Since 1994, AGB has periodically issued papers on policy issues facing higher education. The 2013-2014 edition reflects a higher education landscape that is undergoing rapid and significant change. Such change is compounded by current and longer-term implications of the seemingly never-ending policy debates over traditional financial issues and…

This newsletter summarizes the debate on the use of state-level initiatives as levers to effect fundamental changes in higher education. It provides several perspectives on the use of incentive/enhancement programs to achieve state higher education goals. The concept of budgetary leverage is outlined, and the growth in enhancement programs…

This paper examines some general principles affecting the timing, extent, and direction of fiscal changes in public school finance systems. To develop a framework that is applicable to a wide variety of states, the analysis concentrates on two dimensions: allocation and distribution. The median voter model and the fiscal neutrality model of state…

This monograph addresses the issues surrounding financing school buildings. Kansas finances school buildings from the property tax base of the school district in which the building is located. Local districts face fiscal constraints in maintaining and building facilities. The backlog of maintenance in Kansas exceeds $380 million. Research in…

Reviews major issues surrounding funding of Nebraska's public schools and presents an alternative funding system sustaining the goals of local control, tax equity, and flexibility for program quality. The new formula would add an economic factor to the weighting of pupils and alow local tax flexibility for districts losing state funding. (MLH)

This study's investigator concludes that expenditures for elementary and secondary education in California must rise by 59 percent by the end of the decade to maintain the present level of per student spending and to meet forecasted educational improvement needs. Revenue funding and demographic projections presented indicate inadequate revenues…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews the need to better manage higher education expenses in light of budget cuts and reductions in appropriations and other public services. It is noted that tuition, although increasing, has been increasing at a slower rate since 1981. Also, faculty salaries have not…

Preliminary recommendations of the state superintendent's office are presented in part I of this report on Illinois school finance reform. The recommendations are grouped under four areas: (1) distribution of state funds (with eight recommendations), (2) generation of revenues (with six recommendations), (3) management resources (with six…

"A Nation at Risk" and other recent reports have focused public attention on excellence in education. During the same period, the federal government has cut aid to education by almost 20 percent and consolidated federal funding into block grant programs, which some critics have claimed are less efficient than programs before…