King: “Cautiously Optimistic” About New School Funding Formula

Putnam Schools Director Corby King is “cautiously optimistic” about the new school funding formula announced Thursday.

King said his main takeaway is that the state is keeping the focus on the students. He said that if everything goes through as projected, the initial increase could bring some $14 million for Putnam County Schools.

“We’ve had a needs for a long time that have not been covered in the BEP, we all know that,” King said. “Moving away from the BEP has been a little bit scary, just not sure of all the unknowns. But now we see the base, we see the weights, we see how all the students are funded, and there seems to be a lot of positives in there.”

King said that one of those positives includes the potential for additional funding for fast-growing school systems. He said that should Putnam Schools maintain a yearly two percent growth they could be eligible for such a stipend.

“And for years we moved between one and two percent, we had steady growth, slow but steady between one and two percent,” King said. “Our community knows as they’re driving around town, we’re growing quickly and our system reflects that as well. So if we are growing over two percent, that three, four percent, then yes we’ll be eligible for that fast-growing fund.”

King said that now they have numbers attached to the formula, it seems to accomplish a lot of things they have been wanting, particularly teacher raises. He said that they discuss often how important it is to be able to give teachers, support staff, and anyone who works for the school the wages they deserve.