When President Obama first signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), he took much criticism for spending more money--$787 billion more--when the nation was reeling from decades-old debt, a more than 9 percent unemployment rate and a mortgage crisis. But this measure has allowed public school district leaders to invest in…

In the postbellum southern U.S., African Americans were steadily disenfranchised, a modern publicly financed universal school system with racially segregated schools was created, and public school monies were allocated so that white pupils received substantially more than black pupils. An earlier paper (Ng and Halcoussis 2003) established a…

This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Virginia. The state allocates K-12 education funds on a biennial basis. Supplements and rescissions to the original funding amount are made on an annual basis in order to correct for revenue growth or deficit. The state budget currently provides more than $5 billion to…

This article describes the unfavorable conditions and the innovative tactics used in a well-planned, successful referendum campaign for one school district's capital improvement bond issue. (MJL)

This article reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of a school finance formula implemented in Virginia in 1974-75, the purpose of which was to provide increased fiscal equity throughout the state. Results show, however, that per-pupil revenue disparities have actually increased since that time. (TE)

A study that examined the magnitude of federal aid to individual students and the targeting of those funds based on need found that although federal aid to education averages 7 percent nationwide, little work has been done that disaggregates these amounts by locality. The study included an intradistrict analysis of federal-education aid per pupil.…

A study investigated the feasibility of compulsory summer reading programs for students at risk in Virgina school divisions were surveyed concerning their summer school offerings. Remedial summer school enrollment statewide was analyzed. Structured interviews with staff responsible for administration of summer reading programs from 16 selected…

Computerized analysis of 1980 Census data documented educational deficiencies in 85 Central Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Dropout rates among youth ages 16-19 were found to be higher in Central Appalachian counties than in non-Central Appalachian counties, the poorest counties had the highest dropout…

Economics of scale for public colleges and universities in Virginia and 22 major public universities were determined by regression analysis. The institutions were analyzed in terms of the number of full-time equivalent students and costs. Results indicate that economies of scale are not necessarily a function of the type and size of a university.…

A study of 14 residential facilities operating schools for children with disabilities in Virginia gathered information on the following topics: (1) nature of operation, profit versus nonprofit, fund-raising activities, plans for future expansion, and affiliations with national chains; (2) student profiles including disabilities served, number of…