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Do Other States Include a Minimum Guarantee in Their School Funding Formula?

Client: Indiana School Finance Issue Group
Term: February 2005–present

In Indiana three separate school funding calculations are performed for each school corporation. The one that produces the largest dollar amount becomes the Target Revenue for that corporation. Because the Minimum Guarantee Grant, which is the product of one of the calculations, increases a corporation’s previous year Target Revenue by a specific amount (e.g., 1 percent), the practical effect is that each corporation in Indiana is guaranteed to receive at least that amount or more, regardless of changes in the corporation’s enrollment or demographics. Do the school funding programs in other states increase a corporation’s operating dollars — compared to their previous year dollars — even if the corporation’s enrollment declines? That is the question investigated in this piece.

2/05—Do Other States Include a Minimum Guarantee in Their School Funding Formula?