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…

This report looks at the experience of those young people who broaden their learning and develop their essential skills by undertaking school-college partnership programmes. Its primary aim is to identify what makes these programmes successful for young people and what needs to be done better. It is intended to help schools, colleges, and local…

For those rural schools and communities across the country facing declining student enrollment, there are no easy answers. But there are steps policymakers and communities can take to help cushion the negative impact of declining enrollment on schools to ensure that "no child left behind" also means "no place left behind." This report details 20…

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…

Current formula funding practices in the South and implications for the future are analyzed. Formula funding systems are used in 12 of the 14 states belonging to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Changes that have occurred in the formulas of each state since 1973-74 are described. Data from 1977-78 academic year are compared to the…

The current Illinois school finance formula fails to bring very wealthy districts within acceptable equalization bounds. Manipulating tax rates of wealthy and other districts is unacceptable or financially unfeasible. This paper proposes a two-stage process requiring state equalization at the county level, followed by equalization within each…

For the past year, the issue of public education funding has been particularly contentious in California. A pitched political battle between education advocates and the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began with a December 2004 preview of the governor's budget proposal for 2005?06. The fight continued through a spring filled with…

This digest presents a summary of historical and contemporary community college funding sources and challenges. It identifies four main categories of funding: (1) state and local appropriations; (2) tuition; (3) federal funds, grants, and contracts; and (4) endowments. The discussion of state funding covers lump sum appropriations, funding…

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Community College Funding Formula Task Force and proposes a new funding formula. Sections include: (1) Principles (Identifies twelve principles for an effective community college funding system); (2) Iowa's System of Community Colleges (Discusses mission, access, quality, and history;…

Although the Oregon Legislature has succeeded in creating a funding formula that equalizes per pupil spending, it is struggling with budgetary inadequacies. There is no dedicated funding source for schools, voters have enacted further property-tax limitations, and some schools have had to cut programs and staff every year. Nevertheless, Oregon's…

Describes a study investigating primary budgeting strategies and the use of funding formulas in community colleges in Nebraska. Results indicated that college administrators place primary reliance on rationalist approaches to budgeting, use performance-based budgets, and identify composite funding formulas as the most prevalent type of formula.…