The 2019 Student Opportunity Act creates a once-in-a-generation moment for Massachusetts students: the Commonwealth has committed $1.5 billion dollars over seven years to make good on the promise that best-in-the-nation education can be a reality for all Massachusetts children, especially English learners and students from low-income families. But…

With the hopeful prospect of new money before them and the continued pressure to stretch every dollar, school districts face a choice: do more of the same, or seize this moment of change to re-envision schooling to better meet student needs. This means thinking strategically about the resources school systems have and ensuring new funds go toward…

The U.S.'s educational system is at a crossroads. Preparing every student for college and careers in the information age requires that school districts invest more and differently in teaching effectiveness, time, individual attention, and information systems. But even before a decline in revenue, district leaders face automatic increases in…

There are very real barriers to using people, time, money, and technology well in today's public schools systems. To begin to break down these barriers, the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) has created a framework to prioritize seven urgent restructuring priorities. The authors have found that these areas represent the largest opportunities for…

Billions of education dollars are trapped each year. At this time of continued budget shortfalls when every dollar spent on education must yield maximum returns in student outcomes--states are frequently tying the hands of districts. While funding adequacy and equity must remain a priority for states, ensuring that limited resources are used as…

Many argue that infusions of money have not helped to improve schools and that the American system of public education has failed. This paper describes the problems and puzzles posed by existing data and research on public school spending over time, with a focus on instructional spending. It compares 1990 current account spending to 1960 spending,…