On Your Side: USA's Legislative Action

Kansas Resource Management Study

In 2005, Governor Sebelius, with the financial support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, commissioned Standard and Poor's (S&P) School Evaluation Services to conduct a resource management study of the state’s school districts. The overarching objective of the project is to help Kansas better understand how district resources are being used and to identify organizational strategies for how to spend money, deploy staff, and use time more effectively.

The study does not attempt to answer the question of how much money the state and individual school systems should spend on education.  Instead, the study provides a starting point to answer the question of how well or how effectively school districts are spending money already appropriated to them. 

Phase III: A Synthesis of Highly Resource Effective District Strategies

On Friday, May 19th, Michael Stewart and Jason Kingston of Standard and Poor’s (S&P) met with the Kansas 2010 Commission to present Phase III:  A Synthesis of Highly Resource-Effective District Strategies of the Kansas Resource Management Study.  The report identifies and summarizes shared resource allocation strategies and allocation distributions among highly resource-effective districts.  Even more importantly, however, is the scope and breadth of the review.  The report takes a comprehensive approach to the discussion about resource-allocation; information was obtained through a statewide survey and information provided for the S&P SchoolMatters.com website.

The analysis was fully informed by the intensive site visits (conducted by teams of up to seven analysts) that took place in Phase II.  S&P identified specific performance measures to establish the definition of effectiveness; adjusted for economic and demographic status and comparison to district peer groups; and provided an analysis of management practices, organizational processes, and performance measures. 

The analysis found that Highly Resource-Effective Districts (HREDs) made deliberate and intentional decisions and took appropriate action.  The analysis also revealed there was a common set of practices applied by all the HREDs, including:

• Align spending with strategic priorities, especially student performance goals.
• Invest strategically to optimize the return (i.e., student achievement) on resources.
• Recruit and retain high-quality teachers who are in tune with the district’s culture and philosophy.
• Invest in targeted professional development to ensure return on strategic program investments.
• Consider only research-substantiated programs, and evaluate them thoroughly before and after the purchase.
• Use data to drive programmatic decisions, with careful attention to student needs and resources.

For a summary of the findings of Phase III, read Promising Practices: Getting the Most Out of Your Education Investment – S&P Explores Strategies Used By Highly Resource Effective School Districts. To read the Phase III report in its entirety, click here.

Detailed District Reports

In Phase II, S&P conducted an in-depth review and analysis of four highly-resource effective districts, including Arkansas City, Geary County, Olathe, and Scott County. To read the report and individual summary reports, click on the appropriate link.

In Phase I, S&P evaluated 16 highly resource-effective districts: Arkansas City, Baldwin City, Geary County, Halstead, Hays, Hesston, Lincoln, Macksville, Nickerson, Renwick, Rock Creek, Scott County, Spearville, Stafford, Vermillion, and Wamego. To read the Executive Report and access individual district summary reports, click the appropriate link.

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The 2010 Commission is comprised of 11 members, one each appointed by the Senate President, the Speaker of the House and the minority leaders of each chamber; one member jointly selected by those same four leaders; the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees; two members appointed by the governor plus an appointee from Legislative Post Audit and an appointee from the Attorney General’s office.  The commission submits annual reports to the legislature on its work and makes recommendations to improve and/or reform the educational system and the manner in which the system is financed.

Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services was established in 2001 in response to an expressed need by the education community for an impartial, transparent analysis of the nation's educational data.  The mission of School Evaluation Services has been to provide educators, policymakers, business leaders, parents, and taxpayers with an objective, independent analysis of school and school district data to allow them to implement more effective school reform policies.  To learn more about S&P School Evaluation Services, visit www.schoolmatters.com.