This paper examines recent efforts in Arkansas to nullify property taxes. It describes how anti-tax citizens, whose push for a constitutional amendment in 1998 was thwarted by the state supreme court, have vowed to collect enough signatures to place the amendment on the 2000 ballot. The proposed amendment will abolish ad valorem taxes upon real…

Immediately after the November 1978 general election, the Education Finance Center of the Education Commission of the States conducted a public opinion poll by telephone in four states that had tax and expenditure limitation measures on the ballot: Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and Oregon. Those who voted positively and negatively on both tax cut…

Between 1983 and 1984, tax referenda for Sauk Valley College (SVC) were on the ballot three times. Research conducted before and after the tax referendum failed to pass in November 1983 provided the basis for strategy enhancement that brought SVC closer to its goal in March 1984 and finally to the achievement of the goal in November. In October…

Several major reasons for municipal overburden have been identified by authorities. These include the following: (1) it is more expensive to provide public services in urban areas; (2) the socioeconomic characteristics of urban residents place heavy demands on municipal services; (3) city tax bases are failing to keep pace with increasing costs;…

The Texas Foundation School Program, popularly known as the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), is a very complex approach to school finance. It provides basic assistance in three areas--minimum salaries, operating allowances, and transportation--and additional assistance in two others--vocational education and special education. The state pays…

Findings of a study that examined the relationship between Pennsylvania teachers' salaries and local wealth are presented in this paper. Statistical analyses of 491 Pennsylvania school districts involved regression, t tests, and chi square. Findings indicate that two factors had a statistically significant impact on local teacher salaries: (1) the…

Is there a crisis in Oregon school finance? Before policymakers can formulate answers, assessment and definition of the problem are necessary. This paper examines the current state of Oregon school finance, including reform efforts over the last 20 years from policy and grass roots level perspectives. It then assesses the current school funding…

This report examines tax reform in Vermont. A unanimous state supreme court decision in 1997 ruled that the state's educational finance system was unconstitutional. In response to this ruling, the legislature passed a new statewide property-tax system with two tiers: a block grant of $5,010 per pupil and a guaranteed yield for spending above the…

Findings of a study that determined the relationship between property taxes and individual adjusted gross income and that examined the feasibility of using these data to define an "income wealth" measure by school district are presented in this paper. Illinois Department of Revenue computer tapes for the tax years 1986-88 were analyzed;…

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 paper describes the research that has been required to develop the factual evidence for challenges to inequitable school finance laws and for defenses of school finance reform legislation in Oregon and Wisconsin. Both the challenge to and the defense of school finance legislation use an analytical framework that focuses on the following…

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…

Equality of educational opportunity implies giving each child an opportunity for unlimited success in the educational system. Equal educational opportunity requires a particularized educational response to the characteristics of the individual. An educational finance plan that provides equality of educational opportunity should take into account…

This paper describes ways in which the public school district can cut costs, similar to those utilized by the private sector in a shrinking economy. One strategy is to generate new revenue and protect old revenue from erosion through "ad valorem" taxation of real property. Between appraisal years, schools districts can actively seek out…

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…