Honorable City Council and School Board Members:
The idea of establishing a formula-based agreement for sharing local revenue collected by the city with our public school system had merit. The designation of a committee comprised of representatives of the city, the schools, and the public to work out the details of such an agreement was reasonable. Hiring an experienced consultant to guide the process made good sense. Yet, when the months of research, discussion, and planning produced a recommendation to the city council and school board last February, the hope of implementing a policy that could end the long-running antagonism between the two bodies over local funding for education went up in a puff of smoke. What went wrong?
From my perspective, the crux of the matter was the unwillingness of city council to negotiate in good faith with the school board on key issues, including what the basis for the formula itself should be. The consultant selected a percentage of local revenue, 30.23 per cent, that appeared to be based on what the allocation to the schools had been for 2019-2020 fiscal year. No discussion of what needs went unaddressed due to that allotment was entertained as part of the committee work, despite a desire on the part of some committee members to have it. When the two elected bodies had their joint meeting, Mayor Rowe permitted members of both bodies to express their individual views, but he did not facilitate a conversation about contentious issues. He delegated to the school board and council liaisons the task of tying up loose ends and bringing back their findings two weeks later. (The joint school board and city council meeting of February 10, 2020, comprises about the first hour and a half of the video recording accessible at https://youtu.be/SGJKbAymcbU. The PowerPoint presentation for that meeting is available at PowerPoint Presentation (portsmouthva.gov.)
On February 25 council held a work session without the school board. Although the intimation that more bilateral conversation about the funding formula hung in the air at the conclusion of the joint meeting, a resolution fully detailing the applicable policy (see 20-85-Resolution (portsmouthva.gov) had been placed on that evening’s regular agenda. Council Member Lisa Lucas Burke presented her views at length on the appropriateness of the policy and dismissed the concerns of school board members and the schools administration. (See https://youtu.be/RcRVg_cEjSA?t=5934). In the regular meeting she repeated her earlier recitation, but Schools Superintendent Bracy, School Board Chair Parent, School Board Member Lamb, and three members of the public offered refutation to her arguments and voiced opposition to the policy as proposed. Despite the unanimity of opinion among the registered speakers, Mayor Rowe and Council Members Clark, Lucas-Burke, Moody, and Psimas voted to adopt the policy without modification. Council Member Glover was the lone vote against it, and Council Member Battle was absent. (See https://youtu.be/K5As-Dr5gcI?t=949.) The FY 2021 City Budget adopted a few months later based the schools allocation on that policy.
Despite the shortcomings of the existing policy and the unconscionable manner in which it was ultimately adopted, I do not believe it should be jettisoned. Instead, I advocate a reworking of the formula so as to better address the legitimate needs of the school system going forward. I want our education system in Portsmouth to help our students compete successfully and prosper in a global economy. That can only happen if our schools provide them access to essential knowledge and foster critical thinking skills. Adequate funding is a prerequisite. Recognizing that no locality has the resources to fund everything completely, I know nonetheless that Portsmouth could make better choices about its allocation of scarce financial resources. My charge to the members of both boards, then, is to use your joint meeting tonight to grapple with the critical issue of equitable funding for our schools and make a good faith effort to achieve it. An appropriate funding formula can be a valuable tool in that endeavor.
Please let me know if you need additional information.
Yours truly,
Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky