Formula funding in Ontario is used as a case study to evaluate how effective formula-funding has been in encouraging autonomous universities to work towards the attainment of public policy objectives. The analysis shows that four mechanisms have been used in Canada--formula funding, designated extraformula grants, incentive funding, and controls.…

Examines distributional implications of a recent Supreme Court of Texas decision mandating a fiscally neutral school finance system. Comparing 1988-89 system's distribution with that of two forms of district power equalization, this article finds that the new alternatives would generate a more equal distribution of expenditures per unit of tax…

Florida's rapidly growing public school system enrolls over 2 million students. Total operating costs are over $11 billion annually. School funding declined in the early 1990s and is still 3% below the pre-recession peak. Despite an $11 billion tobacco industry settlement, the state is pushing fiscal performance incentives instead of increasing…

American society has long realized the importance of education as a tool for social and economic mobility and therefore has supported free public education with taxpayer dollars. Understanding that every child is entitled to an education appropriate to his or her needs, to varying extents state legislatures have recognized the importance of…

For more than a decade, education reformers have admired the achievements of the Edmonton Public Schools in Canada, and school districts across the United States have attempted to replicate Edmonton's success with school-site decision making. However, most districts have stopped short of implementing one policy that is central to Edmonton's…

In searching for a new budget formula for the College of Business at California State University at Long Beach, a major university in the west, several rational budget formulas were explored. This report develops an explanation in quantitative terms of the reasoning process pursued by the department chairs in arriving at the compromise budget…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

Chances are that many high school students would not know how to use drafting instruments, but some might want to gain competence in computer-assisted design (CAD) and possibly computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM). These students are often attracted to tech courses by the availability of CAD/CAM instructions, and many go on to impress employers…

This brief provides a summary and analysis of a survey taken in the fall of 2005. The survey was conducted with a distribution of questionnaires to all of the district superintendents in the state of Arizona. Responses were received from 116 individuals out of a population of 227. These superintendents represented all three types of school…

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires states to document whether or not adult education service providers are improving the quality of their instructional services. To reward effective providers, a number of states have adopted performance-based funding (PBF)…

Discussions about appropriate methods for education research have escalated in the wake of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and related changes to federal policies for educational research and its funding. This legislation highlights the importance of "scientifically-based research" and in particular foregrounds the use of…

The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between the desired outcomes of the National Plan for Higher Education and the funding formula. It further wants to explore the current situation regarding specific challenges in higher education, namely increased participation, broadened social base of students and equity, as well as a…

The 1995 South Dakota State Legislature enacted a new state aid to education formula. This memorandum is designed to provide background information on the formula. The repeal of the formula in existence at the time and replacement with a different formula was the product of several factors. Some of those factors were: (1) the inclusion of a new…

Formula funding in Illinois reflects decisions on value choices which can be grouped in the categories of enrollment linkage, mission and diversity recognition, equity and fair share, and quality and program improvement. The enrollment linkage of the Illinois formula ties credit hour grants and categorical programs directly to full-time equivalent…

Formula budgeting procedures used in several states for allocating resources to public institutions of higher education are reviewed and criteria to be considered in developing a formula budget for public institutions in Pennsylvania is recommeded in this report. Section 1 summarizes the history of formula budgeting in Pennsylvania. Section 2…