Money to operate Washington's public schools comes from state, local, and federal sources. For the 1995-96 school year, total combined revenue exceeded $5 billion. The largest share of Washington's operating budget is devoted to K-12 education. This paper portrays critical features of Washington's school finance system. It first examines current…

This document provides background information on educational finance in North Dakota. It examines the use of nonproperty factors in financing education, the quality of education, legal action in the state regarding education finance issues, and the effects of any 1993 North Dakota legislation on education finance. The paper first describes changes…

This volume of a two-volume report presents a study of how existing State school finance formulas operate. Volume I contains five chapters. The first chapter discusses the beginnings of modern systems of school support in the United States. Chapter two explains in some detail the five basic distribution models used in the apportionment of State…

This paper critically examines some of the ways in which schools are currently financed and argues for State assumption of educational costs as a viable alternative. The document begins with a description of current school district revenue sources and discusses the official division of responsibility for school finance between the State and local…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) reduced and redistributed federal aid to education, moving funds from targeted areas of need to all areas regardless of need. States were unable to make up for significant losses in aid sustained by local districts. (TE)

Current expense tax rates, local current expense revenues, total current expenses from all revenue sources, and expenditures for salaries were analyzed in 16 school districts to review the effects of a state statute that significantly modified the formula of state equalization fund allocation. Twenty-four tables of financial information are used…

In reviewing the history of educational finances in New Mexico from 1850 to the present, the evolution of the state's financing program and the reasons for its unique separation of educational finances from educational programs is explored. The state's rational, forward-looking approach to public education is attributed to federal neglect when New…

In 1997, Vermont passed Act 60, which reformed its education finance system to achieve greater equality of spending. The reform encouraged wealthy towns to reduce spending; it was politically unpopular and was replaced, in 2004, by Act 68. We analyze the spending incentives created by the two acts and estimate the effects the change will have on…

Funding public schools is one of the most important functions of states in the United States, provinces in Canada, and local governments in both countries. These two volumes present descriptive information about how state and provincial school-finance systems operated during 1993-94. The volumes consist of two major parts: United States Overview…

New Mexico has a long history of funding public education through state revenues distributed by formula funding. K-12 education in New Mexico relies on central state funds rather than on local property taxes. This paper presents a history and overview of the current funding formulas for K-12 and higher education, as well as other funding sources…

In this study, focus is upon the question of the standard for educational expenditure rather than on the alternative taxing methods for securing school district funding equalization. Chapter I begins by examining the major issues vital to urban education which the "Serrano" principle leaves unresolved. Then in Chapter II, particular elements of…

To meet the challenge of equal educational opportunity, current methods of public school finance must be revised. The present financial system, based on State equalization of local property tax valuation, is inequitable since it results in many school districts, particularly those in large cities, having inadequate resources to meet extraordinary…

As a result of state legislators' conviction that Chapter 1 fund mismanagement by the Chicago Public Schools had led to yearly increases in administration size to the detriment of students' real needs, the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988 placed a cap on noninstructional expenses and a progressive cessation on state aid to the poverty impaction…

This is the first in a series of monographs on current issues, problems, and practices in school administration. It is intended to provide experienced school administrators with a general review and a fresh look at various problems of school finance; school board members, State legislators, and members of Congress with a better understanding of…

This paper evaluates the equity dimensions of a grant-in-aid system based on the Resource Cost Model (RCM), as proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education. The first section is an independent evaluation of the conceptual and legal aspects of the RCM, focusing on both the weaknesses and the strengths of the model. In the second section, an…