After being placed on the back burner during the 1980s, school finance is again a major issue. In the 1970s, reliance on property taxes created school district disparities because of unequal tax bases. Legislative reforms enacted between 1971 and 1985 had the following characteristics: school finance formulas were revamped; the state role in…

Although the law has been the vehicle for launching school-reform efforts, little attention has been paid to the ways in which legal mechanisms enable or constrain effective school reform; however, law-based school reforms (lawsuits, regulations, statutes, and collective-bargaining provisions) have not changed the fundamental character of the…

This study examines graduation rates at public two-year, public four-year and private four-year colleges in the United States. Its major purpose is to account for the variance in graduation rates taking into account several institutional and institutionally-related student financial aid predictor variables. United States colleges and universities…

In this paper we examine the contention that many schools and school boards use funding generated from testing and coding of students with special needs as a means of augmenting general operating revenues. As a result, students with special needs do not receive the full benefit of the monies received for individualized programs. The article draws…

The role of equity in determining how higher education should be supported is considered, along with several approaches for measuring benefits and costs of public subsidies, and conclusions from the literature. Attention is directed to equity in financing higher education because higher education is often advocated as a mechanism for providing…

Deferring maintenance in small rural schools creates poor conditions that can affect the health and safety of everyone who uses the facility, damage the morale of students and teachers, impair their ability to teach and learn, and threaten the facility itself. Numerous recommendations for policy changes that affect maintenance are presented. A…

This policy brief presents findings from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory research on resource allocation in 1,504 independent school districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. Using 5 years' data from the federal Common Core of Data and the Census Bureau along with 3 years of student performance data from each state…

A study analyzed state funding policies for serving limited English proficient (LEP) students and related patterns of state aid allocations to school districts. State efforts were often poorly conceived or applied, and often inadequate. Only New Jersey and Florida met all study criteria for adequacy, "rationality," and equity of funding,…

Most public schools, out of financial necessity, have had to reduce costs while maintaining facilities and essential programs and remaining accountable for student outcomes. School downsizing can mean making painful decisions about program elimination and staff layoffs. This digest offers suggestions for using downsizing to some…

This paper examines the impact on higher education of funding shortfalls that are due to significant reductions of college budgets by state legislatures and that result in trimming of services and laying off of employees. First, an overview of national trends and statistics describes retrenchment as a key institutional response. A look at some…

The 1980s were an exceptional period for state educational reform activity. The decade was notable for the breadth and persistence of the movement for educational reform centered at the state and local levels. To learn more about state reform activity, the consortium launched a study to examine policy making and practice in six states (Arizona,…

This report is based on data from the 16th annual (1988) Survey of Corporate Contributions and notes a slowing of growth in corporate support of education since 1985. Narrative, tables, and graphs provide detail and analysis of major trends including the following highlights: (1) corporate contributions to education for 1988 is estimated at $2.1…

The State of Alaska spends 75% of its operating revenues on transfer payments to individuals and local governments and on salaries and benefits of state workers. By the year 2000, dwindling petroleum revenues will result in a projected $1 billion gap between state income and spending, but inflation and growing population could widen that gap to…

This chapter of "Principles of School Business Management" introduces the concept of cash management, or the process of managing an institution's moneys to ensure maximum cash availability and maximum yield on investments. Four activities are involved: (1) conversion of accounts receivable to cash receipts; (2) conversion of accounts payable to…

Schools and businesses often form mutually beneficial partnerships to improve the quality of education. Businesses sponsor most projects by donating equipment, special awards, and corporate staff time for guest lectures. The concern for the productivity of their future work force inspires the interest of businesses in partnerships. On the national…