This article discusses several relatively new issues involved in current debates over education finance policies, notes the research related to them, and summarizes the areas for which additional research is needed. The areas discussed are the impacts of school finance reform, school district financial behavior, the impact of school finance reform…

The Federal Government has a responsibility to help States and localities meet specific education needs that involve the national interest. It has a companion responsibility to provide such assistance with as much equity, simplicity, and stability as possible. For greater equity in the distribution of Federal funds, Congress should reform the…

In this paper, the author examines the Federal role in the financing of schools given the facts of rising costs, pressure for greater equalization, court rulings that clearly place basic responsibility for financing of public education in the hands of the State, and given severe limitations on Federal funds. Matters considered include Federal…

The importance of higher education in providing the skilled labor force needed to respond to changing technologies; the cost-efficiency of independent higher education; and implications for government, industry, and independent higher education are considered. The most readily changing technologies include computers and electronics, satellite…

This document reports on a survey of 30 school districts (five percent of all New Jersey school districts) which contain over two-thirds of the State's total minority enrollment. Twenty-three of the 30 districts are classified as urban communities and over 98 percent of the minority students live in them. Property taxes are the primary source of…

Prospects for Illinois public school revenues and school district reorganization in the 1980's, considered in the context of prospects for the Great Lakes region as a whole, are affected by fundamental demographic and economic changes. The region has had a lower population growth rate since 1970 than the rest of the country, and a slower growth in…

Jonathan Kozol challenges politicians of both parties to confront the economic and political issues that deprive the poor of equal education. Criticisms of current policies include the following: (1) dependence on property taxes penalizes the poor; (2) local control protects privilege and oppresses minorities; (3) education has been removed from…

Since 1977, school budgetary problems have been created by a decline in state and federal tax revenues combined with a greater demand for services and declining student enrollment. The serious erosion in the fiscal health of the 50 states over the last few years means that competition for tax dollars will increase, leaving government with the…

This document describes the organization, systems of management and governance, and financing of the San Diego Unified School District, serving over 122,000 students in California. The first chapter reviews the services provided by the district: instructional services, incorporating instructional personnel and programs; support service, including…