Rhode Island education system needs overhauled, not more funding, says policy group

(The Center Square) – One Rhode Island legislator is proposing amending the state’s education funding formula, while one public policy group says the education system needs to be eliminated.

Senate Majority Leader Ryan W. Pearson, D-Cumberland, is proposing a bill that will be heard Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Finance that would amend the state’s education funding system that has been in place for more than a decade.

Pearson said Senate Bill 0456 would change the education funding system to meet the needs of today’s students.

“Action to update the education funding formula cannot wait,” Pearson said in a statement. “Developed more than a decade ago and essentially unchanged since, the existing formula is no longer sustainable. Every year we do not act to provide our students with the resources they need is a year in which they lose out academically, and that concern is more urgent than ever in the wake of the pandemic.”

Pearson claims the legislation would set up a funding system that would include multilingual learners and provides for “equity among our communities.”

Mike Stenhouse, who serves as chief executive officer of the RI Center For Freedom and Prosperity, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that the entire education system needs to be eliminated.

“What we have learned is that education is not about funding,” Stenhouse said. “Rhode Island spends among the highest in the nation. When it comes to per capita spending on public school students, and yet we perform below average.”

Pearson’s bill would call for amending the state’s Student Success Factor formula calculation to include multilingual learners and at the same time provide for “an accurate and reliable funding stream” to support students.

Pearson, according to a release, said that categorical aid has been a “short-term approach” that isn’t adequately meeting the costs of English learner services. The funding the state provides is $4,650 per student and the fiscal year 2023 budget spends just $1,105 per student.

The bill, according to a release, would also have communities being required to meet local share obligations under the formula instead of increasing the weight of the student fund. Pearson’s bill would set new guidelines, ensuring equity in funding distribution to schools around the state.

“Our education system has the power to ensure a better future for not only our students of today, but all Rhode Islanders,” Pearson said in a release. “A strong education system leads to a stronger economy, improved economic and social prosperity, and, importantly, hope for all in our state.”

Stenhouse said the current education system needs to be addressed.

“Education is no longer a system that services students,” Stenhouse said. “It serves and enriches adults.”