Over the past decade and a half, the Commonwealth has moved steadily to increase expectations on school districts, schools, teachers, and students to meet the demands of a global economy. It has also added fiscal resources to support reaching these expectations, increasing state aid for education by almost 11 percent per year throughout the 1990s.…

Given South Africa's divided past, it is imperative to improve educational outcomes to overcome labour market inequalities. Historically white and Indian schools still outperform black and coloured schools in examinations, and intraclass correlation coefficients (rho) reflect far greater between-school variance than for other countries. SACMEQ's…

This article provides information on Maryland's state education finance and governance. The state provides a foundation funding program, which guarantees a minimum or foundation level of per-pupil expenditures for children in all the state's school systems; this is done through a combination of state aid and local revenue. In 2002, Maryland…

Reforms in American public education have not resolved the wide academic performance gap between students attending schools in poor, large, urban centers versus schools in wealthier areas. Aggregate performance outcomes on state achievement tests reveal that some school districts consistently outperform others, a few fluctuate over time but are…

Examines where school funding comes from, the different levels of funding districts are able to acquire, an some examples of some unique funding mechanisms. The future of school funding is highlighted, including how former students funded future classrooms in their old high school. (GR)

Explains how, despite limited funds, one urban California school district is working to modernize its schools while facing the challenges of displacing students into portable buildings, opening three middle schools, organizing a complete district-wide grade reconfiguration, and maintaining day-to-day school operations. Descriptions of the school…

In response to concerns over funding for school construction, the state of Texas has implemented two programs to assist school districts with construction-related debt. This paper examines whether these programs have accomplished their objectives of reducing property taxes (the Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) program) and increasing capital outlays…

Fiscal equity in public education has been a substantive issue with a long history in school finance literature. However, the growing demands of capital outlay financing are given little or no attention in typical equity funding schemes. Currently, school districts throughout the nation are faced with the need to finance the construction,…

This executive summary presents findings from the Year 3 evaluation of Texas' state-level Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, grant. GEAR UP grant requirements include an evaluation component designed to assess program effectiveness and to measure progress toward project goals. To this end, the evaluation…

Discusses the alternative funding avenues school districts have used to support facility construction and improvements when tax levies and state aid are not enough. Acquiring donations, creating lease-purchase agreements, and using tax increment financing are highlighted. (GR)

Presents national and state information on public education finances, including revenues by source, current expenditures by function, and current expenditures per pupil. About $326 billion of revenues were raised by local, state, and federal governments to finance public education through grade 12 in school year 1997-1998. (Author/SLD)

This study examined the effects of four variables on job ratings provided by applicants for simulated superintendent vacancies. The participants were superintendents (n = 72) and superintendent-certified personnel (n = 72) reacting to jobs described in simulated position announcements. The participants rated jobs in districts without school…

Texas has had its Robin Hood school financing system in place since 1993, when the legislature adopted the system in response to a state supreme court order to equalize state spending on public schools. Under the arrangement, any district that has taxable property values exceeding $305,000 per student is not allowed to keep all of its property-tax…

The superintendency has historically been vulnerable to high turnover. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the turnover among two groups of Illinois superintendents: those in school districts with severe financial problems, and those in districts without such problems. The purpose was to determine the relationship between…

This report presents findings from the Common Core of Data (CCD) "School District Finance Survey." These data are collected annually from state education agencies through the U.S. Census Bureau "Survey of Local Government Finances: School Systems." Data in the "School District Finance Survey" include revenues by source, expenditures by function…