Understanding Navajo K–12 Public School Finance in Arizona through Tribal Critical Theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
David G. Martinez ◽  
Oscar Jiménez-Castellanos ◽  
Victor H. Begay
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Public School District ◽  
Navajo Nation ◽  
Fiscal Revenue ◽  
K 12

Background/Context Currently, Native American education policy reports and empirical research papers have largely focused on sociocultural challenges to Native sovereignty and the policy that impedes Native sovereign states. This paper deviates from that theme by implicating policy as preventing improvement of educational outcomes by proxy of the fiscal revenue available to reservation schools, focusing specifically on the Navajo Nation. To date, this is the first empirically driven, Native-specific school finance study that attempts to compare how Anglo and Native schools are funded and how the quality and dispersion of this funding affects Native education and outcomes. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study reports on a longitudinal descriptive analysis of school fiscal revenue (2006–2012), comparing Navajo K–12 school districts against Arizona public school districts. This empirical research paper attempts to answer the following questions: How did Navajo K–12 public school district demographics compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo K–12 public school districts perform academically compared to Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo public school district tax rates and assessed property valuation compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo public school district revenues compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? Research Design This research study is a univariate statistical analysis (i.e., mean, median, standard deviation, range, and percentile) examining general descriptions of individual fiscal revenue variables for schooling. Data Collection and Analysis The data comprised publicly available Arizona Department of Education Excel files (Excel v14.0) merged into one consolidated dataset imported to SPSSv22.0. Our analysis began by selecting Navajo public school districts from our dataset and then comparing them to Arizona public districts (excluding Navajo and nontraditional LEA districts) from 2006 to 2012. Findings/Results This study has two conclusions: (a) There is a clear and growing achievement gap between Navajo and Arizona districts; and (b) Our results seem to suggest that Arizona's equalization formula is not effectively counterbalancing the impact of local property wealth, as shown by the disparities in combined state and local revenue between Navajo K–12 school districts and Arizona districts. Conclusions/Recommendations The findings in this study indicate that Arizona must address policy and practice in order to remedy the educational disparity between Navajo students and their non-Navajo peers. Navajo Nation schools require agency to designate priorities and state funding to meet these priorities.

The Fragmentation of Metropolitan Public School Districts and the Segregation of American Schools: A Longitudinal Analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith P. Richards ◽  
Kori J. Stroub
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Ethnic Segregation ◽  
Public School District ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Context Scholars have increasingly raised concerns about the “fragmentation” or proliferation of metropolitan public school districts, citing the potential for fragmentation to facilitate racial/ethnic segregation by permitting individuals to sort more efficiently across district boundaries. In addition, scholars have expressed particular concern about the rapid growth of charter districts and their potential to exacerbate segregation. Purpose of Study In this study, we provide initial evidence on the effect of public school district fragmentation on the trajectory of racial/ethnic segregation in metropolitan areas, attending to the differential effects of regular school district fragmentation as well as charter district fragmentation. Research Design Using NCES Common Core data for the 2002–2010 school years, we computed measures of regular public school district fragmentation and charter district fragmentation as well as nine measures of racial/ethnic segregation for all 366 U.S. metropolitan areas (3 geographic x 3 racial/ethnic decompositions). We then estimated a series of multilevel longitudinal models predicting change in each measure of segregation as a function of regular and charter school district fragmentation. Results We found that school district fragmentation is unrelated to the overall level of segregation in a metropolitan area. More fragmented metropolitan areas have higher levels of segregation across districts than less fragmented metropolitan areas; however, they have lower levels of segregation within districts and equivalent levels of total metropolitan segregation. Likewise, school district fragmentation was not associated with worsening segregation over time or with attenuation of the secular trend toward declining segregation. More fragmented metropolitan areas had smaller declines in between-district segregation over the study period than less fragmented metropolitan areas; however, they had equivalent declines in within-district and total metropolitan segregation. In addition, charter district fragmentation was unrelated to the level or trajectory of school segregation in a metropolitan area. Conclusions Our results provide a somewhat more sanguine assessment of school district fragmentation than previous research. We found that the fragmentation of regular public school districts serves to shift the geographic scale of segregation from within districts to between districts; however, fragmentation does not exacerbate metropolitan racial/ethnic segregation. In addition, despite the rapid growth of charter districts, we find no evidence that charter district fragmentation has worsened overall metropolitan racial/ethnic segregation. Moreover, metropolitan areas are not experiencing the “fragmentation” of their traditional public school districts; rather, traditional school districts are consolidating despite increasing enrollment.

