Budgeting for Results Leveraging Evidence-Based Funding Including Core FTE Recommendations to Improve Budgeting and Planning
By Matt Bubness
Senior Manager
Government Finance Officers Association
Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) is designed to help support districts provide funding and services to students and monitor outcomes with particular attention to those students with additional needs – including low-income, English language learners and those with disabilities. In addition, EBF includes potential for tiered funding to provide additional support for districts that lack current resources to make investments in specific areas or core investments. The statute calls for 99 percent of all appropriations to fund the poorest districts. The adequacy target for these districts is determined by staffing ratios or per student calculations coupled with enrollment in specific areas to determine a level of adequacy for each particular district. The specific areas range from student-teacher ratios for a teachers and other staff supporting students in buildings (core investments) to per student amounts spent on areas such as gifted, professional development and central office (per student investments).