This paper compares two methods of finance reform in public schools, state referenda and state legislation. Two research groups--Syracuse University and Columbia University--studied, respectively, seven states whose legislatures passed new school finance formulas and five states that defeated referenda that would have reduced or eliminated…

This document provides background information intended to help in the formulation of educational finance policy at the national level. The first chapter discusses variations in spending within and between states since the 1930s; causes for inequitable and inefficient revenue raising and resource allocation; and differences between states in…