Face Mask Policies of US Public School Districts in States without Statewide Mandates

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Jacobs ◽  
Arvi Ohinmaa
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Us States ◽  
School Settings ◽  
The Individual

Objective: We developed categories of the degree of restrictiveness of public schoolboards’ face mask policies in 10 US states that had no statewide mask mandates at any time during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data on schoolboards’ mask wearing policies for the individual boards in these states. Methods: We obtained school reopening plans found on school district webpages. We abstracted district mask policies and sorted them into groups indicating whether mask wearing was required or recommended. Results: Overall, 44% of boards mandated masks in school settings. There was a wide variation of policies within and between states. Conclusions: When left to their own resources, schoolboards will follow a variety of policies, many of which are a departure from state recommendations.

scholarly journals Examining charter school policy and public school district resource allocation in Ohio

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Allen Linick
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Public School ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Charter School ◽  
School Policy ◽  
Competitive Pressure ◽  
Public School District ◽  
Instructional Resource ◽  
Charter School Policy

This project focuses on the competitive pressure, or the threat of competitive pressure, generated by charter school policy. This paper uses longitudinal district-level data and multiple quasi-experimental designs to examine the relationship between two Ohio charter school policies and changes in public school district instructional resource allocation. Some believe that the competitive pressure created by charter schools will improve efficiency in district-run public schools; however, the findings from this study do not reliably demonstrate that charter school policy will induce a public school district to increase the level of instructional resource allocation. The findings do provide evidence that some charter policies are linked to changes in resource allocation at certain school districts. This study suggests that additional, multiple method investigations are needed to study how public school districts respond to competition and policies designed to change the levels of competition in the public school system.   

scholarly journals The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Shelby B. Scarbrough
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School District ◽  
Public School District ◽  
Assessment Scores ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Screening Assessment ◽  
Retention Of Teachers ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Hires

This quantitative study examined the retention of new hires at a Midwestern, K-12, public school district using the scores of an application screening assessment as a predictor. New teacher hires' overall performance results on a screening assessment were compared to the retention of those hires after 1 year of employment. In addition to the overall scores, the impact of subscale results in the areas of cognitive ability, teaching skills, and attitudinal disposition were also compared to the retention of new hires. The study results indicate that differences exist in the application screening assessment scores of new hires and their retention after 1 year of employment. The study concludes with recommendations designed to aid school leaders in objective hiring practices that yield retention of teachers with a strong fit to the organization.

scholarly journals Stasis and Change in Public School District Racial/Ethnic Segregation, 1993–2015

AERA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285842092997
Author(s):  
Meredith P. Richards ◽  
Kori James Stroub ◽  
Camila Cigarroa Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Ethnic Segregation ◽  
Meaningful Change ◽  
Public School District ◽  
Education Statistics ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Scholars have often suggested that racial integration is inherently unstable—a transition point in the racial transformation of neighborhoods and schools. While much empirical attention has been paid to documenting changes in segregation in public school districts, in this study we provide initial evidence focusing on the stability of segregation patterns. We calculate annual measures of district racial/ethnic segregation from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data from 1993 to 2015. Our findings suggest that despite relatively high and stable levels of segregation nationally, stability is the rule, rather than the exception, for the majority of public school districts. Using a taxonomy of severity and stability derived from previous scholarship, we find that most districts are “stably integrated,” with a minority “stably segregated” or exhibiting meaningful change. Our findings suggest that further attention to the characteristics and practices of “stably integrated” districts may be warranted.

scholarly journals Premature celebrations: The persistence of inter-district funding disparities

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Baker ◽  
Kevin G. Welner
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
National Data ◽  
Dominant Form ◽  
Funding Disparities ◽  
Over Time

Two interlocking claims are being increasing made around school finance: that states have largely met their obligations to resolve disparities between local public school districts and that the bulk of remaining disparities are those that persist within school districts. These local decisions are described as irrational and unfair school district practices in the allocation of resources between individual district schools. In this article, we accept the basic contention of within-district inequities. But we begin with a critique of the empirical basis for the claims that within-district disparities are the dominant form of persistent disparities in school finance, finding that claims to this effect are largely based on one or a handful of deeply flawed analyses. Next, we present empirical analysis, using national data, of 16-year trends (1990 to 2005) and recent patterns (2005 to 2007) of between-district disparities, finding that state efforts to resolve between-district disparities are generally incomplete and inadequate and that in some states, between-district disparities have actually increased over time.

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