If you go too much earlier in the spring, then the kids haven't had all the instruction they should have.

It shouldn't be a race to the moon. This shouldn't be about one state being compared to another, but we all know that's what happens. And that gives states incentives to tweak their formulas so that they look better.

Teachers are people too and they can lose patience just as well as anyone can. Everyone's got their level of tolerance. Even the best of folks can lose it now and then.

Any time you have a conversation about how you reconfigure districts, those questions are going to be a consideration. In some cases the idea is that consolidation will lead to more fairness. In others it's that smaller districts might mean more local control and better support for student needs.

No matter how good your intentions are, you still have to find the money. That's what states are struggling with.