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New Education Funding Model to be Recommended at L.A.'s State of the District
At 8 a.m., LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines is scheduled to give his State of the District speech, outlining four strategies, including a funding model that gives money to schools based on each student's needs, according to the LA Times.
"Per-pupil" budgeting gives individual schools more independence when it comes to financial decisions. "Wherever that student enrolls, the money follows. Then the school decides how to spend that money," explains the Times. "The concept is not without challenges. To succeed, local schools must know how to spend their money wisely." Currently, money is doled out from a central office to schools.
Other strategies to be discussed include instruction based on student performance data, a teachers corps and better information-giving to parents, who will be given more involvement options. None of this will be easy, however, as the district faces a $640-million budget deficit next year.
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