The new state aid formula implemented in 1974-75 resulted in little real change in the allocation of state resources to local school districts. (Author/IRT)

This booklet discusses the Horton v. Meskill case in which the Hartford, Connecticut, Superior Court ruled that the state's school financing system did not comply with state constitutional provisions concerning equal protection and education. It then outlines the legislature's reaction to the ruling--the guaranteed tax base (GTB)--and discusses…

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)

The equalization formula used by 81 percent of Illinois school districts to compute their state aid was designed to meet the requirement of fiscal neutrality established in Serrano v. Priest. However, the inclusion of the operating tax rate in the resource equalizer formula tends to help income-rich school districts more than income-poor…

From the 1920s through the 1950s, most states used average daily attendance (ADA) in state equalization plans. Beginning in the middle of the 1950s, many states began to use average daily membership (ADM) in such plans. The essential features of any equalization aid plan are (1) a measure of need (such as ADA or ADM), (2) a measure of wealth or…

Dividing the number of students in average daily attendance (ADA) in a district into that district's assessed value can result in a distorted view of the district's actual wealth if the number of students in nonpublic schools is not taken into consideration. To attempt to see what this means to communities, three Illinois districts in which both…

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 study examines the entitlement and payment arrangements set out in the maintenance and operations portion of the impact aid laws. Section 1 provides a brief background description of the program, including the changes made in the 1974 Amendments, a recent budget history, and a description of the program's beneficiaries. Section 2 contains an…

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the degree to which school revenue equity has been improved by changing the state aid funding systems of Illinois, Michigan, and Kansas from foundation systems to power equalization systems. Chapter 1 contains the general background and rationale of the study, evaluative criteria, and definitions…

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)

Investigates alternative measures of school district wealth, focusing on the issue of intergovernmental aid (particularly equalization aid), arguments for and against different wealth measures, jurisdictional implications of the use of alternative wealth measures in four states, and the effect of alternative wealth measures on state equalization…

Analyzes the financial impact of Pennsylvania's Act 125, which distributed $132.5 million in additional state aid among the state's public school districts. (JG)