Targeted school funding is a potentially valuable policy lever to increase educational equality by race, ethnicity, and income, but it remains unclear how to target funds most effectively. We use a regression discontinuity approach to compare districts that narrowly passed or failed a school funding election. We use close tax elections in 9 states…

We use close tax elections to estimate the impact of school district funding increases on operational spending and student outcomes across seven states. Districts with passing levies directed new revenue toward support services and instructor salaries but did not increase teacher staffing levels. These districts eventually realized gains in…

There has been much debate by and among federal and state education agencies, state legislatures, courts, and educators regarding the identification of school district expenditures that best facilitate effective and efficient schools. The issue of equitable funding is far from being resolved (Education Week, 2017). Contradictory studies associated…

A few years ago you could not attend a higher education conference without a session on green technology, and the sustainability movement. Emerging job training programs in wind and solar were equipping a new generation of energy workers with skills needed to secure high income jobs in clean energy markets. Campuses were doing their part to become…

Since Breneman and Haarlow (1998) first estimated the national cost of developmental education to be approximately $1 billion dollars, the developmental education landscape has shifted in numerous ways. This paper provides an update to their estimate in light of both these changes and improved data that disaggregates the cost to community colleges…

A spate of school shootings in the U.S. has prompted policymakers to address the public's growing perception that our schools are unsafe. As education policymakers continue to press for additional security initiatives, it is important to understand the costs borne by school systems for these programs. Thus far, the scholarly literature is silent…

For 31 Texas public junior colleges, this study analyzed revenues, expenditures, and ability to support a stratified program according to enrollment, and explored the relationships among size, cost, and selected educational opportunities. Data were collected from questionnaires, professional literature, documents of the Texas Education Agency, and…

The Economic Research Service has used 1964 census data to develop information on the characteristics of Spanish-surname farmers in 14 Texas counties. Selected characteristics were examined for this population and for non-Spanish-surnamed farm operators in the same counties. It was found, for example, that Mexican American farm-operator families…

This report projects Texas school costs to 1982-83 under the present school finance system and suggests alternatives for modifying the projections. It also considers high and low cost projections, foundation costs by program, student and teacher populations, the financing of special programs, the cost of salary increases, and State costs of…

This report presents results of a comparative cost study of nursing education programs provided by community colleges, general academic institutions, and health science centers. The study delineates and explains differences in costs and recommends a formula to allocate all general revenue funds appropriated for nursing education programs. The…

The Texas legislature has provided funding for the initiation of professional development schools, locally known as centers for professional development and technology. This article examines the concept from the perspective of resources that will be needed to institutionalize field-based, technology-intensive teacher education programs. (Author/SM)

An August 1997 report from the Office of the State Auditor, this document contains the results of an enrollment audit of Texas' Public Community and Technical Colleges. It recommends that no adjustments be made to the Public Community and Technical Colleges' 1998-1999 biennial appropriations, due to the fact that the $7.7 million in errors…

Regulatory cost impacts for 11 Texas colleges and universities for the 1977-78 academic year are presented as part of a continuing effort to assess the costs and impact of federally mandated social regulations. The 11 institutions are representative of each of the types previously reviewed as groups. For each institution, data are presented on the…

Costs associated with colleges and universities are addressed in this two-part report. Part one, a 20-page overview, Snyder's "Recent Trends in Higher Education Finance, 1976-77 to 1985-86," reviews rising national trends in tuition, enrollment, degrees, expenditures, and expenditure per student. A wide diversity is noted among…

The total cost to Texas institutions of higher education of implementing and administering federally mandated social regulations are compared to the basic operating and financial characteristics of these institutions. A database of the basic characteristics of Texas, which includes student and faculty data as well as operating and financial data,…