Ever since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992, the battle for fair funding has raged across the land. Advocates of charters--independently run, nonprofit public schools--have pressed hard to eliminate the massive disparities in the funding that charter students receive when compared with their district-operated peers serving…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between state education finance distribution models and student achievement. To date, lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of state finance systems have been heard in 45 states; the judicial interpretation of the requirement to provide equality of educational opportunity has…

While studies have examined the relationship between financial aid and college access, few have evaluated the relationship between financial aid and academic success. Factors that are associated with financial need, such as being low income, are also associated with a lack of academic success, making it difficult to isolate the effect of…

The five papers in this document first apply the criteria of adequacy, equity, efficiency, and liberty to financing school choice programs and then consider programmatic issues related to choice. Following an introduction by Suzanne Langston Juday entitled "Evaluating Education Finance Policy Decisions," section 1 consists of an overview…

The authors outline the school finance reform process in Ohio, emphasizing the groups that played central roles in the process. The major group was the state legislature and its policy study group, the Educational Review Committee, but the state department of education, the various educational associations, and the executive branch were also…

Analyzes the financial impact of the "guaranteed yield" school finance system adopted by Ohio in 1975 and argues that it failed to achieve its primary goal of providing local school districts with equal yield for equal tax effort. (JG)

Because the amount of state-equalization aid received by Ohio school districts is inevitably related to district wealth, the measure of district ability is a concern. This paper presents findings of a study that used computer simulation to examine the effect of proposed modifications to district-revenue capacity on the equity of Ohio…

This document reviews the results of a study of five Ohio Supreme Court cases concerning the equalization of property assessments among the various classes of real property: commercial, industrial, residential, and agricultural. Each of the decisions--occurring between 1964 and 1980, and involving the Park Investment Company--is briefly summarized…

Reviews the school finance reforms in Ohio since 1975 and analyzes the state aid distribution, comparative distribution of state and local revenue, and equalization of property tax revenues. Discusses the options available to the Ohio legislature to approach distribution equity for funds currently in the system. (JW)

To help Ohio's educators, legislators, and others understand school finance reforms and equalization plans, this manual provides an overview of the state's public elementary and secondary school financing and explores issues and options in educational finance. An introductory chapter traces the legal history of school finance reform, explaining…

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…

This paper presents findings of a study that determined the contribution of selected factors to the ability of 15 school districts within the Toledo, Ohio metropolitan area to generate revenue over a 7-year period, 1982-88. Data were obtained from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Taxation. Simulations were prepared for…

In 1980, the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) proposed several alternative funding formulas for the state's public-assisted institutions in anticipation of enrollment declines. Two alternatives, involving subsidy ceilings and free competition for students, were dismissed in favor of a third alternative involving a system of voluntary restraints in…

This document analyzes specific provisions of the Ohio bill that attempts to revise the state's system of school finance. The bill attempts to resolve differences in valuation, tax rate, and wealth while providing basic educational services as well as services to nonpublic schools and to handicapped and special students. On the negative side, the…