2008.11.26
Study: Inaccurate student census costing schools
A University of Virginia study has found that as much as $17 million in state money given to public education could have been misallocated because of incorrect student census reporting.
State law says that 1.125 percent of tax and sales receipts are supposed to be given to school districts based on the number of students they have.
Most school districts report that data based on a survey done every three years. In a mailing this summer, residents in Montgomery County were asked to identify the number of school-aged children they had.
Researchers at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at UVa. compared their own population estimates with the 2005 census figures reported by 98 of the state's 132 school divisions -- including Giles, Floyd and Pulaski counties -- and found that the way the data is culled varies widely.
Researches excluded localities with colleges, including Montgomery County and Radford City.
The third options they explore is to appoint their center to provide annual estimates of the school-age population using annual population and other estimates.
Using that formula, some New River Valley school districts would receive more state dollars, but others would dip a bit.
Floyd County reported 2,517 students and received about $1.9 million, whereas the researchers found the county had 2,907 students and should have received about $2.1 million. Giles County schools offiicials would get $2.287,710 for the 3,107 students as opposed to $2.3 for 3,074 students. In Pulaski, schools would get $4.3 million for 5.959 students under the school's study. It received $4.5 million for 5,905 students, according to the traditional method.
"By comparing our population estimates with the counts reported by the school divisions, we found that four school divisions counted accurately, 27 reported too many children (and thus got too much money) and 67 reported too few children (getting too little money)," said researcher Susan Perrone said. "Martinsville reported 575 more children than we would have expected, and Portsmouth reported 5,072 too few. As a result of under- and over-counting across the state, the amount allocated ranged from $582 to $928 per child.”
The study has been handed to school leaders and is expected to be given to state lawmakers, the Associated Press said.
