A LOCAL TAX ALLOCATION CORRECTION FACTOR WAS DEVELOPED AND EVALUATED FOR APPORTIONMENT OF STATE SCHOOL FUNDS. THE PILOT STUDY WAS BASED ON A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE SIXTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCHOOL FINANCE (SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION). IN THE FIRST PHASE OF THE STUDY, A STATISTICAL METHOD FOR ALLOCATING LOCAL PROPERTY TAX…

In Illinois, the combination of aging structures, local taxpayer resistance to increased property taxes, and increased costs have all affected local school infrastructure feasibility. Proposes four steps districts should be required to take to meet their fiduciary responsibilities. (eight references) (MLF)

Analyzes data on the economic prospects of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin--including demographic and economic trends, trends in taxation systems, school revenue and expenditure trends, and future revenue prospects--and offers prognoses for individual states. Generally, short-range revenue prospects are bleak, and long-range…

Discusses the implications of the Serrano vs Priest decision on the Illinois State school financing system. (JF)

This study examined the relationship between operating tax rates and selected socioeconomic variables for Illinois school districts. Districts were separately ranked by operating tax rates and then divided into four equal quartiles--low tax effort, low medium tax effort, high medium tax effort, and high tax effort. Discriminant analysis was used…

After a summary of Illinois finance reform since 1973, the procedures for monitoring school finance equity are described. The tabulated results generally indicate that gains made in equity have been lost. The causes of the diminished drive for equity and future prospects are analyzed. (MJL)

The decade from 1987 to 1997 saw two unsuccessful attempts to reform Illinois's school finance system from a constitutional perspective. In 1997, prospective reforms will probably be limited by partisanship, revenues and anti-tax sentiment, regional antipathies, fragmentation, and pressures for property tax relief. (MLH)

The third annual survey of the Illinois Rural Life Panel included questions on school taxes, improvements to strengthen local schools, satellite technology, extracurricular activities, and career opportunities after high school. Results from a sample of approximately 2,000 residents in the 76 Illinois nonmetropolitan counties included: (1) 54…

Illinois' education finance plan is described in the first of this report's two chapters, and the second chapter considers the finance plan's equity. Chapter 1 covers the state's Resource Equalizer Aid Program and the tax revenue it guarantees districts; the calculation of maximum tax guarantees and local shares; the apportionment of state aid;…

Uses ordinary least-squares multivariate regression analysis to determine if jurisdictional types vary in their willingness to increase taxation for schools, employing 892 education fund referenda conducted in Illinois from 1981 to 1989. Outcomes do differ by jurisdiction type. The strongest predictor is willingness to pay for higher taxes. (29…

This document contains a summary of the recommendations made in 1972 and 1973 by the Commission to the Illinois Legislature. Areas covered in the proposed educational legislation and in the recommendations include the common school fund, adult education, the gifted program, special education, the bilingual program, urban education, pupil…

This special report reviews problems in Illinois' education funding system and discusses potential solutions to these problems. The report notes that the fundamental problem with the current education finance system is an over-reliance on local property taxes. Although property taxes are a relatively stable and lucrative revenue source,…

Using a questionnaire survey and census data, the author sought to determine the effect of administrator effort and other selected administrative, fiscal, and socioeconomic variables on the results of Illinois school district tax elections. All educational tax referenda in the state's unit and elementary school districts in the years 1975-78 were…

This paper (1) provides background on types of State aid to education and describes how they work, (2) discusses the existing expenditure structure in Illinois, (3) describes and analyzes the fixed foundation (Strayer-Haig), variable foundation, percentage equalization, and resource equalizer formulae used for equalization aid in the United…

A 1973 Illinois school finance reform program initiated a guaranteed tax yield system that can also be considered a district power equalization system. This paper evaluates this reform according to four criteria: permissable variance, fiscal neutrality, reward for effort, and aid to urban areas. Emphasis is given to a discussion of legal and…