Arkansas school superintendents say funding is an obstacle in building facilities

Fifty-eight percent of Arkansas school superintendents said in a survey a lack of state funding is the top obstacle they face in financing school facilities in their district, according to a presentation to the Joint Education Committee.

Studies are inconclusive on whether academic facilities’ conditions impact student learning, but there is evidence that they can impact student health and student perception on safety, Jasmine Ray, a legislative analyst, said at a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees.

A temporary advisory committee created through Act 801 in 2017 reported the total estimated capital needs for public school academic facilities in the state was more than $604 million.

Arkansas’ public schools receive most of their funding for academic facilities through the state’s Academic Facilities Partnership Program. School districts and the state share the cost of facilities construction and major renovations through the program, Ray said.

Open enrollment public school charters are not eligible for the program due to not having a taxing authority, according to Ray.

The cost for public school facilities in Arkansas has risen over the years. In 2016, the Partnership Program allocated nearly $42 million annually for facilities funding, but it is estimated that allocation will be as high as $70 million for fiscal year 2023, Ray said. Arkansas’ capital outlay expenditures per student has grown over the last several years from more than $1,000 per student in 2015 to more than $1,500 per student in 2019, she said.

Open enrollment public charter schools, which receive their facilities funding through a program created in 2015, reported total expenditures have increased 40% since then, according to Ray. Arkansas has allocated more than $53 million for charter school facilities funding since 2014.

Ray said elementary and secondary school facilities are the second largest infrastructure capital outlay in the United States behind highways. Unlike transportation, which has most of its capital costs covered by federal and state sources, local school districts have the highest responsibility for funding school construction projects.

Out of the six states surrounding Arkansas, three do not provide any state funding for K-12 facilities, and 11 states overall do not pay anything toward local school district facilities, Ray said.

This article was originally posted on Arkansas school superintendents say funding is an obstacle in building facilities