School finance is a highly visible issue. Recent sweeping state supreme court decisions have overturned finance structures in New Jersey, Texas, and Kentucky. There are 16 additional states with active or planned cases making school finance litigation, fiscal inequalities, and school finance reform major issues in the state education policy agenda. This paper discusses the changing contours of school finance through the 1970s and 1980s and outlines key financial issues for the 1990s. Issues of the 1970s and 1980s include the complexity of school finance, equity changes, litigation, constitutional validity, and landmark state decisions. For the 1990s, issues include sources of revenue growth, efficiency, cost effectiveness, program productivity, school finance, and educational reform. (78 references) (RR)