Policymakers and professional educators attempt to be good stewards of public funds while simultaneously raising expectations for student outcomes that reflect academic excellence in the public school system. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of Texas public school districts and the factors influencing the inefficiency of…

This paper uses the year 1972-73 as a base line in evaluating the progress of Illinois toward certain "equity goals." In determining the equity goals, two dimensions are studied--disparity and wealth neutrality. One measure of disparity is the permissible variance in school district expenditures expressed in the coefficient of variation,…

For all three school district wealth groups examined, the results suggest that collective bargaining activity is exerting pressure on school administrators to expand the level of the total operating budgets by increasing district taxation. Collective bargaining is significantly related to higher expenditure within the teacher salary area.…

The link between educational expenditure and student achievement remains a lively topic of debate after almost 30 years of study. This paper is designed to help legislators and other state policymakers understand a complex and technical area of research that will play an important role in state funding decisions. The paper examines why the…

To help South Dakota develop new measures of school district fiscal capacity (besides assessed value per pupil) to use in its state school aid formula, researchers used multiple regression analysis to examine the effects on district expenditure per pupil of each district's average family income and of the composition of the property tax base. Also…

There is indeed some negative effect of population growth on the amount of education in developing nations, but the effect is less severe than has been thought. This finding is in sharp contrast to previous conclusions drawn from similar cross-national data. Available from Review of Economics and Statistics, M-8 Littauer Center, Cambridge, MA…

The Center for Education Statistics (CES) forecasts that current expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools will increase 3.5 percent from school year 1986-87 to school year 1987-88. Current expenditures, which increased 22.6 percent from 1981-82 to 1986-87, are projected to increase 16.4 percent from 1986-87 to 1991-92. One table and…

This study investigates how local school districts behave in allocating their budgets among teachers, other professional educators, support personnel, and nonpersonnel inputs. Demands for school inputs are estimated using U.S. Office of Education data on the expenditure and staffing patterns of large (enrollments in excess of 10,000 students)…

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between the per pupil cost of new school construction in West Virginia and independent variables categorized as either financial, school district characteristics, or individual building characteristics. The study group consisted of 128 elementary, secondary, and vocational-technical school…

Thirteen elementary and four middle schools in a large, suburban district are compared by level of instructional expenditure and socioeconomic status of the community served by each school. Regression analysis is utilized to determine the effect of expenditure on student achievement over a three-year period. Variables significantly related to…

To the extent that costs do vary among school districts, neither an equal dollar distribution of funds nor an equal-yield per unit of tax effort can achieve equality of educational inputs or the capacity to acquire them. This document addresses problems relating to the development of guidelines to achieve equality in educational inputs, or…

An interstate cost-of-living index from SMSA-level market basket data is generated in this research. Models are developed for each of the four regions--Northwest, North Central, South, and West--to explain differences in the cost of living among more than 180 SMSAs. Weighted regression coefficients were combined with comparable state-level data to…

This draft report examines patterns in the allocation and distribution of federal compensatory education (Chapter 1) funds in New York State school districts. To preserve local control over education, Chapter 1 aid for disadvantaged students is distributed through a three-tiered system involving a federal allotment formula, state distributions,…

The intent of the research reported in this paper was to substantiate a formula that would remedy the defects inherent in the present New York State transportation aid formula that reimburses districts 90 percent of approved costs. Thirty-six variables were either recorded or calculated for the 700 school districts in the state. Correlation…

The extent and effects of inequities in Chapter 1 compensatory funding and the relationships between demographic, financial, and educational variables and state and local Chapter 1 policies are investigated. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the relationships among dependent variables, which include expenditures and number of…