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.…

This statistical analysis of funding equalization from 1970 to 1981 evaluates the distributional equity achieved by Florida's school finance plan and examines the relationship between selected per pupil revenue measures and variables thought to influence school district spending, concluding that greater equity has not been attained. (MJL)

The Arizona state legislature met from November 1979 to April 1980 for the sole purpose of restructuring and codifying rules that define school financial policy and reforming tax structures that support educational institutions. This case study investigated the role of special interest groups in shaping state educational policy at that session.…

Reports on legislative action affecting higher education in the Southern states that held regular or special legislative sessions in 1978 are presented and a preview of 1979 sessions is provided in this publication. In most Southern Regional Education Board States in 1978, higher education maintained or slightly increased its share of state tax…

This report measures the inequities in school taxes on New York State residential property that result from assessment nonuniformity. The index of nonuniformity is a measure of the average percentage difference in school tax bills paid by owners of like residential properties in the same school district but in separate assessing units. Using this…

This paper discusses the impact and implications of school finance equalization, focusing in particular on the Serrano case and its effect on school finance in California. The paper is organized in three main parts. Section 1 is an introductory section that discusses the major legal and practical implications of several court cases involving…

This report brings together projections of student enrollment, educational expenditures, and state revenues. It shows that education expenditures will continue to increase while real revenue will actually decrease. It concludes that, consequently, either the growth of education expenditures must be curtailed or the system for financing education…

This document evaluates the tax burden changes that occur as selected local service functions are shifted to State government. The primary emphasis is on the analysis of alternative systems on the residents of the two central cities of the standard metropolitan statistical area, Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas. (NTIS)

This study examines the consequences of alternative financing arrangements for secondary and elementary education. There is an analysis of the characteristics of the present system of State aid. The study evaluates the incidence of major State and local taxes and then determines the distributional consequences of shifting from local to State…

Today local control over education seems to face the most serious challenge in its history. The movement to reform school finance raises the specter of the State assuming its formal consitutional powers and removing autonomy from the communities. Hence, it is argued, as the State takes over control of taxation and expenditures it will want to…

Although the school-tax burden is shared by several classes of property owners, Texas homeowners provide a major share of the support for financing local schools. From 1981-1983 homeowners' school-tax share grew by approximately 9.8% while the school-tax share for oil, gas, and mineral owners declined 18%. (JHZ)

Reviews the background of the property tax from ancient antecedents through the history of the United States, with particular reference to the rise of free public education. Issues discussed include major influences on the development of schools, tax limitations, the expansion of state and federal aid, and future projections. (MJL)

New York State's School Tax Relief Aid (STAR) heavily favors wealthier districts, partially reversing equalizing effects that state aid is designed to have. Normally state school aid helps bring less wealthy school districts closer to the standard of wealthier districts. It increases and makes up the lost revenue from taxpayers in the state as a…

This document contains eight articles that offer a nonpartisan evaluation of the pros and cons associated with tax reforms. They were written by members of the Technical Study Group, which was established by the New York State Department of Education in 1994 to examine the generation of revenue for public education. The work of the study group…

The third annual survey of the Illinois Rural Life Panel included questions on school taxes, improvements to strengthen local schools, satellite technology, extracurricular activities, and career opportunities after high school. Results from a sample of approximately 2,000 residents in the 76 Illinois nonmetropolitan counties included: (1) 54…