Dear IASA member,

Throughout the pandemic, IASA has tried to support school leaders across the state with actionable tools, support and guidance. As we all embark on an unparalleled school year, questions have surfaced related to state funding and the distribution of Evidence-Based Funding dollars.

IASA is fortunate to have two superintendents on the Evidence-Based Funding Professional Review Panel, a group of practitioners, experts, legislative leaders and advocates tasked with reviewing and recommending modifications to EBF.

One of the superintendents on the panel, Gary Tipsord at LeRoy CUSD #2, created a short Q&A to help address the most pressing questions you might have about funding and EBF.

We hope this information is helpful as we all navigate through this challenging time together.

Yours for better schools, 

Brent Clark, Ph.D.
Executive Director
When will we know how much new money we will be getting, and which Tier we are in?  

For this fiscal year, the General Assembly and the Governor have committed to flat funding the EBF model. That means there are $0.00 to be distributed through the Tier's, but because of the design of the model, as long as the model is funded at a level equal to the previous year, we will all get our Base Funding Minimum and our Tier distribution from the previous year. 2020 Base Funding Minimum equals 2019 Base Funding Minimum plus 2019 Tier Distribution.

How will transportation and other mandated categoricals impact our funding in the model?  

Those sources of funding remain as mandated categoricals and do not have a direct impact on our funding through the model. 

Because of COVID, we've had students not enroll this year. How will my decline in enrollment impact my funding?  

Remember, 2020 Base Funding Minimum equals 2019 Base Funding Minimum plus 2019 Tier Distribution. Enrollment impacts the Adequacy Target. If the enrollment is increasing, our Adequacy Target is going to get larger. If the enrollment is decreasing, our Adequacy Target is going to get smaller. The impact to a school district from a change in enrollment is the relative % Adequacy. Unless a district is right on the cut line for a Tier, a change in enrollment (alone) has virtually no impact on funding, and this year with no Tier Funding, it has no impact at all.