States and districts allocate hundreds of billions of dollars annually to fund K-12 schools, and this allocation is largely driven by one calculation: how states count student enrollment. They do this in one of five ways: (1) A single count on a single day; (2) Two counts twice per year; (3) Multiple counts over a period of time; (4) An attendance…

Past reports by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) have sought to examine various aspects of Indiana public school funding such as the mechanisms for funding, school revenues and expenditures, as well as numerous other reports whose subjects have implications on school and program funding. This report focuses on another…

In recent years, economic downturn and changes to Indiana's school funding have resulted in significant financial reductions in General Fund allocations for many of Indiana's public school corporations. The main purpose of this statewide study is to examine the possible impacts of these budget reductions on class size and student achievement. This…

Hedge funds are the rock stars of today's financial world. These slightly regulated pools of equity, which are open only to rich players, are managed through secretive and sophisticated investment strategies. Although the risks are high, so are the potential benefits. Despite the risks, many colleges and universities have chosen to invest heavily…

The sixth of six volumes in the "Elementary Principal Series," this booklet is designed to help principals develop sound fiscal management strategies at the building level. The first section reviews Indiana statutory provisions for handling extracurricular and booster group funds. The second section presents guidelines for managing…

This report, updated and expanded from a 1990 report, covers seven broad areas of Indiana education since 1980: (1) governance; (2) reform; (3) student enrollment and attainment; (4) student achievement; (5) curricular requirements and programs; (6) education work force; and (7) education finance. Additionally, the report provides data on…

In 1995, the Indiana Legislature deregulated state controls over public-school construction projects by reducing the status of required specifications to guidelines. Also, local taxpayers were given greater authority to prevent proposed projects. This study examines the short-term effects of this policy shift. (Contains 5 tables and 16…

The education-production function has become the dominant paradigm for analyzing the effects of education resources on student outcomes. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the education-production function and its relationship to educational policymaking. Fiscal data and student-achievement test scores for Indiana during the…

The major budgeting problems encountered by a small school corporation superintendent in Indiana show that organizing a school system's finances is similiar to funding a big business. Four major budgetary funds of Indiana school corporations are explained. (DF)

A report based on a conference on the impact of cost information on statewide budgeting and planning is presented. The conference was organized around case-study reports on the use of cost information in higher education budgeting in Florida, Indiana, Washington, and Wisconsin. Rather than publishing convention proceedings, the case studies were…

This report documents a study that examined the current financial picture of public education in 2003. Data for the study were collected from 188 surveys of selected school superintendents in Indiana, Illinois, and Texas. The superintendents were asked how the financial condition of their state and their school districts compared to a few years…

To generate a theoretical model for future interpretation, this study analyzed the 1985 Indiana Legislature concerning educational policymaking in public school funding. Previous research indicates that the classical rational actor model of policymaking inadequately addresses multidimensional pressures at work in state legislatures. A model is…

The financial health of private higher education in Indiana during 1968-1973 was assessed as part of a larger comprehensive study. In the report, attention is directed to enrollment trends, current fund revenues and expenditures, instructional expenditures, libraries, college administration, operations and maintenance, and balance sheets. Between…

This comparative study was conducted for the Wisconsin Advisory Council on Vocational Education in an effort to identify strengths and weaknesses of program delivery and accomplishments of several States--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio--with a view towards making recommendations that would improve Wisconsin's total program…