Examines the cost effectiveness of New Jersey's tuition reimbursement plan for 10-month private school programs for handicapped students, using multiple regression techniques. The study found accounting inconsistencies correctable by organizing an actual cost model that requires pricing of program needs, system cost projections, and a site-based…

Examines voter response to bond issues immediately following Michigan's elimination of its property tax school-funding system. Reviews equity measures, discusses court cases addressing school-facility equity issues, and compares other states' funding approaches. Michigan's system for financing school facilities remains inequitable, and facility…

Examines effects of prevailing wage laws on school construction costs, using final cost data from six British Columbia school districts. When controlling for factors such as construction business cycle, number of competitors, and school type, there was no significant unit cost change following the Skill Development and Fair Wage Policy Act.…

Presents a proposal to achieve major finance reform goals by providing property tax relief and increasing state funding out of income-tax receipts, relying on Illinois' growth dividend. The plan is funded by proportional taxes and would make school reform more politically palatable to affluent taxpayers. (28 footnotes) (MLH)

Describes Ohio's efforts to fund school facilities following a state court decision that Ohio Constitution required adequate facilities. Explores political and economic factors for relative success of state programs to fund school facilities. Despite these efforts, voter-approved bond issues remain the principal means of funding facilities. (PKP)

State budget crises, along with voter-passed initiatives limiting property tax levies, have severely reduced school financing in many states in recent years. Rural schools may be particularly vulnerable in that they are typically less able to generate revenue because funding often is tied to enrollment, rural districts tend to have lower property…

Voters in the State of Michigan reformed K-12 school financing significantly in 1994. The reform largely removed local government from playing a role in the determination of school finance and lodged this authority mainly with state government. In this article we examine the long-term impacts of the reform legislation. We find that although the…

Examines three areas in which legislatures have attempted to interfere in what courts have come to perceive as "exclusively higher education affairs" in those states with constitutionally mandated higher education governing bodies that have a legal status equal to that of the legislative and executive branches of government. (Author/IRT)

Analyzes the financial impact of the "guaranteed yield" school finance system adopted by Ohio in 1975 and argues that it failed to achieve its primary goal of providing local school districts with equal yield for equal tax effort. (JG)

Explores the impact of budget changes on the intensity of program services received by students in federal compensatory education programs under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (1981). Results show that moderate budget cuts translated into service intensity declines, implying that Gramm-Rudman impacts could be worse.…

Discusses the importance of policy-making autonomy for state universities and reviews several recent state court decisions affirming their substantial independence from interference by state legislatures or state boards of education. (JG)

Recounts actions of the Internal Revenue Service and the federal government from 1965 to 1982 involving tax exempt status and racially discriminatory schools. