This report is divided into seven sections. Section one deals with the design of the study which includes the basic questions asked, the nature of the data collected in order to answer these questions, and the samples upon which the statistical analyses are performed. Sections two and three are concerned with the matter of social and economic…

In this policy brief, the author contends that there are four other principal causes of the collective poor showing on reaching state equity goals in the United States. These are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the school finance world. The first horseman rides an economic horse, the second a sociological horse, the third a political horse,…

This monograph examines several proposed school finance formulas addressing funding and/or taxation disparities produced by the current Illinois system. The analysis is conceptual, as each model is either in the developmental stage or has not been simulated to demonstrate actual impact. Specific algebraic formulations are ignored when discussing…

Examines a "Forbes" cover story on educational expenditures that poses questions related to three current research guidelines for educational finance: adequacy, equity, and efficiency. Different "production functions" must be sought for children of differing family backgrounds. Without adequate education, the world's armies,…

Draws attention to a few of the far-reaching implications contained in the 106-page opinion of Judge Bernard S. Jefferson regarding the Serrano case and the unconstitutionality of the California public school financing system. (Author/DN)

The equity of public school funding in Illinois is investigated in this report. A longitudinal, cartographic methodology examines the county as the unit of analysis for the school years 1972-73 through 1990-91. Findings indicate that Illinois school districts are currently more unequal than when the state equalization aid formula state was adopted…

The MacArthur/Spencer special project on Illinois school finance is dedicated to the exploration of three central concepts in Illinois school finance: equity, adequacy, and efficiency. While most reports on the project have dealt directly with equity and adequacy, this report confronts the issue of efficiency by discussing the policy and legal…

This publication contains testimony, given by personnel at the Center for the Study of Educational Finance, initially intended for legislators at the federal and state levels to help them deal with public policy matters in K-12 finance. The first document is testimony given before the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources,…

This study presents a new approach to identifying economically efficient school districts in Illinois and provides a preliminary analysis of the determinants of public schools' economic efficiency. Economically efficient schools are those attaining higher than expected test scores at lower than expected costs. Expectation is based on school…

There is an identifiable "democratic theory of school finance" that can be seen in the works of classical authors, in the current professional educational literature, and in some recent court opinions. (Author/WM)

Empirical studies of the school finance reforms of the 1970s have not indicated that equity has been satisfactorily achieved in all cases. The methods of equity analysis used and the data bases analyzed in those studies have differed enough to prevent ready comparison or the formulation of overall assessments of the effects of school finance…

The purpose of this paper is to outline some policy options that might be considered by decision-makers in Illinois as they struggle with school finance in adequately funding the public schools, but also bringing about property tax relief. First the report looks at ways of attaining property tax relief through the distributive side by discussing…

Advocacy for drastic change in the governance and structure of Illinois educational finance is the theme of this collection of oral presentations. Section 1 contains testimonies by G. Alan Hickrod and Lawrence E. Frank delivered to the Citizens Council on School Problems, focusing on K-12 educational funding problems and solutions. Section 2…

This paper examines the impact of Illinois' present system of state aid to education in light of the rationale for its adoption, and argues that the stated purposes of the present system would be better realized through the adoption of a "two-tiered" finance system. The present Illinois system consists of the Strayer-Haig system of…

A new formula proposed for categorically funding local education programs in Illinois can channel more money into programs for excellence than can general purpose grants. The formula, which would provide venture capital to stimulate local initiatives, would depend on district plans for using the money to improve instruction and on distribution of…