Funding disparities between states and districts have been repeatedly documented, but scholars have put much less focus on resource inequities at the school level, a crucial gap in the research. In this study, I investigate school-level fiscal decision making in New York City public schools, a district that provides a unique look into expenditures…

During the late 1990s, North Carolina's education finance mechanism--known as the Public School Fund (PSF)--was challenged in a series of litigation known as "Leandro v. State of North Carolina". Though the State Supreme Court's analyses left the state's finance mechanism unchanged, there remains to date no systematic evaluation of the…

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 overview provides a synthesis of a comprehensive survey of school finance programs in the 50 states conducted in 2006-07. Information was provided by chief state school finance officers or persons with expertise in a state's public school funding-allocation system. Brief descriptions of the major Pre-K-12 funding formulae, district-based…

Traditionally, financing the construction of school facilities has been a local responsibility. In the past several decades, states have increased their support for school facilities. Using data collected from various sources, this study first classifies the design of capital aid programs in all 50 states into various categories based on the scope…

The Illinois Supreme Court has permitted the General Assembly to create a system of public school funding that is widely disparate and disadvantageous to students in school districts with low-property wealth. In this Article, I argue that the court has not adequately considered the nexus between the Uniformity of Taxation provision and the…

Changes in cash management practices from 1978 to 1981 were investigated in a random sample of 145 North Carolina school districts, stratified by attendance size. Analysis using chi-square tests indicated the level of investment sophistication (as measured by the proportion of cash invested) has increased, especially for large districts. (RW)

This paper reports the results of a state equity analysis in North Carolina based on conditions in 1975-76 and 1982-83. Since the state funding mechanism in North Carolina does not adjust for variation in local fiscal capacity, the focus of the analysis is on fiscal equity in local funding provisions. (TE)

School finance adequacy litigation has become a widely-used means in the efforts to improve educational outcomes for children. This form of litigation has been attempted in nearly every state over the past two decades. Despite its prevalence, its effectiveness remains questionable due to a lack of study relating finance litigation to student…

The goal of this study is to apply a conventional education cost-function approach for estimating the sensitivity of cost models and predicted education costs to the inclusion of school district level racial composition variables and further to test whether race neutral alternatives sufficiently capture the additional costs associated with school…

This paper is a quantitative assessment of the argument that enrollment declines have contributed to increases in per pupil expenditures in public education. It analyzes changes in resource levels per pupil in Michigan from 1970 to 1980 and the extent to which they are related to changes in enrollment. (TE)

Summarizes previous decisions in New York State courts on "Levittown v. Nyquist," a case challenging the constitutionality of the state's public school finance system. Discusses the recent New York Court of Appeals decision reversing earlier courts and holding that the finance system provides equal protection and is not unconstitutional.…

Explores the ramifications of the wealth tax as an alternative funding source for elementary and secondary education in Florida by constructing and quantifying a wealth tax base for the state of Florida and each of its school districts. (JG)

Summarizes alternative tax systems available to school districts in Ohio and reviews their development. Presents socioeconomic information about the populations of two Ohio towns, summarizes limitations of the property tax as the primary source of local school funds, and discusses implications of passing a city-district income tax in Euclid, Ohio.…

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)