Colleges and universities sell education at a price that is far less than the cost of its production. Student subsidies are a permanent feature of higher education economics, representing a large part of total costs. Cross-subsidizing, with one activity supporting another, is common, and even students who pay full costs and do not get direct…

Uses a simultaneous equation model to explain the state appropriation/tuition relationship at U.S. public universities. Tuition depends on state appropriation, median family income, out-of-state enrollment, and geographic region. State appropriation is affected by tuition level, per-capita tax revenue, demand, and Democratic Party majorities.…

South Dakota State leaders decided a few years ago to make a commitment to educational technology and distance education. The result is a blend of public and private support for educational change focused on increased use of instructional technology and distance education. The May/June 2001 issue of "Tech Trends" presents ideas from…

Examines funding equality across school districts in 49 states for fiscal years 1992 and 1995. Presents rankings of each state's funding equality and explores factors that may be related to the level of equality within states and to changes across years. (Contains 29 references.) (Author)

Investigated the extent to which state policies provided the potential to achieve fiscal neutrality in funding capital outlay for school construction. Surveys of the 50 states highlighted substantial differences in state financial plans for school construction. About 36 percent of states ranked low in their potential to achieve wealth-based…

Describes Ohio's efforts to fund school facilities following a state court decision that Ohio Constitution required adequate facilities. Explores political and economic factors for relative success of state programs to fund school facilities. Despite these efforts, voter-approved bond issues remain the principal means of funding facilities. (PKP)

Presents examples of how state and local governments, spurred by legal mandates, have cooperated in funding new school construction projects to replace their crumbling school facilities with inspirational learning environments. (GR)

Despite an overall improvement in the educational situation of girls and women in India, there are considerable gender inequalities in education. In the last decade, the Government of India introduced the campaign approach to tackle the problem of widespread illiteracy among women and other socio-economically disadvantaged groups in collaboration…

This article reports on a nationally-watched case by educators and families which is scheduled to be heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The court is to decide whether Opportunity Scholarships, available to students enrolled in Florida's persistently lowest-rated public schools, run afoul of a prohibition on using public money in religious…

Context: Prescription opioid abuse has emerged as a public health problem, particularly in rural America. Purpose: To examine temporal and geographic trends in rates of controlled-release oxycodone (OxyContin) prescribing for Kentucky Medicaid recipients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was completed in which the state was divided into 3…

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion of the adequacy of funding for public schools, specifically with regard to the provision of programs for at-risk children. Of particular concern is the determination of realistic, research-based costs of adequately funded programs. This article has three basic parts: the definition and measurement…

In Democracy in America, nineteenth-century political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville argued that understanding how individual U.S. states approached an issue offered "the key to all the rest." If Tocqueville was correct, and he was right about many things, higher education advocates are in for a rocky time. Over the past two or three…

The US colleges are struggling with soaring tuition costs as state support is unable to keep up with enrollment growth, and college officials are becoming more creative in finding ways to reduce expenses. Higher education institutions are increasingly outsourcing non-academic activities, collaborating with other institutions to share goods and…

In this article, the author reports the ripple effects of the energy squeeze due to Hurricane Katrina and other factors that sent energy costs skyrocketing. Energy costs are a good part of why budget growth, which has been steady over the past five years, has been slowing down. The projected change from FY2005 to FY2006 is only 3.3%, compared to…

This article presents a cross-section, 50-state analysis of school finance legislation from the 2000 session and a seven-year trend analysis, dating back to 1994. The framework for analysis was grounded in the theory of intergovernmental grants. Although the 2000 legislative session was an active one, the total number of bills passed represented a…