Washington DC,Journal of Education Finance

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Washington DC
Journal of Education Finance Pub Date : 2021-04-01
Philip Westbrook

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Washington DC
Philip Westbrook

The District of Columbia (DC) operates two separate school districts: The District of Columbia Public School System (DCPS) and the District of Columbia Public Charter School District (DCPCS).

The DCPS operates as the traditional public school district. In 2019, DCPS served over 51,000 students, or 54 percent of public school students, in 117 public schools.¹ DCPS is unique in that the chancellor serves at the pleasure of the mayor and is accountable to the mayor and city council.² Public educators employed by the DCPS must hold appropriate certification, are paid according to a pay scale, and receive healthcare and retirement benefits.³

The DCPCS, which was created by the DC School Reform Act of 1995 and amended in 1996 to create the DCPCS School Board, operates as a the sole authorizer of public charter schools.⁴ Charter schools are operated and managed by nonprofit corporations. In 2019, DCPCS served over 43,000 students, or 46 percent of public school students, in 128 charter schools operated by 66 managing nonprofit organizations.⁵ Educators employed by DCPCS are not required to hold certification and pay and benefits are determined by the employing charter operator.⁶

Both DCPS and DCPCS are dependent on the city for funding, but they function as two different districts and have separate oversight and budgets.⁷ The Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF), which was passed in 1998 and implemented in 1999, provides the same funding formula for DCPS and DCPCS. The UPSFF is a base allocation with weights for special categories.⁸ However, facilities are funded outside of the UPSFF. DCPS facilities are owned and maintained by the city, while DCPCS receives an allocation per pupil for facilities and capital outlay. In 2019, this amount was $3,263 [End Page 374] for non-residential schools and $8,854 for residential schools.⁹

The finances and budgeting of the DCPS are unique compared to other school districts:¹⁰

• Funding comes from two primary sources, local funds and federal funds.
• DCPS does not have the power to levy taxes to fund public schools. Instead, the DCPS receives funding directly from the city. The mayor and council set local taxes, which must be approved by congress.
• The budget for the DCPS is included in the city's budget and presented to congress for approval rather than the school board.
• The fiscal year for DCPS follows the federal fiscal year of October 1 to September 30 and does not align with the academic school year.
• DCPS cannot carry over fund reserves from year to year. Unspent funds return to the city's general budget.
• DCPS follows the city's accounting system overseen by the Office of the Chief Finance officer for the city. DCPS does not maintain separate finance systems.

The finances and budget of the DCPCS are unique in that:¹¹

• Members of the DCPCS School Board are appointed by the city council. The DCPSCS School Board may only authorize or close charter schools but does not manage the operations of charter schools or approve their budgets.
• The city council allocates funding for the DCPCS through the UPSFF formula but has no direct oversight of the operations of charter schools.
• The DCPCS may carry over unused fund allocations from year to year.

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is the only public institution of higher education in the district. UDC is unique in that it offers workforce training, professional certification, associate, bachelors, masters, doctoral, and law degrees. UDC is a Historically Black College and University and the nation's only urban land-grant university.¹² UDC serves over 4,000 students, the majority of whom are from DC.¹³

funding priorities

The District of Columbia's funding formula for both DCPS and DCPCS, the UPSFF, remained essentially the same for FY 2020 as it did in FY 2019. The UPSFF foundation increased 2.2 percent from $10,658 per pupil to $10,891 per pupil.¹⁴

pressing issues

The pressing issues for both DCPS and DCPCS are the economic uncertainty due primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption to educational services. [End Page 375]

per-pupil expenditures and allocation...

中文翻译：

华盛顿特区

代替摘要，这里是内容的简要摘录：

华盛顿特区
菲利普·威斯布鲁克

哥伦比亚特区（DC）运营两个单独的学区：哥伦比亚特区公立学校系统（DCPS）和哥伦比亚特区公立特许学校区（DCPCS）。

The finances and budgeting of the DCPS are unique compared to other school districts:¹⁰

• Funding comes from two primary sources, local funds and federal funds.
• DCPS does not have the power to levy taxes to fund public schools. Instead, the DCPS receives funding directly from the city. The mayor and council set local taxes, which must be approved by congress.
• The budget for the DCPS is included in the city's budget and presented to congress for approval rather than the school board.
• The fiscal year for DCPS follows the federal fiscal year of October 1 to September 30 and does not align with the academic school year.
• DCPS cannot carry over fund reserves from year to year. Unspent funds return to the city's general budget.
• DCPS follows the city's accounting system overseen by the Office of the Chief Finance officer for the city. DCPS does not maintain separate finance systems.

The finances and budget of the DCPCS are unique in that:¹¹

• Members of the DCPCS School Board are appointed by the city council. The DCPSCS School Board may only authorize or close charter schools but does not manage the operations of charter schools or approve their budgets.
• The city council allocates funding for the DCPCS through the UPSFF formula but has no direct oversight of the operations of charter schools.
• The DCPCS may carry over unused fund allocations from year to year.