According to a preliminary calculation by the Oregon Department of Education, the Forest Grove School District will see a $530,170 increase in funding next year thanks to an update to the data used to calculate poverty.
The state had used the same census data to calculate poverty in districts for the past 13 years, as statue required use of decennial census data that stopped collecting poverty information after 2000, according to ODE. With the passage of House Bill 2098 last year, the state board now can update the method used to calculate poverty.
The State Board of Education adopted the new method on Jan. 23, which is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income Poverty Estimate. The model gauges poverty in smaller population sizes, according to ODE.
"This change will ensure that the districts with the highest numbers of students in poverty are receiving some additional resources to help meet those students' educational needs," state board Chair Samuel Henry said in a press release.
Forest Grove's funding will increase because the district now has more students in poverty. Before the data change, about 1,054 students were counted in the Forest Grove district as in poverty, according to state data. With the updated method, that number jumps to about 1,495 students. The district has a total enrollment of 5,674 students as of Jan. 6.
Connie Potter, district chief of staff, was happy to hear of the funding boost.
“We track our free and reduced lunch figures, and they’re always high,” she said. “We are very aware that we have a lot of families in need in our district.”
ODE calculates funding for each district based on a weighted system- funding is distributed per student, but extra money is given for students that fit into certain categories, such as special education or in poverty.
Eighty of Oregon’s 197 districts, like Forest Grove, will get additional funding because of the change. But 117 districts, like Gaston and Banks schools, will get less funding for a variety of reasons, such as declining enrollment overall or fewer students in poverty.
The new data will apply to the 2014-2015 school year. The current funding calculations are preliminary, and schools will get formal funding estimates in the spring, according to ODE.