The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the foundation program was an adequate and equitable funding mechanism for public schools in the state of Alabama. This study analyzed funding and academic data and evaluated adequacy and equity through the lenses of poverty, geographic location, local tax effort, and type of school…

Proposes a model for evaluating state equalization aid formulas, accounting for municipal overburden and tradeoffs between expenditures and taxes. Tests the model using the Michigan state aid formula. Results relate elasticities to spending and tax levels and suggest that relatively unrestricted guaranteed tax base formulas can work. (PGD)

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…

Virginia's school funding system is characterized by large inequalities and inadequacy. Disparities are increased when the state fails to pay for the full cost of education, state funding is inadequate, facilities are not state-funded, funding rewards only wealthy localities, and ability to pay is measured inaccurately. (Contains 25 references.)…

Illinois' education finance plan is described in the first of this report's two chapters, and the second chapter considers the finance plan's equity. Chapter 1 covers the state's Resource Equalizer Aid Program and the tax revenue it guarantees districts; the calculation of maximum tax guarantees and local shares; the apportionment of state aid;…

Part of a series on state education finance, this manual is intended to help Missouri educators, legislators, and citizens understand school finance reform by providing them with an overview of Missouri's financial aid to public elementary and secondary schools and by exploring selected issues in financial equity in education. The first chapter…

This handbook is one in a series prepared for use at workshops designed to help teachers, administrators, and legislators understand and deal with the intricacies of school finance equalization plans in their states. Rhode Island's education finance plan is discussed in this particular book. Chapter 1 discusses how Rhode Island's plan undertakes…

The purpose of this report is to explain and examine the 1974-75 state education aid formula in light of two questions concerning equity: Are the pupils attending the public schools of New York City denied equal educational opportunities because of inequities in the state system of financing public education? If the state system is inequitable,…

Evidence derived from data accumulated under Vermont's Foundation Plan demonstrates that school district property value is a secondary determinant of school spending level, compared with other factors: the nonresident portion of the property-tax base, resident income, and residents' perceived school-tax burden as a percent of income. (Contains 13…

The Potential Revenue Index (PRI) emphasizes the per cent of current school revenues that are derived from unequalized local taxation. Its purpose is to measure the extent to which potential school per pupil revenues are equalized by various State school support programs. One can also ask how much additional tax revenue people in low wealth school…

The purpose of this manual is to provide information regarding school finance reform in the state of California to the legislature, governor, education department, teachers, and other interest groups. Chapter 1 briefly describes disparities in expenditures for education among California school districts, first using a sample of school districts…

This paper discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of three alternative philosophical and practical approaches for the equitable distribution of state aid to local school districts. These three approaches include the "equity through uniformity" approach, implemented through a Full State Assumption school finance model; the…

The current system of school finance in Texas allows for gross inequities among districts. Statistics indicate that although Texas ranks slightly higher than the nation's average in state wealth, its support of schools, as measured by the percentage of personal income devoted to education, ranks about 35th. These figures suggest that the state…

This paper examines previous changes in school finance reform, makes some future projections about the direction finance reform might go, and indicates what strategies seem particulary effective. It begins at the Federal level by taking a look at the overall Federal budget picture and its implications for the Federal role. The author proposes that…