This paper provides a historical review of equity in funding education in Alberta. It describes government attempts to address fiscal inequities and shows how the introduction of full spending in 1994 addressed many of the equity problems in Alberta. Full provincial funding of education has proved an overall success, but it faces the following…

Drawing from the literature on the financing of community colleges, this paper discusses problems associated with state community college funding and examines the relationships that arise between the state, local community college districts, and students when each is an important source of revenue to the community college. In the first section,…

This paper attempts both to provide a way of looking at school finance in order to make wiser decisions about it and to discuss some alternative ways to finance the public schools of New York State. The New York school finance system is examined in terms of equity, efficiency, and responsiveness, as are some of the characteristics of the…

Louisiana's State-Funded Compensatory/Remedial Program requires two different evaluations: a study of the statewide program and local evaluations conducted by the 66 public school systems involved in the program. The State Education Agency (SEA) evaluation unit is responsible for (1) conducting the statewide evaluation and (2) exercising quality…

This paper describes funding formulas for the new Foundation School Program in Texas enacted under the Education Opportunity Act (H.B. 72), raises issues that have accompanied its first year of implementation, and provides preliminary data to compare prior and existing law. The state finance system, which previously distributed state aid according…

To overcome various reporting constraints, numerous strategies have been developed to facilitate accurate and timely reporting of data concerning the impact of Louisiana's State-Funded Compensatory/Remedial Program. These strategies include: (1) using existing statewide communication networks; (2) employing the Basic Skills Test (BST) as the major…

This document highlights the special challenges that Canada's higher education system faces due to its organizational structure that is, the relationship between the federal government and the provincial governments. Virtually all Canadian universities are publicly supported, but because the constitution clearly assigns responsibility for…

Concentrating on states' needs for programs offered by institutions of higher education (IHE) and the manner in which these needs can be met and financed, the 3-part paper analyzes the elements included by "The Chronicle of Higher Education" in its ranking of states' suppoort of higher education based on the results of the Chambers…

This paper examines the development of Alaska's Public School Fund, its current status, and its potential as a major revenue source for elementary and secondary education. The fund, which was created following the 1915 federal school lands grant to Alaska, is examined for the 1916-58 territorial period, the 1959-78 early statehood period, and the…

Just 1 day before a court-imposed deadline of June 1, 1993, Texas Governor Ann Richards signed into law Senate Bill 7 (S.B. 7), the newest version of the Texas school finance system. This paper describes the state's new school finance system with regard to the following: (1) its constitutionality; (2) the provision of a system that equalizes…

Most arguments for fiscal equity in financing America's schools have been based on constitutional provisions and on the socio-political dogma that underlies a democratic society. This paper approaches the subject using as its theoretical basis a document even more basic to the founding of the republic than the Constitution--the Bible. Using the…

Unlike many other states, Michigan's school-finance reform was triggered not by a lawsuit but by legislative action that eliminated the property tax as a revenue source for public schools. Changes included an increase in the sales tax from 4 to 6 cents and a move to a foundation grant formula, which included a state foundation-allowance target for…

New directions in federal educational policy in the 1980s have had clear and consistent implications for state education finance systems. This study reviews the financing arrangements that have emerged during the 1980s at the state level, discusses the costs of new legislative mandates and state programs, and assesses the extent to which federal…

The purpose of this monograph is to stimulate discussion of vertical equity through an assessment of the funding systems in four states (California, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin) that ascertains how and to what extent at-risk factors are addressed. (In education, children defined as at risk of low academic achievement or of dropping out…