The first section of this report focuses on school finance in Maryland and briefly overviews the relative importance of federal, state and local funding. The next section summarizes state education aid, focusing on policy goals guiding state aid, the brief history of state education aid, and the various approaches Maryland uses to distribute…

This guidebook assists California school districts in applying for and obtaining "grant" funds for new construction and modernization projects of its public schools under the provisions of the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998. It provides direction on accessing the processes leading to project approvals, insight into the…

This document, mandated by the University Research Center Act of 1988, presents financial balance sheets listing receipts and disbursements of research funds for research activities being conducted at the eight state-supported universities in Mississippi: Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State…

This article summarizes "The Majority Rule Act for Smaller Classes, Safer Schools and Financial Accountability" (Proposition 26). The Majority Rule Act deals with the percentage vote that a school district, county office of education, or community college, needs in an election to authorize local general-obligation bonds for school…

Using recent economic data on state spending and information about childhood brain development, this Kids Count mini-report offers a snapshot of where Arkansas stands on early education and spending on such programs. The report examines the next steps, challenging conventional wisdom in order to explore the best path for improving child outcomes…

This paper uses Milwaukee Public School (MPS) data to describe trends in state aid and spending during the time that school choice has existed. The study uses data from MPS budget documents, focusing on changes in state aid to MPS and in overall MPS spending. These data refute claims that the financing of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program…

In 1996-97, forty percent of all students in New York state public schools attend schools in one of the nine high minority districts in which minority students constituted eighty percent or more of total enrollment. This report uses the downstate metropolitan region to analyze the effect of state aid policies on high minority school districts and…

This document proposes a model for operating state aid that provides a more equitable and rational system of state aid appropriations that would primarily benefit rural and low socioeconomic area community colleges. Operating state aid is appropriated on the basis of a statutory formula that uses the previous year's appropriation and growth in…

This report addresses the relationship between the school accountability measures required for Title I schools and those put in place by state and local jurisdictions. The document's main focus is on the degree of coherence and compatibility among the multiple accountability systems, as well as the level and coordination of support provided to…

This report is based on surveys of unified school districts, elementary school districts, high school districts, county offices of education, and state special schools in California. Performed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC), the document provides the state legislature an assessment of the facility and personnel needs facing…

This brief examines two components of Colorado's school-finance act: state aid and local property taxes. It describes how the Department of Education accounts for about 41 percent of the state General Fund appropriations, the vast majority of which is used for the school-finance act. Roughly 10 years ago, the General Assembly set property taxes…

This paper provides a history and analysis of educational finance in Wyoming. It offers a summary of the funding model that is currently in place and that has been challenged in court--the fourth such challenge in the past 30 years. The article focuses on the current litigation. It discusses the funding formula that was adopted by the state…

To help close gaps between employee skills and employer needs, both federal- and state-funded programs are providing training and helping employers find qualified employees. In 2002, states raised revenues from taxes levied on employers to fund their own programs. This study examined how many states used employer taxes to fund their own employment…

There are many different agencies and organizations which provide funding for those involved in research, community development, education, the provision of health and social services, and other activities. This publication is designed to serve as an introduction for counselors to sources of grant funding and particular grant programs, and to the…

Some groups that are pressing for changes in the state's school funding system represent the interests of a small number of school districts that see themselves as somehow "unfairly" impacted by the state's recapture provisions. Recapture is the part of the funding system that re-allocates state resources that are concentrated in a small number of…