Policymakers and professional educators attempt to be good stewards of public funds while simultaneously raising expectations for student outcomes that reflect academic excellence in the public school system. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of Texas public school districts and the factors influencing the inefficiency of…

This dissertation examined the relationship between educational resources and student achievement in Illinois public schools. Illinois school districts were compared by type, size, and location. This study built on the premise that disparities exist in educational resources because of the state's reliance on property taxes to fund education.…

This study examined the adequacy of education financing in three regions of New York State by comparing the cost of per-pupil education in high schools that meet the No Child Left Behind standard of 90 percent graduation rate and those high schools with 80 percent or less graduation rate in 18 counties of New York State. Also examined were the…

Two theories direct researchers in their efforts to find the optimum school or district size. The first theory holds that expenditures per student decrease as the size of the school increases. The second theory maintains that the first is true only to a certain enrollment level at which point the greater complexity of the school increases…

To predict the educational quality of programs in 150 school districts, this study used 34 predictor variables in a multiple regression analysis. Dependent variables used to represent educational quality in a district were (1) the percent of rejections by the local Selective Service Boards for mental reasons, (2) the percent of elementary and…

For all three school district wealth groups examined, the results suggest that collective bargaining activity is exerting pressure on school administrators to expand the level of the total operating budgets by increasing district taxation. Collective bargaining is significantly related to higher expenditure within the teacher salary area.…

This study empirically tests the notion that consolidating smaller public school districts will save taxpayers money. Multiple regression analyses are employed to analyze the relationship between district size and per-pupil expenditures in the state of Michigan, focusing on the five most recent school years for which data are available. The…

To help South Dakota develop new measures of school district fiscal capacity (besides assessed value per pupil) to use in its state school aid formula, researchers used multiple regression analysis to examine the effects on district expenditure per pupil of each district's average family income and of the composition of the property tax base. Also…

This study investigates how local school districts behave in allocating their budgets among teachers, other professional educators, support personnel, and nonpersonnel inputs. Demands for school inputs are estimated using U.S. Office of Education data on the expenditure and staffing patterns of large (enrollments in excess of 10,000 students)…

This draft report examines patterns in the allocation and distribution of federal compensatory education (Chapter 1) funds in New York State school districts. To preserve local control over education, Chapter 1 aid for disadvantaged students is distributed through a three-tiered system involving a federal allotment formula, state distributions,…

The extent and effects of inequities in Chapter 1 compensatory funding and the relationships between demographic, financial, and educational variables and state and local Chapter 1 policies are investigated. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the relationships among dependent variables, which include expenditures and number of…

The New York State Education Department conducts a Pupil Evaluation Program (PEP) in which each year all third, sixth, and ninth grade students in the state are given a series of achievement tests in reading and mathematics. The data accumulated by the department includes achievement test scores, teacher characteristics, building and curriculum…