This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Alabama. The state is home to 1,538 public schools distributed across 67 county school systems and 64 city school systems. State spending is allocated via two separate budgets, "the general fund" for all noneducation related expenditures and the Education Trust…

This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of North Carolina. The state has 214 school districts and a total enrollment of 1,461,740 students in 2,513 public elementary and secondary schools. The current expenditures per pupil in 2007-2008 added up to $8,521, equaling 19.8% of the median state household income. As in…

Discusses the Illinois grant-in-aid formula for school finance and argues that an income factor needs to be included in the measurement of fiscal effort if the state wants to retain its concept of "equal expenditure for equal effort." (JG)

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…

Washington State assumes full responsibility for funding a basic education program for K-12 public schools. Full funding of basic education includes special education programs, transitional bilingual programs, remediation-assistance programs, and certain pupil transportation costs. This paper describes conditions in Washington State school finance…

Because the amount of state-equalization aid received by Ohio school districts is inevitably related to district wealth, the measure of district ability is a concern. This paper presents findings of a study that used computer simulation to examine the effect of proposed modifications to district-revenue capacity on the equity of Ohio…

In 1994, Michigan voters amended the state constitution to reduce schools' reliance on local property taxes for financial support. School districts were also divided into three funding tiers that were determined by their 1993-94 state and local revenues. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the impact of Michigan's finance reform…

In 1994 Arkansas's school-finance system was declared unconstitutional. A compromise plan was drawn up during the following year to appease both the state legislature and the governor. This paper discusses the confusing and contradictory aspects of three pieces of the state's school-finance legislation: Act 916, Act 917, and the Biennial…

This document is the second in a series of reports that measures progress to-date in making New Jersey's school finance system fairer to students and taxpayers alike. It examines change in the distribution of revenues and expenditures between 1975-76 and 1978-79, the equity of these distributions, how budget caps influenced these shifts, and the…

This document presents findings of a General Accounting Office (GAO) study that reviewed the experiences of three states that had recently reformed their school-finance systems to make them more equitable. Case studies of Tennessee, Texas, and Minnesota were conducted. Methodology included a review of school finance documents and legislative…

A comprehensive program for finance reform of the Texas school system based on an analytical paradigm that encompasses adequacy, equity, and efficiency considerations is introduced. Topics such as the development of the Texas conceptual model, the structural elements of the allocation model, and the development of the revenue-raising system are…

Unlike many other states, Michigan's school-finance reform was triggered not by a lawsuit but by legislative action that eliminated the property tax as a revenue source for public schools. Changes included an increase in the sales tax from 4 to 6 cents and a move to a foundation grant formula, which included a state foundation-allowance target for…