In November 1980, Massachusetts citizens voted to limit the allowable increase in local property tax revenue by supporting a state-ballot referendum named Proposition 2 1/2. This paper presents findings of a study that examined changes in both the sources and extent of funding for public education in Massachusetts communities during the first…

In the last decades, a number of states have passed legislation identifying the conditions under which state officials can and should intervene in the operation of school districts. This paper uses a grounded qualitative approach to develop a lexicon of concepts and a framework for comparing intervention laws across states. The paper analyzes the…

This report provides longitudinal data on enrollments, finance, programs, and staff for the 16 campuses of the Wisconsin Technical College System, covering the period from 1986 to 1996. The following tables are provided: (1) systemwide headcount enrollment by the aid categories of college parallel, postsecondary, continuing education, and…

This newsletter issue focuses on the basic sliding fee child care program, outlining the need for child care assistance, explaining how the program costs less than public assistance, examining the effects on families waiting for the program, providing an overview of how the program currently works with a county-by-county analysis (a 2-page chart…

This report displays 1990 U.S. census data for Colorado and each of its 63 counties. Selected characteristics include population, English as a Second Language, educational attainment, labor force participation, poverty status, and public assistance income. Data, which may be useful in examining assumptions made concerning those characteristics,…

The six papers in this collection, which were presented at the 1991 Library Association of the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute, focus on the theme of library collection development: (1) "Evolving Knowledge Resource Access Systems: Keynote Address" (Peter R. Young, Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and…

Designed to assist community college administrators and faculty in obtaining direct funding grants to enhance vocational education programs and services, this Vocational Education Resource Package (VERP) provides guidelines for writing grant proposals. The VERP is tailored for programs requesting funds from the California Community Colleges or…

This report is intended to provide current information and integrated analysis of state-level higher education policy developments. Part 1 considers state funding support in the following categories: changing rules, effects of changing rules, survival in a changing game, and the growth industry of higher education. Part 2 examines issues concerned…

This report analyzes the following issues affecting public higher education: student charges; deferred maintenance; state fiscal conditions; the National Retention Project; and prepaid tuition plans. In each section, the report includes an overview of the issue, and presents highlights, findings, analyses, extensive charts and graphs, and…

Education finance and administration have been studied on the premise that the technical attributes of superior financial allocation schemes can indeed be identified. Given that they can, it follows that it should be possible to discern refinements that, once adopted, would enhance the practical functions of the allocation scheme. In this paper,…

In states that depend on property taxes for school revenues, fair administration of the property tax is essential to ensure equitable state aid to all districts. Questions relevant to implementing a strategy for enhancing public support of the property tax as a source of local school revenue are answered in this report. The questions deal with the…

The North American Council on Adoptable Children surveyed 64 private and 23 public child placement agencies in 25 states in the fall of 1990. Of the agencies that responded, 83 percent were aware of barriers preventing families of color from adopting. Frequently cited barriers were: (1) institutional racism; (2) lack of people of color in…

This essay describes the general education curriculum in six New England institutions who had received funding from foundations or government agencies to assist them in reforming such curricula. It is an examination of the importance of outside funds in the process of designing and implementing major changes in the general education curriculum. It…

This publication is a guide for California colleges and universities wishing to prepare for earthquakes. An introduction aimed at institutional leaders emphasizes that earthquake preparedness is required by law and argues that there is much that can be done to prepare for earthquakes. The second section, addressed to the disaster planner, offers…

One of the more pervasive fiscal trends of the past three decades is the use of state-sponsored lotteries to raise revenue, often earmarked for such publicly supported institutions as public colleges. Evidence exists, however, that lottery revenues, which are unstable in nature, tend to supplant stable general revenue funds. Moreover, lottery…