Corbett Schools are often, but not always, highly ranked. Let's take per pupil spending, for example. In 2007-2008, Corbett ranked last in Multnomah County. On the average, students who lived in Multnomah County but outside Corbett enjoy a $10,000 per year education allocation. In Corbett that number was, according to the Open Books project, $8291.00. So we spent at about 83% of the County average. In general, per pupil spending drops as one moves eastward from downtown. Portland and Riverdale lead the way, David Douglas, Reynolds and Parkrose are the second eschelon (all at $9000+ per kid), leaving Centennial, Gresham-Barlow and Corbett (in that order) to bring up the rear. Gresham spent barely $150.00 per kid more than Corbett. Not a lot, but Corbett teachers would have put an extra $3750.00 per classroom to good use.
But that's just Multnomah County, and everyone knows that bigger schools and bigger districts are just more expensive to operate. O.K., everyone doesn't know that, but only because nobody pays attention!
But what about other small schools? What about schools that Corbett competes with in football, basket ball, soccer? Well, it's bad news for the sports fans! Warrenton, Colton, Nestucca Valley, Neah-Kah-Nie, Seaside, Gaston, Knappa: they all outspend Corbett. On the average, these schools spend well over $10,000 per pupil per year. Neah-Kah-Nie, Nestucca and Seaside lead the way, with the lowest of them spending $10,753.00 per pupil. Knappa and Gaston are next at $9000+, and Colton, Warrenton and Corbett, in that order, bring up the rear. Like Gresham, Warrenton spends only about $150 per kid more than Corbett. Just $4000 more per classroom, in the case of Warrenton.
But hey, that's just small, rural schools. Everybody knows that small, rural schools are more expensive to operate.. WAIT A MINUTE!
What just happened? Corbett gets less than its (mostly) larger, urban counterparts because it is small and rural, and it gets less than its small, rural counterparts because it is...small and rural?
It's nobody's fault, really. Oregon has an extremely complex funding formula that has been manipulated at various times to take care of one or another interest group. It is obvious that both the large urban districts and the small, more remote districts have had their day in the legislature. And some districts have passed operating levies and have local taxes that help their situation. Corbett is small, rural, and too close to other schools to qualify as remote. We are stuck in between categories and miss out on the benefits of either. We do get a small high school adjustment, which is extremely helpful. Still, Colton, which is Corbett's demographic twin by all accounts, winds up with$330.00 more per kid. That's over $8000 per classroom. And that's no knock on Colton, whose schools I admire and which deserve all of the support that they can get. I mention them only to illustrate the peculiarity of Corbett's circumstance.
It's nobody's fault, and my attempts to raise the issue with the state have to date fallen on deaf ears. But it's a dilemma, and it leaves Corbett's kids with less support than they deserve.
We're off to a good start this year. While we will likely continue to bring up the rear in financial support, we intend to show well in every measure of school success.
