | $ 4,341 | 580 | $ 2,517,780 | $ 2,552,000 | $ 34,220 | IR |
| Ervin | $ 4,051 | 659 | $ 2,669,609 | $ 2,899,600 | $ 229,991 | IR |
| Halliday | $ 4,646 | 626 | $ 2,908,396 | $ 2,754,400 | $ (153,996) | IR |
| Hernandez | $ 4,500 | 388 | $ 1,746,000 | $ 1,707,200 | $ (38,800) | IR |
| Hogg | $ 6,039 | 256 | $ 1,545,984 | $ 1,126,400 | $ (419,584) | IR |
| Hotchkiss | $ 3,362 | 1019 | $ 3,425,878 | $ 4,483,600 | $ 1,057,722 | IR |
| Kennedy | $ 4,042 | 714 | $ 2,885,988 | $ 3,141,600 | $ 255,612 | IR |
| Lee | $ 4,657 | 363 | $ 1,690,491 | $ 1,597,200 | $ (93,291) | IR |
| Lowe | $ 3,103 | 647 | $ 2,007,641 | $ 2,846,800 | $ 839,159 | IR |
| McNair | $ 4,334 | 794 | $ 3,441,196 | $ 3,493,600 | $ 52,404 | IR |
| Mills | $ 3,988 | 504 | $ 2,009,952 | $ 2,217,600 | $ 207,648 | IR |
| Moreno | $ 4,177 | 522 | $ 2,180,394 | $ 2,296,800 | $ 116,406 | IR |
| Titche | $ 3,405 | 996 | $ 3,391,380 | $ 4,382,400 | $ 991,020 | IR |
| Wilmer Hutchins | $ 4,155 | 902 | $ 3,747,810 | $ 3,968,800 | $ 220,990 | IR |
| Carr | $ 4,391 | 415 | $ 1,822,265 | $ 1,826,000 | $ 3,735 | IR 2020 |
| Carver | $ 5,434 | 547 | $ 2,972,398 | $ 2,406,800 | $ (565,598) | IR 2020 |
| Oliver | $ 4,759 | 384 | $ 1,827,456 | $ 1,689,600 | $ (137,856) | IR 2020 |
| OM Roberts | $ 4,688 | 648 | $ 3,037,824 | $ 2,851,200 | $ (186,624) | IR 2020 |
| Pease | $ 4,008 | 605 | $ 2,424,840 | $ 2,662,000 | $ 237,160 | IR 2020 |
| Alexander | $ 4,998 | 381 | $ 1,904,238 | $ 1,676,400 | $ (227,838) | |
| Anderson | $ 3,295 | 762 | $ 2,510,790 | $ 3,352,800 | $ 842,010 | |
| Anne Frank | $ 4,091 | 1171 | $ 4,790,561 | $ 5,152,400 | $ 361,839 | |
| Anson Jones | $ 3,661 | 723 | $ 2,646,903 | $ 3,181,200 | $ 534,297 | |
| Arcadia Park | $ 4,128 | 698 | $ 2,881,344 | $ 3,071,200 | $ 189,856 | |
| Barbara Jordan | $ 3,401 | 613 | $ 2,084,813 | $ 2,697,200 | $ 612,387 | |
| Bethune | $ 3,646 | 738 | $ 2,690,748 | $ 3,247,200 | $ 556,452 | |
| Blair | $ 3,431 | 784 | $ 2,689,904 | $ 3,449,600 | $ 759,696 | |
| Botello | $ 4,076 | 525 | $ 2,139,900 | $ 2,310,000 | $ 170,100 | |
| Bowie | $ 3,937 | 491 | $ 1,933,067 | $ 2,160,400 | $ 227,333 | |
| Brashear | $ 3,974 | 659 | $ 2,618,866 | $ 2,899,600 | $ 280,734 | |
| Budd | $ 4,330 | 552 | $ 2,390,160 | $ 2,428,800 | $ 38,640 | |
| Burnett | $ 3,735 | 1081 | $ 4,037,535 | $ 4,756,400 | $ 718,865 | |
| Bush | $ 4,604 | 669 | $ 3,080,076 | $ 2,943,600 | $ (136,476) | |
| Bushman | $ 3,661 | 568 | $ 2,079,448 | $ 2,499,200 | $ 419,752 | |
| Cabell | $ 4,078 | 624 | $ 2,544,672 | $ 2,745,600 | $ 200,928 | |
| Caillet | $ 4,046 | 699 | $ 2,828,154 | $ 3,075,600 | $ 247,446 | |
