The error of school finance reform has been to tie educational equity and efficiency considerations to equalization of the local tax base. An alternative strategy would center on the cost and quality of each district's program. (Author/IRT)

Assesses the impact of state school finance reform legislation in the seventies on state and local distribution of educational funds, and concludes that expenditure disparities (between rich and poor districts) has increased nationally. (PKP)

Although federal aid is not a large portion of school funding, it has a large effect on schools. Federal education aid flows mainly to poor states, central cities, and rural areas. Where states exercise discretion in allocating federal aid, distribution follows the general distribution pattern of the basic state aid formula. If a state has an…

Uneven access to taxable real property wealth currently produces wide disparities in per pupil expenditures among New York state school districts. The state's operating aid formula does not compensate for the inequities in low wealth districts having an operating expense level of more than $1,500 per pupil. In the last decade several proposals…

This document discusses financial support for public school education in New Hampshire. It is divided into five sections: (1) a history of school finance and property tax; (2) legislative goals and financing; (3) highlights of taxes that affect municipal and school government; (4) public policy alternatives in financing public schools; and (5) the…

Based on a definition of equity that includes both equality in expenditure per pupil and fiscal neutrality, this paper examines equity in Illinois school finance and makes recommendations for its improvement. Following a brief introduction outlining deterioration of equity since 1977, part 2 describes further reasons for this deterioration. The…

This paper critically examines some of the ways in which schools are currently financed and argues for State assumption of educational costs as a viable alternative. The document begins with a description of current school district revenue sources and discusses the official division of responsibility for school finance between the State and local…

In describing how the present Texas school finance system actually works, this report considers the historical development of the finance system, provides a breakdown of how money is allocated among and between school districts, and examines the problem of who pays for the schools. The foundation program, other State aid, enrichment, and the…

Georgia's equalization aid program, intended to meet the varying needs of pupils around the state, does not take into account variations in resource costs between districts. This study, introduced by a review of previous research on the topic, was designed to analyze the impact of these variations in resource costs on equality of educational…

This study reports on a method of measuring the equity of state school finance systems. This method attempts to determine the extent to which the system makes adequate provision for education, treats equals equally, and treats unequals equitably. It presents a multiple regression approach to the problem, which allows each goal of school finance to…

This report addresses a variety of questions about inequalities in school finance, and answers them by applying a broad range of statistical techniques to a comprehensive set of data on California school districts. Census data by school district was drawn from the 1970 U.S. Census, while information on school district finance for 1971-72 was…

Predictions about shifting support levels of local, State, and Federal governments. (Author)

In 1971 the author conducted a study of the provincial government policies affecting the provision of grants to school divisions to assist in meeting the operating costs of education. The study was jointly sponsored by the provincial department of education and the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (MAST). During the subsequent five years,…

Part of a three-volume report on the effects of school finance reform, this volume examines reform efforts in California, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, and New Mexico. Data on districts' tax rates, wealth, and number of pupils were obtained from state sources. Data on household income, percent urban, percent white, and percent poverty were obtained…

In this report, the author describes and examines some of the policy alternatives available for the implementation of an equitable system of school finance. The author provides statistics that trace the historical disparities in interdistrict school expenditures, describes recent court challenges to school finance systems, and discusses both full…