The New York State Board of Regents' 2004-05 State Aid Proposal put forward the idea of instituting Foundation Aid as a response to concerns about the sufficiency of state education funding then being provided to local school districts. In 2007, prompted by legal action, a call for reform by the Regents, and the election of a new governor with a…

Which comes first? Solving public broadcasting's funding problems or addressing fundamental questions about how the public broadcasting systems should relate to and serve the public? These are questions facing all elements of public broadcasting leadership, and one way of dealing with them is explored here. (Author/HB)

Describes the testimony of a University of Virginia professor of applied science, who charged that the National Science Foundation grants disproportionately small funds to the best university departments in the field of metallurgy and materials, while preferentially funding middle-ranked departments. (MLH)

Over the past eight years the Ford Foundation has granted some $20 million for support of activities related to the financing and management of public and higher education. This report describes some of these efforts. The Foundation's activities in public education include support of analysis of the legal background of school finance, analysis of…

Analysis of developments in school finance from 1971 to 1982 reveals that, although revenue equity is moderate by national standards, Maryland ranks poorly on measures of wealth neutrality. Reform efforts have had little effect on equity due in part to the relatively low level of the foundation. (MJL)

Proposes a model for evaluating state equalization aid formulas, accounting for municipal overburden and tradeoffs between expenditures and taxes. Tests the model using the Michigan state aid formula. Results relate elasticities to spending and tax levels and suggest that relatively unrestricted guaranteed tax base formulas can work. (PGD)

This report is intended for use by the Alaska Department of Education and other interested individuals in defining "basic need" as it relates to Alaska's Public School Foundation Program. The report is not intended to define basic need, but rather to present possible ways to define the term. It is based on ideas and suggestions from a…

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…

This report briefly summarizes the background, the criteria and procedures for evaluation, the findings, and the recommendations of the Tennessee School Finance Equity Study that, during the two year period ending in November, 1979, examined Tennessee's present program for financing the public schools, kindergarten through grade 12. The purpose of…

This paper describes the current and proposed systems for state and local financing of public education in Illinois and discusses the ramifications for local educational planners of a change from a foundation level program to a resource cost model approach. The paper begins with a brief historical overview of the finance reform effort that began…

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…

The Texas Foundation School Program, popularly known as the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), is a very complex approach to school finance. It provides basic assistance in three areas--minimum salaries, operating allowances, and transportation--and additional assistance in two others--vocational education and special education. The state pays…

The increasing tendency in North Carolina to support school expenditures from local revenues may be leading to greater disparities in financing from one school district to another. (Author/IRT)

This article presents a case study of the school finance controversy in Texas with special emphasis on the results of two school finance bills enacted in successive sessions of the legislature. (Author/IRT)

Describes major provisions of a $1.4 billion school finance plan proposed by the Texas State Teachers Association, and compares this plan to the finance reform plans proposed by Texas Governor Briscoe and a Texas legislative committee. Available from: Salary and Merit, Suite 908, 1835 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006; $2.50 single copy. (JG)