In November 1972, electorates in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon decisively rejected consitutional amendments that (according to their supporters) would have reduced or eliminated reliance on the property tax as a means of financing education. School finance reformers were perplexed by these defeats. This study sets out to explain the…

Summarizes arguments for and against replacing the local school property tax by a local school income tax. Explores the empirical effects of such policies for New York State. Using a 3% income tax and refashioning state aid to a foundation level of $8,068 per pupil would not require substantial new state revenues. (38 footnotes) (MLH)

Is there a crisis in Oregon school finance? Before policymakers can formulate answers, assessment and definition of the problem are necessary. This paper examines the current state of Oregon school finance, including reform efforts over the last 20 years from policy and grass roots level perspectives. It then assesses the current school funding…

This publication describes Oregon's current school funding system, and provides some criteria for evaluating alternatives that address issues of equity, balance, and stability. Oregon's school funding system depends primarily on local property taxes (57%) and a state aid program (22%) funded mainly by an income tax. This system permits a great…

This study examines the effects of the 1979 Oregon Property Tax Relief Plan on 1980-81 school district budget decisions by comparing the available tax relief, the school expenditures, and the tax levies in the state for the years 1975-81. The history of direct and indirect property tax relief in Oregon is sketched for the years prior to 1979; the…

This report is one of a series of statements relating to the Oregon Board of Education priorities for Oregon education. It first identifies the factors contributing to the financial problem and then proposes activities to (1) simplify the structure by which education finance operates, (2) stabilize financing of the education program, (3)…

This article examines some implications of the Serrano vs Priest decision for Oregon's system of financing public schools. The author presents one alternative financing method -- a Statewide system to assess, collect, and disburse to each district or county an amount equalized on a per student basis. The status of the school financing system in…

Studies the deleterious effects of Oregon's Measure 5 (a property relief measure) on two suburban elementary schools in Oregon City and West Linn. In both Oregon and California, a shift away from property taxes has not been accompanied by the development of adequate funding from other sources. Our growing willingness to provide for children's…

Passage of a 1990 tax limitation measure made Oregon one of few states since 1978 to mandate reductions in local property taxes. A survey of Oregon school superintendents revealed their fears about reduced local discretion and use of revenue management/forecasting tools and rational, goal-oriented cutback approaches. (Contains 36 footnotes.) (MLH)

During the past 5 years, Oregon has set in motion a set of fundamental changes in state policy that will radically affect schools. It has: (1) reduced property taxes without increasing other taxes in a way that will reduce state/local taxes as a share of income from 12.1 percent of personal income in 1991 to 10.3 percent in 1996; (2) shifted to…

The format of this monograph follows essentially the arrangement of the day-long conference on Serrano vs. Priest: a major paper presentation, followed by a panel of three respondents, and subsequent general discussion involving the audience and conference participants. The editors have attempted to provide both the formal and the extemporaneous…

The fourth in a series of technical reports on public education finance in Oregon, this study identifies significant developments from 1968 to 1983 in elementary and secondary finance as well as probable future trends. In addition, it briefly compares the financial standings among Oregon school districts and compares Oregon's school finance system…

The recent marked increase in voter-taxpayer rejection of school budget and school bond issues at polls across the United States -- a phenomenon popularly called the "taxpayers' revolt" -- has given rise to the widespread claim that public school finance is in a state of crisis. This paper develops a simplified model of a political…

This paper describes the development of school finance reform in Oregon from 1968 through legislative enactments in 1973 and proposals for the voters in 1974. The first section describes the 1973 school finance reform proposal, rejected by voters, as it was originally submitted (whereby the State would have assumed 95 percent of the operating…