| Callejo | $ 4,050 | 655 | $ 2,652,750 | $ 2,882,000 | $ 229,250 | |
| Carpenter | $ 4,751 | 384 | $ 1,824,384 | $ 1,689,600 | $ (134,784) | |
| Casa View | $ 3,986 | 748 | $ 2,981,528 | $ 3,291,200 | $ 309,672 | |
| Central | $ 4,649 | 492 | $ 2,287,308 | $ 2,164,800 | $ (122,508) | |
| Cigarroa | $ 3,312 | 665 | $ 2,202,480 | $ 2,926,000 | $ 723,520 | |
| Conner | $ 3,774 | 663 | $ 2,502,162 | $ 2,917,200 | $ 415,038 | |
| Cowart | $ 4,036 | 603 | $ 2,433,708 | $ 2,653,200 | $ 219,492 | |
| Cuellar | $ 3,685 | 761 | $ 2,804,285 | $ 3,348,400 | $ 544,115 | |
| De Zavala | $ 3,290 | 428 | $ 1,408,120 | $ 1,883,200 | $ 475,080 | |
| Degoyler | $ 5,228 | 376 | $ 1,965,728 | $ 1,654,400 | $ (311,328) | |
| Dorsey | $ 3,867 | 525 | $ 2,030,175 | $ 2,310,000 | $ 279,825 | |
| Dunbar | $ 4,048 | 594 | $ 2,404,512 | $ 2,613,600 | $ 209,088 | |
| Earhart | $ 4,445 | 241 | $ 1,071,245 | $ 1,060,400 | $ (10,845) | |
| Field | $ 4,070 | 472 | $ 1,921,040 | $ 2,076,800 | $ 155,760 | |
| Foster | $ 3,910 | 850 | $ 3,323,500 | $ 3,740,000 | $ 416,500 | |
| Gabe Allen | $ 4,434 | 571 | $ 2,531,814 | $ 2,512,400 | $ (19,414) | |
| Gill | $ 3,684 | 771 | $ 2,840,364 | $ 3,392,400 | $ 552,036 | |
| Gonzalez | $ 4,184 | 689 | $ 2,882,776 | $ 3,031,600 | $ 148,824 | |
| Gooch | $ 4,549 | 275 | $ 1,250,975 | $ 1,210,000 | $ (40,975) | |
| Guzick | $ 4,195 | 762 | $ 3,196,590 | $ 3,352,800 | $ 156,210 | |
| Hall | $ 4,023 | 575 | $ 2,313,225 | $ 2,530,000 | $ 216,775 | |
| Hawthorne | $ 4,127 | 456 | $ 1,881,912 | $ 2,006,400 | $ 124,488 | |
| Henderson | $ 4,272 | 516 | $ 2,204,352 | $ 2,270,400 | $ 66,048 | |
| Hexter | $ 4,450 | 599 | $ 2,665,550 | $ 2,635,600 | $ (29,950) | |
| Highland Meadows | $ 3,728 | 865 | $ 3,224,720 | $ 3,806,000 | $ 581,280 | |
| holland | $ 5,090 | 314 | $ 1,598,260 | $ 1,381,600 | $ (216,660) | |
| Hooe | $ 4,004 | 461 | $ 1,845,844 | $ 2,028,400 | $ 182,556 | |
| Houston | $ 6,065 | 230 | $ 1,394,950 | $ 1,012,000 | $ (382,950) | |
| Ireland | $ 3,623 | 584 | $ 2,115,832 | $ 2,569,600 | $ 453,768 | |
| John Q Adams | $ 3,686 | 685 | $ 2,524,910 | $ 3,014,000 | $ 489,090 | |
| Johnston | $ 3,951 | 486 | $ 1,920,186 | $ 2,138,400 | $ 218,214 | |
| Junkins | $ 3,768 | 750 | $ 2,826,000 | $ 3,300,000 | $ 474,000 | |
| Kahn | $ 3,556 | 670 | $ 2,382,520 | $ 2,948,000 | $ 565,480 | |
| Kiest | $ 3,675 | 716 | $ 2,631,300 | $ 3,150,400 | $ 519,100 | |
| Kleberg | $ 3,581 | 619 | $ 2,216,639 | $ 2,723,600 | $ 506,961 | |
| Knight | $ 3,873 | 612 | $ 2,370,276 | $ 2,692,800 | $ 322,524 | |
| Kramer | $ 4,280 | 559 | $ 2,392,520 | $ 2,459,600 | $ 67,080 | |
| Lagow | $ 4,673 | 526 | $ 2,457,998 | $ 2,314,400 | $ (143,598) | |
| Lakewood | $ 4,758 | 851 | $ 4,049,058 | $ 3,744,400 | $ (304,658) | |
| Lanier | $ 4,057 | 590 | $ 2,393,630 | $ 2,596,000 | $ 202,370 | |
| Lee Mcshan | $ 3,550 | 679 | $ 2,410,450 | $ 2,987,600 | $ 577,150 | |
| Lipscomb | $ 4,305 | 527 | $ 2,268,735 | $ 2,318,800 | $ 50,065 | |
| LO Donnald | $ 4,254 | 489 | $ 2,080,206 | $ 2,151,600 | $ 71,394 | |
| Macon | $ 4,134 | 547 | $ 2,261,298 | $ 2,406,800 | $ 145,502 | |
| Maple Lawn | $ 3,792 | 602 | $ 2,282,784 | $ 2,648,800 | $ 366,016 | |
| Marcus | $ 3,420 | 972 | $ 3,324,240 | $ 4,276,800 | $ 952,560 | |
| Marsali | $ 3,762 | 540 | $ 2,031,480 | $ 2,376,000 | $ 344,520 | |
| Martinez | $ 3,851 | 501 | $ 1,929,351 | $ 2,204,400 | $ 275,049 | |
| Mata | $ 5,787 | 224 | $ 1,296,288 | $ 985,600 | $ (310,688) | |
| Medrano | $ 4,128 | 597 | $ 2,464,416 | $ 2,626,800 | $ 162,384 | |
| Milam | $ 3,744 | 267 | $ 999,648 | $ 1,174,800 | $ 175,152 | |
| Miller | $ 4,317 | 394 | $ 1,700,898 | $ 1,733,600 | $ 32,702 | |
| MLK | $ 4,521 | 485 | $ 2,192,685 | $ 2,134,000 | $ (58,685) | |
| Moseley | $ 3,346 | 778 | $ 2,603,188 | $ 3,423,200 | $ 820,012 | |
| Mount Auburn | $ 3,355 | 599 | $ 2,009,645 | $ 2,635,600 | $ 625,955 | |
| N Adams | $ 4,527 | 573 | $ 2,593,971 | $ 2,521,200 | $ (72,771) | |
| Peabody | $ 4,234 | 572 | $ 2,421,848 | $ 2,516,800 | $ 94,952 | |
| Peeler | $ 4,698 | 399 | $ 1,874,502 | $ 1,755,600 | $ (118,902) | |
| Pershing | $ 4,292 | 535 | $ 2,296,220 | $ 2,354,000 | $ 57,780 | |
| Pleasant Grove | $ 4,418 | 613 | $ 2,708,234 | $ 2,697,200 | $ (11,034) | |
| Polk | $ 4,233 | 575 | $ 2,433,975 | $ 2,530,000 | $ 96,025 | |
| Preston Hollow | $ 4,891 | 430 | $ 2,103,130 | $ 1,892,000 | $ (211,130) | |
| Ray | $ 4,240 | 403 | $ 1,708,720 | $ 1,773,200 | $ 64,480 | |
| Reagan | $ 3,839 | 584 | $ 2,241,976 | $ 2,569,600 | $ 327,624 | supplanting $2000 in Title I |
| Reinhardt | $ 4,165 | 642 | $ 2,673,930 | $ 2,824,800 | $ 150,870 | |
| Rhoads | $ 4,035 | 658 | $ 2,655,030 | $ 2,895,200 | $ 240,170 | |
| Rice | $ 3,747 | 584 | $ 2,188,248 | $ 2,569,600 | $ 381,352 | |
| Richardson | $ 4,778 | 600 | $ 2,866,800 | $ 2,640,000 | $ (226,800) | |
| RL Thornton | $ 4,254 | 489 | $ 2,080,206 | $ 2,151,600 | $ 71,394 | |
| Rogers | $ 4,209 | 508 | $ 2,138,172 | $ 2,235,200 | $ 97,028 | |
| Rosemont | $ 4,773 | 441 | $ 2,104,893 | $ 1,940,400 | $ (164,493) | |
| Rowe | $ 3,844 | 533 | $ 2,048,852 | $ 2,345,200 | $ 296,348 | |
| Rowe | $ 3,844 | 533 | $ 2,048,852 | $ 2,345,200 | $ 296,348 | |
