Education policy expert assumes national leadership role in organization working to address school funding issues

Facing shrinking budgets and rising expectations, lawmakers and educators across the country are grappling with tough choices on school funding. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, for the next three years, a Florida State University education policy expert will help them better tackle these challenges by leading efforts to connect them with relevant, high-quality research.

Carolyn Herrington, a professor of educational policy in the College of Education and director of the Center on Educational Policy at Florida State’s Learning Systems Institute, has been appointed president-elect of the American Education Finance Association (AEFA). The influential organization pulls together the best research in the country on how to most effectively fund public education.

Policies on the collection and distribution of educational funding have enormous consequences: In many states, close to half the state budget is allocated to education, and how that money is spent affects virtually every student. This year, the topic is drawing even more attention than usual. President Barack Obama recently announced his intention to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as the No Child Left Behind Act, its Bush-era incarnation. The reshaping of that legislation will doubtless stir great debate and yield major changes in how education dollars are generated and allocated across states, districts and schools. So Herrington’s appointment comes at an exciting time.

“Never have the funds appropriated to public education been under so much scrutiny,” Herrington said. An AEFA member for more than two decades, she has watched states shift focus from equity and distribution issues to linking dollars to performance.

“School districts, colleges and universities are all feeling intense heat to make the most from their educational dollars. We know money matters,” Herrington said. “The goal is to make it matter more — to get the best results from the money we are spending. Research on educational finance is key to achieving these ambitious goals.”

The AEFA’s members include researchers such as Herrington as well as practitioners and local, state and federal policymakers. This mix of perspectives, experiences and expertise lends the organization’s work relevance and credibility, according to Herrington.

“We’re about research as well as practice,” she said. “Practitioners get ideas that are research-based, and researchers benefit from having their ideas tested in real-world applications.”

Herrington is among a growing number of Florida State professors with expertise in educational finance who together have raised the university’s reputation in the field. Others include Tammy Kolbe, Tom Luschei and Lora Cohen-Vogel in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Patrice Iatarola, who chairs the department; and Tim Sass, a professor of economics.

Laura Lang, director of the Learning Systems Institute and an associate professor in the College of Education, lauded Herrington’s appointment.

“Carolyn’s expertise in school finance and policy make her an excellent choice to assume the leadership mantle for the AEFA,” Lang said, “especially given the national policy considerations on the horizon and the massive school reform efforts that are expected as the federal government awards more than $4 billion in Race to the Top grants.”

College of Education Dean Marcy Driscoll echoed Lang’s sentiments.

“This appointment is a testament to the impact of Dr. Herrington’s work in the field of education policy and finance,” Driscoll said. “We are proud of her achievement, which enhances the reputation of the Learning Systems Institute, the College of Education and FSU.”

Herrington will serve as a leader in the AEFA for three years, the first as president-elect, the second as president and the final year as past president.