Passing property tax issues is an increasing challenge for many school districts. This article examines 21 school levy strategies identified through a literature review associated with successful school levy campaigns. These strategies were then used as a framework to evaluate one district's attempts to pass a school bond levy. Whereas the study…

In order to make financial management of Ohio schools simpler and more understandable to the public, this Citizens' Council report recommends structural changes in school district budgeting that would necessitate changes in state law. The major problem areas identified are the districts' use of the calendar year as fiscal year, the requirement…

Municipal overburden hypothesizes a causal relationship between high levels of nonschool municipal expenditure (due to high population density, aged housing stock, and other demographic factors) and low school spending levels. This article disproves the hypothesis by estimating demand for education expenditures using a median voter model. Includes…

This report describes and evaluates the North Dakota state/local fiscal system, especially as it relates to financing public education. It identifies and evaluates various fiscal policy options for raising additional tax revenue for support of schools and other public services in ways consistent with the basic characteristics of the North Dakota…

Patterns of government subsidies to higher education in five European countries are considered in order to provide a comparative perspective for U.S. policy-makers. Attention is focused on patterns of subsidizing both institutions and students for the five countries: France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The…

This report provides an analysis of current inequities in school finance in Illinois, the historical roots of those inequities, and an analysis of alternative options for funding primary and secondary education. An introduction briefly describes the basis for the constitutional challenge to the current funding system. The next section describes…

The United States Supreme Court decided two cases in the area of school finance in 1986. It addressed student financial assistance under a vocational rehabilitation program for tuition at a sectarian postsecondary institution in Washington; it also decided a case challenging a state finance program. Cases were heard by other courts in an attempt…

The Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981 is intended to provide opportunities for states and local governments to have more control of their educational programs and to deregulate the administration of federal programs. Introduced at a time when state funding and revenue systems are in flux and severely depleted, it presents…