This report provides data on 1976 bond elections and bond sales for financing public elementary and secondary school facilities and equipment. The annual report is intended for educators, school boards, legislators, and educational researchers who require up-to-date knowledge of school bond sales for planning future school bond programs. Data,…

Examines New York voters' overwhelming approval of 1995 statewide district budgets, in light of state budget approval history, experts' analyses of factors influencing budget approval, and results of a survey of initial school district budget votes conducted annually over the past five years. Community involvement and modest tax increases were key…

Compares state funding for school infrastructure needs between 1993-94 and 1998-99. Found 164 percent increase in state infrastructure funding. Examines state funding mechanisms such as flat grants, equalized grants, categorical grants, and full-state funding. Fourteen states provide no state infrastructure funding; most rely instead on…

Examines the impact of variations in capital stock (physical assets) across school districts on student achievement. Uses level of bond indebtedness as a proxy for capital stock. Finds significant positive correlation between district per-student bonded indebtedness and student achievement measured by district mean scores on Michigan's Education…

The combined effect of the "Serrano" decision and Proposition 13 left California school districts with aging, overcrowded facilities. Chico schools won a $18.5 million general obligation bond election for facilities construction. With $11 billion needed for new school construction, California will need to tap local sources. A sidebar…

A poll of 1,933 voters in two counties that passed school bonds and two that did not examines voter perceptions toward school bonds. The factors linked to passage were that the number of students was growing, that most students would benefit, and that the dollar amount of the bond issue was reasonable. (SLD)

Following two-failed school bond issues in 1995 and 1998, one mid-sized rural school district organized an effort that led to two successful school bond elections in 2001 and 2003. The school district's strategic plan mirrored many of the recommendations for successful bond referendums published in School Bond Success: A Strategy for Building…

Of the 58 referenda held in search of capital funds for public library buildings in 1997, 49 were successful, and of the 67 referenda seeking operating funds, 55 were successful. Funding levels and voter approval rate are examined, and a sidebar describes a bond issue at the Topeka Public Library. (LRW)

To understand how the political dynamics of state bond elections could affect education funding, this study analyzed factors influencing voter support on all 319 state ballot initiatives or referenda to authorize debt for a specific government function from 1978 to 1990. Voter support for education debt is generally high. (34 footnotes) (MLH)

Legislative actions pertaining to Washington public higher education during the last two years are described. The reports list the major resolutions passed, laws enacted, and legislative appropriations. State legislation dealt with: establishment of the Washington library network; retirement systems; bookkeeping transactions; travel expenses; bond…

Examines the linkage between facility bond elections and the indicators of wealth (property valuation and income) and the appropriateness of relying on property valuations as the primary indicator of school district wealth. Results from 31 randomly selected schools in Nebraska show an unclear relationship between wealth factors and success in…

This is the eighth in a series of annual reports on the actions of state legislatures in providing higher education for their respective states. The first section consists of digests of the 1964 legislation relating to higher education considered by the 50 state and three territorial legislatures, including appropriations for current operations…

A survey of absentee voting in the Highline (Washington) School District revealed that mailed-in ballots have no better than--and often less than--a 50-50 chance of favoring school finance issues. School officials should reconsider encouraging the growth of voting by mail. (IW)

Asserting that school district officials facing the need of extensive capital expenditures must analyze all sources of funding, this paper focuses on the predominant local funding mechanism of the school district bond issue. It presents a bond rating model with three separate stages that relate to the different choices facing a school district…

An annual school bond survey for New Jersey reveals that while the state's voters had approved 60 percent of the school bond issues in 1998, the communities clearly could not meet the state's multi- billion dollar construction needs on their own. Further, communities with high property taxes had fewer bond elections and approved less of them than…