This booklet discusses past and anticipated legislative activities in school finance, court actions, and research issues. It is divided into three major sections. The first covers the major school finance events of 1976 for selected states, the anticipated major events of 1977, and court actions. The second section covers the dominant issues that…

Analysis of changes in education funding across all 50 states during the 1980s shows that education revenues per pupil are neither increasing nor decreasing overall, but are staying constant after adjusting for enrollment increases and inflation. Demands for education improvement exceed the level of fiscal resources needed to make improvements.…

Notes that today school finance reform encompasses a broad range of issues, from extra needs of expensive items, difficulty to educate pupils, to equitable aid programs to restructuring of state and local tax systems. (Author/AM)

This booklet outlines a framework for defining and measuring equity in state school finance and tax structures. The framework focuses on two groups: children, who receive educational services, and taxpayers, who pay for those services. Discussed are the different measures of equity for children and taxpayers, the values inherent in those measures,…

Summarizes findings of a 1979 national survey of governors, legislators, and other state policymakers on the major school finance issues and areas of concern for the coming decade. Condensed from "School Finance Reform in the States: 1980," published by the Education Finance Center, Education Commission of the States. (Author/SJL)

This book presents ways in which school administrators can identify and redirect school funds to improve student performance. It quantifies the degree of overall financial inequality in the country using figures for all districts and shows how education dollars are currently spent, why these dollars are ineffectual, and how different and more…

This paper analyzes data needs for policy purposes and is divided into three sections: (1) revenue and expenditure data; (2) human resources data; and (3) time and curriculum resources data. Federal data collection concerned with resources should identify the state as the unit of analysis, should broaden the definition of resources beyond revenues…

Examines how school financial policies affect economic incentives and working conditions for teachers and how these policies might serve to make the teaching profession more attractive to new and experienced teachers. Particular consideration is given to the California public school system. (DR)

Teaching all students to high standards may not be achievable with the way the vast bulk of schools in the United States are organized and managed. Under current school structures and management practices, marginal improvements are possible; significantly raising student achievement is not. Accomplishing this requires dramatic improvements that…

Reviews school finance changes through the 1970s and 1980s and outlines key 1990s issues, including basic school finance reforms linked with state or national educational goals; site-based management and budgeting; teacher compensation; accountability systems tied to student performance; public school choice; and nontraditional issues such as…

This article discusses several relatively new issues involved in current debates over education finance policies, notes the research related to them, and summarizes the areas for which additional research is needed. The areas discussed are the impacts of school finance reform, school district financial behavior, the impact of school finance reform…

This booklet investigates the fiscal impacts of declining enrollments from the point of view of state-level policy makers. Five aspects of declining enrollments are examined: (1) the magnitude of the problem both statewide and on a school district basis; (2) the type of school district affected by declining enrollments--central city, suburban,…

Chapter 1, "Step 1: The Change Process," focuses on the change process and describes why and how schools engage in program restructuring and resource allocation. Chapter 2, "Step 2: Defining a New Educational Strategy," discusses decisions that must be made about the regular education program and how the various schools adopted, adapted or created…

Examines whether the Modern Red Schoolhouse, an expensive reform design, could be funded in high-, medium-, and low- spending school districts across Wisconsin. Most Wisconsin schools can afford MRS reform elements; less expensive strategies are also available. Findings may not apply to states with lower per-pupil fiscal investments. (Contains 26…

The Education Finance and Productivity Center of the U.S. Department of Education aims to provide insight into making elementary, secondary, and higher education more productive. The articles of this theme collection explore approaches that are being taken to help frame a research strategy to examine educational productivity. (SLD)