Describes how Elyria (Ohio) Schools passed an $8 million school levy in five months. Highlights successful techniques used in fundraising, publicity and advertizing, registering voters, creating a citizen speakers' bureau, obtaining editorial and church support, canvassing, telephoning, involving students, and obtaining endorsements. Diverse,…

After South Lyon Community Schools (Michigan) lost their first tax levy campaign, a committee formed to interview voters and devise a new plan discovered that voter priorities had been overlooked. The solution--enlisting community support and communicating the importance of voters' priorities. An inset provides specific campaign techniques. (MLH)

Summarizes American public school finance history from the post World War II period to the present, focusing on the work of R.L. Johns, Edgar Morphet, and numerous colleagues. Discusses the conflict and schism in school finance during the 1970's resulting from demands for greater equity in the face of diminishing local financing choices. (MLH)

Providing pre-college teachers with an analysis of tax reform is the primary goal of this publication. The present tax system is both inefficient and inequitable. Three goals of tax reform proposals are detailed: (1) fairness--the dimensions of horizontal equity, or equal treatment of equals however defined, and vertical equity, reflecting the…

Educational reforms rest on a true need and a fiscal capacity to finance them. Poorer states already making a substantial tax effort are especially vulnerable. Maine's reform package is based not on across-the-board teacher salary increases, but on increase in year-round professional earnings. Includes 2 tables, 2 figures, and 10 references. (MLH)

This chapter of "Principles of School Business Management" provides a basic understanding of the mechanics of the various taxes used to raise money for education, the extent to which these taxes are utilized, the way they interrelate, and the criteria that can be used when judging their relative advantages and disadvantages. The chapter…

Increasingly, taxpayers are unwilling to suport educational programs they do not understand. Based on the premise that such support comes from an enlightened public, this article proposes a carefully orchestrated citizen visiting team to examine school programs and report results to the board. Includes two references. (MLH)

The long-term pattern of state assumption of public elementary and secondary education funding continued during the past decade. This trend, as shown in numerous tables, has been neither regular nor consistent among states and regions in recent years. The property tax is still the mainstay of local school districts. Includes 18 references. (MLH)

This paper discusses a study that examined three questions: How has overall state spending on higher education changed from year to year in relation to states' ability to fund higher education? (2) Has the growth in state spending on higher education varied significantly from the growth in total state budgets in recent years? and (3) What have…

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)

Prospects for financing educational reform in West Virginia are grim. Added to the state's high unemployment rate are the following problems: declining sales, income, and property tax revenues and erosion of federal support due to Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. Residents have set other priorities for public funding. Includes five references. (MLH)

A study was conducted to compare the priorities of college administrators with those of strategic external constituencies regarding the activities of the Maricopa Community Colleges and Central Arizona College. The strategic constituencies for the colleges were defined as all 90 state legislators, 21 state board members and staff, and a sample of…

This book has been prepared so that taxpayers, school board members, and administrators may learn more about school finance in their own districts. It will equip them with the information necessary to understand and evaluate both the statewide system of education in Illinois and how this system relates to their own school district. Despite…

Potential revenue prospects for the public schools in the Midwest basically depend on the future outlook for the midwestern economy as a whole. Accordingly, a comprehensive analysis is undertaken of the midwestern economy and tax base, and then of trends in educational spending. Topics include: (1) economic growth and taxation systems; (2)…

This report attempts to define the nature and dimensions of the "college affordability crisis." It covers trends in college costs, student ability to pay, and some of the ways in which affordability problems are being addressed. The report finds that while annual growth in college costs has slowed, cost continues to exceed growth in…