This article presents a historical view of public school finance and discusses difficulties that have been encountered in an effort to offer equality in funding. Various court cases that have influenced educational finance are listed as examples of the movement to reform state fiscal programs. (DF)

Separate schools were introduced into Ontario between 1841 and 1867 when Upper Canada was joined with Lower Canada to form the United Province of Canada. The school acts of 1841 and 1843 outlined the basic arrangements by which either a Roman Catholic or a Protestant minority might establish a dissenting separate school board. Since the School Act…

This document examines the chronological history of financing the Alaskan public school system. The first section traces the influence of the Greco-Russian Church and the Russian-American Company on education in Russian Alaska. The second section focuses on early United States education efforts, including the Sheldon Jackson era, the Organic Act…

Traces the development of state-level education agencies in New Jersey from the nineteenth century to the present. (SJL)

Contemplation by the Illinois General Assembly of a new grant-in-aid system for school finance has suggested a review of educational finance in that state. Taxation maintaining support of public education since 1825 and the establishment of the first free schools are examined. The issue of local funding, the inequities caused by such funding due…

This report describes a financial and governance crisis that occurred in the California Community Colleges between 1981 and 1987. Following prefatory materials, chapter 1 provides an overview of the system, describing growth between 1950 and 1980, funding, governance, and the colleges' mission. Chapter 2 presents background to the crisis up to…

A historical overview of Ohio's county boards of education is provided in this document. State legislation passed in 1914 provided statewide school standards, established the county boards of education, and outlined the county superintendent's qualifications. The new boards' major responsibilities included teacher supervision and the…

In response to a 1978 mandate, this concluding volume of the School Finance Project's final report concentrates on the broader intergovernmental issues relating to the design and transmission of federal policies and programs, and on the effects of federal activities on state and local education agencies and on schools. The specific Department of…

This monograph reviews the history and examines the current status of school desegregation with respect to major court decisions and their impact on educational policy. Discussed are the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954 and subsequent Supreme Court and lower court decisions, busing, involvement of the executive and legislative branches of…

Citing a number of primary and secondary sources, the legislative and developmental history of the junior college movement in California is examined in this 1964 six-part report. First, a brief introduction presents an overview of the movement's major proponents, and of a 1907 law establishing California's first public junior colleges. The next…

The Saturation Project was an innovative 3-year grant program that was planned by the National Association for Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) but never actually implemented. The grant was intended to be given to the McAlester, Oklahoma, school district in 1961 in order to demonstrate the contribution of adult education to the overall…

The history of school district consolidation in New York State reveals that nearly every set of recommendations which has encouraged consolidation has brought about widespread negative reaction from the public. Reorganization is a highly political activity in which members of the State Legislature and the State Education Department have always…

In 1966, the Arkansas Education Association (AEA) presented a plan to consolidate school districts by dissolving all school districts with less than 400 students. The proposal spawned an enormous debate, and opponents organized a political action committee named the Arkansas Rural Education Association (AREA). The issues involved were: (1) the…

The history of school district reorganization in New York State over the past 150 years is examined. Basic research tools included a survey of present and former district superintendents, contacts with former State Education Department personnel, and reports from other leading figures and past participants. Sections are included on: the historical…

This document is a history of Wisconsin's equalization aid formula, embodying all the formula studies conducted since 1947, along with all the actions taken by Wisconsin legislatures and governors since 1927. The introduction provides the constitutional and statutory rationale for state education aid, and lists the committees that have studied the…