Under Pennsylvania's relatively decentralized system that has considerable autonomy for local school boards, state control and state mandates have become matters of real concern to local school officials. Even in those districts that supply 90 percent of their funds from local taxes, state mandates produce extra costs. (Author/IRT)

This paper provides current information about the funding of Washington's K-12 school finance system. Schools in Washington State derive most of their revenues from state sources. In response to a 1977 court ruling, 'Seattle v. State of Washington', the state assumed responsibility for funding "basic education" for a "uniform system…

Quantitative measurements help with understanding the mechanics involved and the role of philosophy in legislative actions. Identification of the key factors and the sequence of decisions is a basic approach to the mechanics of state funding of public higher education. Charts are used to graphically illustrate the relationships and individual…

The primary purpose of the education article of the Pennsylvania constitution is to maintain and support substantive education as a state function by offering free and equal educational opportunities. This book interprets and evaluates the mandates of the article and explains the dual subsidy funding formula prescribed by the legislature. In order…

This paper uses data drawn from two projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of England and Wales. It covers the years 1990-94 and examines the effects of the Education Reform Act, which allowed state schools to "opt out" or leave the control of their Local Education Authority (LEA) and still receive funding. Such…

In the Serrano decisions, the courts found California's method of financing schools to be unconstitutional and gave the state until September 1, 1980 to reduce wealth-based expenditure differences to substantially less than $100 per pupil. The courts found three features of the state's system to be particularly onerous--the failure of the state to…

While enrollment in Washington's 27 community colleges has risen from 74,363 in 1967 to nearly 160,000 in 1976, and full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment has grown 113 percent to 90,000, legislative funding of the community college system has not kept pace with increases in enrollment. In 1969-70, the community colleges received $1,093 in state…

A survey of state financial controls over community, junior, and technical colleges was undertaken utilizing, as the base, Frederick Volkwein's scale of flexibility and control. A mailed survey (about 29 measures of state regulation) with followup telephone interviews was presented to all community college state agency directors (N=62).…

This paper analyzes the potential implications of ceasing or lowering the funding for developmental studies programs in California community colleges. After an initial discussion of the financial constraints impinging upon community colleges, the possible effects of fiscal reductions on college missions, and the role of developmental education in…

This paper, one of two related documents, is a summary of research presented to the Arizona state legislature concerning the participation of various states in the financing of capital outlay for school building construction. Along with a description of the various support programs, consideration is given to the questions of who determines need,…

"Family support" describes the philosophy of the Michigan Public Mental Health System. Family Support is also the name of a Michigan program that provides the supports that parents of children with developmental disabilities need to keep their families together. Services include respite care, client services management, parent and…

The Teacher Education Center Act (TEC Act) of 1973 provided Florida with a statewide system of centers intended to bring about reform in teacher education programs. The act mandated the responsibility for operating programs of preservice and inservice teacher education jointly to the colleges and universities, the school districts, and the…

Fiscal equity and taxation equity in educational finance have been key issues in the United States and Canada over the past 2 decades. Part 1 describes the Province of Alberta's search for a solution to fiscal and taxation equity by looking at the education funding system. The growing disparities in educational resources available to school…

This paper concerns the process of developing model urban education programs and is based on the experiences of the state funded Urban Education Pilot Project (UEPP) being carried out in one Cincinnati, Ohio, inner city public high school attendance area. First, key premises used by the UEPP are outlined. These include: (1) principals are the…

Many states have found that financing public schools through local property taxes is unlawful under their state constitutions; as a result, they must consider using state tax revenue as the primary source of local school-district funding. The recent California experience provides a sample of political economic behaviors used to respond to the…