This research briefly summarizes a series of Ohio Supreme Court litigation known as "DeRolph v. State" and then measures the equality of expenditures among Ohio school districts. "DeRolph v. State" was a high-profile school finance adequacy case. Nevertheless, the high court continuously expressed concern for the financial…

Using the Serrano v. Priest case and federal revenue sharing as precedents, it is proposed that the federal government furnish (on a regionally adjusted per child rate) 50 percent of the needed school revenues directly to the state through an earmarked "special revenue sharing" package. This would be granted only if the states would raise and…

In the first article of this report, a discussion is presented of the increasing tensions between fiscal conservatives and education reformers. While educational equity is mandated by the federal government, states frequently have difficulty in complying with satisfactory programs because of growing resistance to taxes to support the schools.…

The Serrano decision has caused policy makers in California to search for departures from the current system of public school finance. Citizen and legislative evaluation of alternative finance systems is being confused by the employment of diverse interpretations of Serrano. Although the Court's decision may appear to indicate clear-cut methods of…

Recent court decisions requiring changes in State educational finance systems have not invalidated the use of local property taxes as a revenue source for education, nor have they dictated that the same amount of dollars must be spent on every pupil. In short, these decisions have left with the State legislatures the responsibility to fashion new…

Provides an exploratory assessment of financial support levels in districts with different proportions of Black children in seven southern states. The range of support varied considerably among the states. (IRT)

A new argument is made for school finance equalization, based not on "equal protection" or "equal educational opportunity," but on constitutional requirements for tax equity in New Hampshire. Since inequalities in school finance are a taxation problem, they call for tax reform. The analyses rest on four points: (1) that…

This report is designed to familiarize the reader with current changes in State systems of public school finance. It describes in summary form the major school finance changes made in 1973 by Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin. State legislative sessions in these States produced…

Research on intra-district inequalities is necessary for determining if changes in state financing formulas have affected inequitable distributions of educational resources within school districts and between classrooms in individual schools. Material inequalities in per pupil expenditures based on race were outlawed by the Hobsen vs Hansen court…

The Educational Priorities Panel examined the allocation of tax levy funds to New York City academic and vocational high schools. The study attempted a statistical analysis of the actual distribution and utilization of funds for the fall terms 1975 through 1978. It also aimed to identify current budgeting and management practices that interfere…

In this paper, the political and economic forces influencing attempts to reduce the inequalities in education expenditures are examined. Current programs for financing public education (local, State, and Federal) are compared. In general, State-local tax systems are found to be regressive and improvements are suggested. Inequitability of State aid…

1974 is a watershed for New Jersey public schools, a time when the State is under court order to reform its discriminatory and ineffective method of raising and distributing educational revenues. The existing approach to financing education in the state of New Jersey assigns higher educational resources to pupils in richer school districts, yet…

The commission's findings indicate that Connecticut's present system of school finance is inherently inequitable. Because educational expenditures rely primarily on local wealth, Connecticut towns differ in their ability to support education and to provide equal educational opportunity for all students. In order to increase equality of educational…

This study's purpose was to explore the premise that increasing state support for elementary/secondary schools increases equal student access to educational opportunity. Following a brief overview of the background of the problem, including a description of the so-called "Minnesota Miracle" or Omnibus Tax Law of 1971 with its provisions…

This study focuses on the distribution portion of the State school program. It examines the shortcomings of the present system and makes recommendations for changes. The study also considers school transportation in Indiana, school facilities funding, fiscal ability and effort of Indiana school corporations, and compensatory education programs.…