| Runyon | $ 3,829 | 733 | $ 2,806,657 | $ 3,225,200 | $ 418,543 | |
| Russell | $ 2,365 | 754 | $ 1,783,210 | $ 3,317,600 | $ 1,534,390 | |
| Salazar | $ 3,705 | 749 | $ 2,775,045 | $ 3,295,600 | $ 520,555 | |
| Salivar | $ 4,528 | 1006 | $ 4,555,168 | $ 4,426,400 | $ (128,768) | |
| San Jacinto | $ 3,761 | 520 | $ 1,955,720 | $ 2,288,000 | $ 332,280 | |
| Sanger | $ 4,218 | 561 | $ 2,366,298 | $ 2,468,400 | $ 102,102 | |
| Seagoville | $ 3,980 | 623 | $ 2,479,540 | $ 2,741,200 | $ 261,660 | |
| Seagoville North | $ 4,192 | 685 | $ 2,871,520 | $ 3,014,000 | $ 142,480 | |
| Silberstein | $ 3,517 | 783 | $ 2,753,811 | $ 3,445,200 | $ 691,389 | |
| Smith | $ 3,820 | 750 | $ 2,865,000 | $ 3,300,000 | $ 435,000 | |
| Soto | $ 3,692 | 701 | $ 2,588,092 | $ 3,084,400 | $ 496,308 | |
| Starks | $ 4,915 | 325 | $ 1,597,375 | $ 1,430,000 | $ (167,375) | |
| Stemmons | $ 4,139 | 828 | $ 3,427,092 | $ 3,643,200 | $ 216,108 | |
| Stevens Park | $ 2,854 | 749 | $ 2,137,646 | $ 3,295,600 | $ 1,157,954 | |
| Stone | $ 4,521 | 338 | $ 1,528,098 | $ 1,487,200 | $ (40,898) | |
| Stonewall Jackson | $ 4,773 | 614 | $ 2,930,622 | $ 2,701,600 | $ (229,022) | |
| Tatum | $ 4,133 | 662 | $ 2,736,046 | $ 2,912,800 | $ 176,754 | |
| Tatum | $ 4,133 | 662 | $ 2,736,046 | $ 2,912,800 | $ 176,754 | |
| Terry | $ 4,789 | 402 | $ 1,925,178 | $ 1,768,800 | $ (156,378) | |
| Tolbert | $ 4,373 | 457 | $ 1,998,461 | $ 2,010,800 | $ 12,339 | |
| Truett | $ 3,135 | 1047 | $ 3,282,345 | $ 4,606,800 | $ 1,324,455 | |
| Turner | $ 2,882 | 370 | $ 1,066,340 | $ 1,628,000 | $ 561,660 | |
| Umphrey Lee | $ 3,770 | 645 | $ 2,431,650 | $ 2,838,000 | $ 406,350 | |
| Urban Park | $ 4,378 | 606 | $ 2,653,068 | $ 2,666,400 | $ 13,332 | |
| Walnut Hill | $ 4,942 | 358 | $ 1,769,236 | $ 1,575,200 | $ (194,036) | |
| Webster | $ 3,356 | 654 | $ 2,194,824 | $ 2,877,600 | $ 682,776 | |
| Weiss | $ 4,105 | 532 | $ 2,183,860 | $ 2,340,800 | $ 156,940 | |
| Williams | $ 4,617 | 315 | $ 1,454,355 | $ 1,386,000 | $ (68,355) | |
| Winnetka | $ 3,729 | 859 | $ 3,203,211 | $ 3,779,600 | $ 576,389 | |
| Withers | $ 4,403 | 437 | $ 1,924,111 | $ 1,922,800 | $ (1,311) | |
| Young | $ 4,133 | 595 | $ 2,459,135 | $ 2,618,000 | $ 158,865 | |
| Zaragoza | $ 4,352 | 455 | $ 1,980,160 | $ 2,002,000 | $ 21,840 | |
| Reg. Ed $$ | $ 4,103 | 598 | $ 2,400,605 | $ 2,630,748 | $ 230,143 | |
| Per Student | Students | $$ | Total Reg. Ed | |||
| Avg. change with $4,400 | Total | $ 33,831,076 | ||||
| not2020butIR | $ 271,485 | Per school | $ 230,143.38 | |||
| notIR | $ 238,458 | |||||
| IR2020 | $ (129,837) | |||||
