During the late 1960s and early 1970s a tax revolt occurred that affected school budgets in states in which citizens vote on school taxes and budgets. While the revolt was started by persons opposed to any tax increases, it was helped by those who felt that reduced enrollments should mean lower school costs and by those who felt that only persons…

This research is based on more than 1,600 school district property tax elections in California from the mid-1950s to 1972. Population, housing, social, demographic, and economic information by school district was available. This large, comprehensive, and consistent data base permitted investigation of the choices of the electorate with respect to…

The empirical results suggest that the tax-price paid by the median voter for public goods is a fundamental factor in the determination of how much a community will elect to spend on education per pupil. Available from North-Holland Publishing Company, P.O. Box 211, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; $10.00 single copy. (Author)

Presents a model explaining voter behavior in educational tax rate referenda, arguing that increasing rejection of these referenda is explained by a narrowing gap between actual school expenditures and the level of expenditures voters regard as optimal. (JG)

Examines the linkage between facility bond elections and the indicators of wealth (property valuation and income) and the appropriateness of relying on property valuations as the primary indicator of school district wealth. Results from 31 randomly selected schools in Nebraska show an unclear relationship between wealth factors and success in…

An annual school bond survey for New Jersey reveals that while the state's voters had approved 60 percent of the school bond issues in 1998, the communities clearly could not meet the state's multi- billion dollar construction needs on their own. Further, communities with high property taxes had fewer bond elections and approved less of them than…

A 1999 annual school construction survey for New Jersey reveals that the state's voters approved 71.3 percent of the school construction elections, more than the previous year's approval rate of 60 percent. Construction costs also influenced regional approval rates which varied from 59.5 percent in the north to 89.3 percent in the south. Despite…

This bibliography contains annotations of 11 journal articles, papers, and books examining different aspects of school budget elections. Entries include materials on voter behavior, the so-called "taxpayers' revolt," suggestions to school districts on how to win financial elections, campaign strategies, citizens' attitudes in school tax voting,…

The recent marked increase in voter-taxpayer rejection of school budget and school bond issues at polls across the United States -- a phenomenon popularly called the "taxpayers' revolt" -- has given rise to the widespread claim that public school finance is in a state of crisis. This paper develops a simplified model of a political…

This chapter of "The Best of the Best of ERIC," Volume 2, contains 14 summaries of documents and journal articles on school financial elections, all of which are indexed in either "Resources in Education" or "Current Index to Journals in Education." The materials included deal with various aspects of this topic, such…

The success of Proposition 13 in California gave impetus to similar tax limitation efforts in other states. Information included in this booklet is intended to help local, state, and federal education finance policy-makers wrestling with this issue. The first section summarizes efforts in each state to limit taxation and expenditure both by…

This document was written to inform the general community about the financial problems schools are having and to suggest alternative ways by which schools could be financed. It cites examples of school budget crises throughout the nation, presents a breakdown of present sources of school revenue, discusses how money affects the quality of…

This document was written to inform a low income black community about the financial problems schools are having and to elicit their reactions to alternative ways by which schools could be financed. The document cites examples of school budget crises throughout the nation, presents a breakdown of present sources of school revenue, discusses how…

This document contains papers that discuss (1) the role of the Federal Government in educational finance; (2) some proposals for full State funding of schools; (3) the implications for educational finance of recent State court decisions invalidating inequitable State school finance systems; (4) State plans for financing public schools; and (5)…

Financial planning for education is a difficult task as schools struggle for a share of diminishing tax resources. The presentation of school budgets for voter approval must be done as effectively as possible. When presenting budgets, administrators should take into account that the public has a low tolerance for detail, budgets are boring, a well…