Learnings and predictions around the dominant themes and challenges facing education finance over the next decade.
An eye-opening essay series by Allovue
If I had to choose one issue that will dominate ed finance discourse over the next decade, it’s teacher compensation. Teacher compensation is related to several challenges plaguing K-12 education: teacher shortages, teacher recruitment and retention, pension debt, resource equity, and funding adequacy.
For the first time in decades, enrollment in K-12 public schools is precipitously declining: estimated public school enrollment for 2023 was a million students short of 2019 levels; about a 2% drop. Where have all the students gone, and what are the consequences of a shrinking student population?
The current public school pension system is fiscally unsustainable in many states, contributing to depressed wages and presenting a major threat to school budgets (despite only benefiting a minority of teachers in the workforce today). Let's talk about the +$600 billion budget cut happening to public schools.
If I had to choose one issue that will dominate ed finance discourse over the next decade, it’s teacher compensation. Teacher compensation is related to several challenges plaguing K-12 education: teacher shortages, teacher recruitment and retention, pension debt, resource equity, and funding adequacy.
For the first time in decades, enrollment in K-12 public schools is precipitously declining: estimated public school enrollment for 2023 was a million students short of 2019 levels; about a 2% drop. Where have all the students gone, and what are the consequences of a shrinking student population?
The current public school pension system is fiscally unsustainable in many states, contributing to depressed wages and presenting a major threat to school budgets (despite only benefiting a minority of teachers in the workforce today). Let's talk about the +$600 billion budget cut happening to public schools.
If districts unbundle resources and programming, they can offer a wider range of curated educational choices for students within the public school system, rather than requiring them to seek choices elsewhere.
The workflow and tools for managing the flow of money, people, time, and supplies in schools remain stubbornly stuck in decades-old tech. What's next?
If we expect schools to be catch-alls for community support, why not coordinate community resources in the very hubs of community that already exist?
If districts unbundle resources and programming, they can offer a wider range of curated educational choices for students within the public school system, rather than requiring them to seek choices elsewhere.
The workflow and tools for managing the flow of money, people, time, and supplies in schools remain stubbornly stuck in decades-old tech. What's next?
If we expect schools to be catch-alls for community support, why not coordinate community resources in the very hubs of community that already exist?
The Next 10 Years of Education Finance is a 10-part series. If you're enjoying these articles, consider subscribing for updates! We'll send each article to you as they're released. When the series is done, you can decide if you want to continue receiving content from Allovue.
Jess Gartner is the CEO & Founder of Allovue. On a mission to empower K-12 educators to strategically and equitably allocate financial resources, Allovue supports school systems across the nation with solutions to allocate, budget, and manage resources for 3 million students. Previously, Jess studied education policy at the University of Pennsylvania and received her M.A. in Teaching from Johns Hopkins. She has taught in classrooms around the world, including Thailand, South Africa, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. She also serves on the National Advisory Committee for Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Board of Education Week.
Jason Becker leads development, design, and product management at Allovue in his role as Chief Product Officer. He started at Allovue in 2014 bringing a unique array of professional experiences including: developing a state education formula, designing complex statewide data collections and validation procedures, managing multiple data systems integration projects, and conducting analyses of school district financial data. He holds an Sc.B. in Chemistry and A.M. in Urban Education Policy from Brown University and was a member of Cohort 4 of the Strategic Data Project from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.
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