In the late 1980’s conversations began to focus on adequacy—asking for a clear definition of what we mean by a sound, basic public education and the funding required for all students to achieve at that level. 

Adequacy & the Academic Standards

"In the context of standards-based reform, 'adequacy' means providing sufficient funding so schools are able to provide the programs and services necessary for each student to achieve state and federal student performance expectations."

John Myers, National Consultant on Public School Finance

Minnesota Resources

April 2009 - A Region Apart: A look at challenges and strategies for rural K-12 schools - Rural schools have different and unique sets of hurdles to overcome, largely due to factors not faced by most urban and suburban schools: declining enrollment, an aging taxpayer base, and distance, distance, distance. The intent of this research, therefore, is to present solutions, or at the very least, recommendations for changes that could be made to help maintain and improve student achievement while not increasing cost, Center for Rural Policy and Development (Full Report).

October 2008 - A tale of two states… - Adequacy study in Pennsylvania results in new funding formula; Minnesota’s adequacy study recommendations in need of action, AMSD Connections.

February 2008 - Education Funding – What’s the Real Story? - Funding increase provided to schools was actually about 3 percent for the current school year and less than 1 percent for next year. Absent a supplemental funding package, school districts across the state will be forced to implement significant budget cuts next fall, AMSD Connections (page 2).

February 2007 - Policy Matters Index of State Policy Changes: Minnesota - In 2003-04, Minnesota reduced the percentage of local school funding provided by the state, which is a key contributor to funding adequacy, from 73.8 percent to 69.5 percent, Center for the Study of Social Policy.

January 2007 - Excitement about state surplus is misguided - Department of Finance projections don’t account for inflation, Association of Metropolitan School Districts.

December 2006 - The Funding Gaps 2006 - School finance policy choices systematically shortchange low-income and minority students, Education Trust (Full Report).

The 2006 analysis (based on 2003-2004 numbers), showed:

• Minnesota ranked 20th in federal Title I dollars (30 states received fewer dollars per child in poverty)
• In 26 of 49 states, the highest poverty school districts receive fewer resources than the lowest poverty districts. Not so in Minnesota, which ranked 3rd for putting dollars in high-poverty school districts.
• In 28 states, high-minority districts received less state and local money for each child than low-minority districts. Not so in Minnesota, which ranked 6th for putting dollars in high-minority school districts.

September 2006 - Park Rapids highlights education inequalities, Mankato Free Press.

September 2006 - The Minnesota Miracle Abandoned? Changes in Minnesota School Funding, 2001-2007 - Supporters of the education reforms passed by the state of Minnesota in 2001 pledged that a new era was unfolding in Minnesota where the state would finance the full educational costs of Minnesota’s public school children.... Enormous state expenditures that appeared to direct more state spending to school districts instead simply served to provide tax relief disproportionately to the wealthiest Minnesotans living in its wealthiest school districts, Rural Minnesota Journal.

August 2006 - The Effects of Funding Education through Fixed Per-Pupil Funding Formulas: Evidence of Resource Inequality between Large and Small Schools - Survey of Minnesota public school superintendents finds: Small school districts had significantly lower quality levels compared to larger school districts in many key areas of infrastructure and technology; smaller school districts had much more difficulty than larger school districts in attracting and retaining teachers; and the disparities between small and large school districts are even larger when one compares the low referendum small districts with other school districts in the state, American Political Science Association.

August 2006 - Rocori fees reveal flaws in funding of education, St. Cloud Times.

April 2006 - Increasing Fees Result of Inadequate Funding, AMSD Connections.

February 2006 - Minnesota School District and Charter School Student Fees for Fiscal Years 2002 through 2005, Minnesota Department of Education.

December 2005 - The Funding Gap 2005: Low-Income and Minority Students Shortchanged by Most States - Minnesota lauded for putting the dollars where they're most needed, Education Trust:

"In the nation as a whole, we spend approximately $900 less per year on each student in the school districts with the most poor students than we do in the school districts with the fewest poor students—a gap effectively unchanged over the six years that the Education Trust has examined state and local funding for education. Fortunately, not all states make the same choice. Indeed, some states—Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey among them—have chosen to spend more on schools serving concentrations of poor children. But as this report shows, not enough states have made those kinds of choices."

September 2005 - Minnesota School Finance History, Minnesota Department of Education. Describes six phases of Minnesota public school funding: 

1849–1915: Local Property Tax Supplemented with State Flat Grants
1915–1956: Local Property Tax Supplemented with State Flat Grants and Limited State Equalization Aid
1957-1971: Foundation Program with Minimum Aid Provision and State Share Below 50 Percent
1971–1991: Foundation Program with State Share Exceeding 50 Percent
1991–2000: Foundation Program Supplemented with Referendum and Debt Service Equalization
2001: Full State Funding of Basic Formula with Two-Tiered Equalization of Operating Referendum and Debt Service Levies

May 2005 - Is Adequacy the Goal We Want for Minnesota Schools?, Pioneer Press.

March 2005 - Equity Issues in the State of Minnesota School Finance (MS Word), University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

January 2005 - Options for General Education Formula Changes to Limit Revenue Disparities - Report to the Legislature, Minnesota Department of Education.

February 2004 - Determining the Cost of an Adequate Education in Minnesota: Implications for the Minnesota Education Finance System - Defines "adequacy" based on 8 indicators.  Asks the question, "How much does it cost to meet these minimum standards?" not "How much does it cost to provide a good education?"  Concludes public education in MN adequately funded.  Curious question though, "Why is the 'most efficient' district named in the report projecting a $1.4 million budget deficit for 2004-05?" - Minnesota Center for Public Finance Research/Minnesota Taxpayers Association. [Note: Provides a good starting point for discussion about what we want to include in a statewide definition of what we want a high quality education to look like (above and beyond the 8 indicators measured).]

September 2003 - Education Finance (Power Point) - How to achieve adequacy, Alliance for Student Achievement.

July 2002 - Small Schools Under Siege: Evidence of Resource Inequality in Minnesota Public Schools, Center for Rural Policy and Development (Policy Brief).

January 2000 - Making Difficult Times Worse: The impact of per-pupil funding formulas on rural Minnesota schools, Center for Rural Policy and Development.

National Resources

Education Adequacy Research Articles at Columbia University.

Equity in School Funding - Model state policies that ensure schools in poor districts have access to financial resources at least equal to their more fortunate counterparts, Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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December 2005 - Beyond Bake Sales - Parents shell out hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year for services once covered by state and local education budgets, Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation.

June 2005 - A Guide to Public Engagement and School Finance Litigation - Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of public school funding systems are currently in progress in 23 states, representing a unique opportunity to restructure the ways in which public education is financed and expand the opportunities and resources available to children across the country, Public Education Network.

Fall 2004 - School Finance:  What Parents Need to Know and Do, Parent Press, Parents for Public Schools.

August 2004 - "Court-Mandated Change: An Evaluation of the Efficacy of State Adequacy and Equity Indicators" - Bookmarked at Developments in School Finance: 2003 (left sidebar) - A compilation of papers presented at the 2003 annual NCES Summer Data Conference.