A lesson in school funding

With the legislative session now past the half-way point, the proposed bills will transfer from one house to the other for more work.  This is the time when all school personnel and community members begin to see the first significant language on education funding.  Plains Public Schools and the Plains-Paradise community are watching carefully to see how legislative action will affect school budgets.  To help clarify the sometimes confusing issue of school funding, Plains Public Schools would like to outline two key components of educational funding in Montana. The actions taken by the legislature will impact both Basic Entitlement and ANB funding.

Basic Entitlement is the minimum funding each school district will receive if in operation.  In the current fiscal year 2010-2011, an accredited elementary will receive the sum of $23,257 for grade levels K-8.  An accredited high school will receive $258,487.  A school district with an accredited 7th-8th grade program will the receive $23, 257 for its K-6 elementary program plus an additional $65,863 for its 7th-8th program.  Plains Public Schools has an accredited 7th & 8th program and receives the three Basic Entitlements.

Another funding mechanism for schools is ANB Entitlement and it can be the most confusing.  ANB is short for Average Number Belonging and is the formula for determining a school’s student count for any given year.  As is often the case, students transfer in and out during a school year and the number of students at any one time can vary slightly. The use of ANB establishes an official number for the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) and schools to determine funding.  ANB count is taken on two days each year, which are set by law.  Fall enrollment is counted on the first Monday in October and Spring enrollment is taken on February 1st. The count includes full-time and part-time students.  The two counts are added together and divided by 2 to get an average of the dates.  This count is then multiplied by 187 (180 pupil days + 7 pupil instruction related days) and then divided by 180 (pupil days).  This number is a school’s ANB.  A school’s ANB will help determine the funding for the next school year.  ANB Entitlement is approximately $5,003 per elementary student (K-6) and $6,405 per high school students (7-12).

ANB is the most crucial factor in a school’s funding.  A declining ANB often results in declining revenue income for a district.  Most schools, Plains included, have experienced a decline in ANB.  Although Plains has not witnessed the loss of students that other districts have, there is a decrease of five high school and six elementary students from last year.  As a result of this and other expected funding issues the Plains Public Schools may be running a levy, along with the annual trustee elections, this spring to maintain the current level of exceptional educational services.

The legislature will be determining changes in Basic Entitlement and ANB Entitlements amongst other funding mechanisms, as they continue to work toward the end of session.  Basic Entitlement and ANB are not the only components that Plains Public Schools and the community will be looking at.  Before the election, we will review the loss of ARRA funding, legislative timelines, budget savings mechanisms, and other sources of revenue.