Individual states have a long tradition of providing financial support for their public K-12 schools. This support reflects the state's constitutional requirement to educate its citizens. However, states vary widely in both the amount of funding provided to public schools, and the distribution of funding among schools. The fundamental observation…

Reviews the role of foundations in public education over the past 30 years, concentrating on 4 broad areas: research, technology and things, people, and curriculum and school improvement. Foundations now see that a relationship exists between education and other services for children and that a holistic approach to school improvement is needed.…

Presents a proposal to achieve major finance reform goals by providing property tax relief and increasing state funding out of income-tax receipts, relying on Illinois' growth dividend. The plan is funded by proportional taxes and would make school reform more politically palatable to affluent taxpayers. (28 footnotes) (MLH)

This description of the Tennessee equalization plan consists of (1) a description of Tennessee's current public school finance program; (2) recommendations for change in the existing program; (3) a description of the conformance of the recommended changes to the equity guidelines developed by the United States Commissioner of Education pursuant to…

State equalization programs for school funding have been structured around variously weighted combinations of district wealth, tax effort and student need. For rural and small school districts, these programs have not always provided adequate financing. Nine rural school finance alternatives are suggested. (MH)

Virginia's school funding system is characterized by large inequalities and inadequacy. Disparities are increased when the state fails to pay for the full cost of education, state funding is inadequate, facilities are not state-funded, funding rewards only wealthy localities, and ability to pay is measured inaccurately. (Contains 25 references.)…

Interviews involving 58 Ohio stakeholders focused on detailing state K-12 education goals, identifying the current system's strengths and weaknesses, and discussing the financial/political viability of potential school funding strategies. Consensus emerged regarding the role of property taxes, local control, the foundation formula rationale, and…

In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court declared the state's educational finance system unconstitutional, allowing 1 year to enact a systemic overhaul. After 3 years of public controversy, plaintiffs and the state are contesting the sufficiency of the state's response. A court-supervised remedial process may be necessary. (86 footnotes) (MLH)

Under Ohio's existing educational finance plan, the power of school districts to purchase the educational resources commensurate with each district's educational needs is far from equal. Consideration of four specific potential reforms, separately and in combination, indicates that greater equity can be obtained. If Ohio is to avoid substantial…

As in previous years, this publication provides information on two dimensions of public education finance in the United States--raising and distributing education dollars. Information as reported by each of the 50 states is provided. The first section shows the current financing structure used in each state. In 1990, states generally reported four…

This is the report of a finance review which examined long-standing inequities in education finance as well as current problems stemming from declining enrollment and sparse rural populations. An introduction provides the rationale for the review, along with the mandate set out by the Minister of Education, an overview of the organization and…

This paper evaluates the equity dimensions of a grant-in-aid system based on the Resource Cost Model (RCM), as proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education. The first section is an independent evaluation of the conceptual and legal aspects of the RCM, focusing on both the weaknesses and the strengths of the model. In the second section, an…

New Jersey's urban--or "Abbott"--schools have improved at the preschool and elementary school level, but lag when it comes to middle and high school performance. These are the key findings of an Abbott Indicators Project report entitled, "The Abbott Districts in 2005-06: Progress and Challenges." The report was prepared by…