The link between education funding levels and student outcomes is a matter of continuing debate, including in New York State. State education aid in New York follows a progressive formula that targets more aid to lower-income, higher-need school districts, yet these districts continue to dominate lists of the state's lowest performing schools. The…

For the last decade, in districts big and small, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has emerged as the largest private funder of educational efforts. This began with an initiative around small schools in the early to mid-2000s, mostly abandoned now, and has gained traction in the past few years in areas such as teacher evaluation, the Common…

A total of 33 sites, including states, school districts, charter school coalitions, and other education organizations make up Cohorts 1 and 2 of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). These sites received funds beginning in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007 to redesign compensation programs for teachers and principals. The U.S. Department of…

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

Universities are watching their state budgets crumble across the country: The University of Arizona has put a freeze on all state-financed hiring, Georgia's 14 technical colleges are being merged into seven, and New York will probably have to shelve a plan to create a $3-billion fund to attract cutting-edge research to the Empire State, which…

This primer provides a comprehensive look at the early care and education services throughout New York City. The analysis, which includes data on access, funding, and services, helps members of the field, advocates and policy makers identify current challenges and opportunities. Data is presented on: (1) Demographics: New York City's Children and…

It is widely believed that starting public school teacher salaries are too low, and student loan burdens are too high. If true, everyone could be facing a situation in which recent college graduates cannot afford to go into teaching because they will be unable to repay their college debts. Public policies are already being formulated on the basis…

Over the three decades between the urban crisis and the credit crisis, New York City revived its economy by making itself the preeminent center for global finance. Manhattan's streetscape and public places rose with the fortunes of the banks and their employees. Wall Street's mood came to define New York City's outlook. In the 1990s and early…

It is often suggested that measuring local fiscal ability by full valuation of property per public school pupil is inaccurate and inequitable. One substitute measure proposed is district income per pupil or a combination of district income and property value per pupil. However, using this measure would result in a rise in the aid ratios in only…

The court's finding invalidates New York State's system of financing schools because of problems including municipal overburden. (Author/IRT)

The financial crisis in New York this year may be a harbinger of things to come in other cities and states across the nation. (Author/MLF)

The partial financing of New York State's public schools with a state-mandated tax coupled with state aid based upon county or regional wealth rather than local district wealth would provide greater equalization of both revenues and expenditures of school districts than does the present law. A comparable increase in state aid appropriations under…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of using personal income data in the New York state aid formula and to suggest ways in which such data could address specific inequities in the current formula. The first section of the paper is a brief review and evaluation of the Division of the Budget's study (in which estimates were made…

Assesses the equity of distribution of student class time across the curriculum among public secondary schools in New York State. Analyzes the relationship between these course-taking patterns and the capacity of high school programs to meet state curricular mandates. Presents a "new" conceptualization of school capacity and system…

Presents an analysis of New York school district spending variations in nominal versus cost-adjusted terms. Previous conclusions regarding the spending effects of property wealth and income variables are stable across equations. (Author/IRT)