The academic and economic benefits of school spending are well-established, but focusing on these outcomes may underestimate the full social benefits of school spending. Recent increases in U.S. child mortality are driven by injuries and raise questions about what types of social investments could reduce child deaths. We use close school district…

In Pennsylvania as in many other states, employee pension costs are a significant source of financial pressure for school districts (Zeehandelaar and Northern 2013, Pennsylvania Public Employees' Retirement Commission 2013). In order to gain greater insight into the nature of Pennsylvania school districts' financial burden related to pension…

The purpose of this article was to present the results of a study that analyzed Pennsylvania local school boards' taxing authority, pre- and post-enactment of Special Session Act 1, "The Taxpayer Relief Act," in 2006, in terms of its percent share of school districts' total budget in order to better understand the impact of the new…

This study determined the number of Pennsylvania school districts that invest surplus funds and the rate of return on these investments. Also examined was the relationship among the amount of money earned from investments and the assessed value of the district, the aid ratio, the income from real estate, and the beginning and ending balance to…

Examines one Pennsylvania school district's efforts to upkeep and improve its 30- to 40-year-old school facilities that required no tax increases for six years. Highlighted are the district's use of the Federal Land Reuse Authority to transform abandoned government property to private use and utilize the help of the community to provide mutually…

Three lengthy tables and four charts present information on the 1981-82 planned tax effort of each of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts and 67 counties. The tax effort, or "equalized mills," equals each district's budgeted taxes divided by its projected 1981 market value. The report gives a brief illustration of how the tax effort…

This handbook is designed to assist school board members and school administrators in dealing with school management issues and problems. The first chapter provides a historical review of public school finance. The next three chapters deal with the source of public education funding, the general nature of local taxing authority, and the manner in…

To test whether equity in educational expenditure can include equity for taxpayers, the authors analyze two suggested methods for achieving educational equity. The two methods are district power equalizing (DPE), which grants state aid in inverse proportion to school district wealth, and the wealth neutral system (WNS), which takes account of…

The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a school finance proposal, exemplified by House Bill 113 of the 2003 legislative session, that would shift some school funding away from local property taxes and toward state funds and local income taxes. The proposal would give greater proportional benefits to homeowners with lower property values. A…

Develops a model of teacher salaries and teacher supply and demand, including production functions, occupational choice, budget constraints, and district income and tax rates, as an aid in analyzing educational finance reforms. Tests the model on Pennsylvania school district data, using three different assumptions about labor market competition…

To identify 5-year trends in revenues and expenditures for Pennsylvania's 500 school districts and to show how fiscal trends interact with changes in variables such as student enrollment, statewide school financial data from 1984-85 through 1988-89 are analyzed. The figures indicated that financial trends include increases in total district…

Discussion of inequity in funding of Pennsylvania schools has tended to focus on differences between wealthy and poor school districts. In Pennsylvania, 180 school districts have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the existing public school funding scheme. A study of the state's 500 school districts, grouped by market value of…

This report reviews local tax reform and describes an approach to simulating the effects of proposed tax reform on local school districts in Pennsylvania. The microcomputer spreadsheet simulation led to the development of a model able to meet the feasibility criteria established for such a simulation model. The model was designed to input…

This publication will provide the general public and the educational community with a summary of interpretations, policies, and procedures established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the administration of the basic instructional subsidy. Pennsylvania schools are funded by a complicated state and local financial partnership spelled…

This book is a general guide to Pennsylvania school law designed for use by school board members, school administrators, school attorneys, and interested laymen. It is organized in 17 chapters that focus in turn on different areas of school law, including school board members and school district officers, superintendents, teachers, pupils,…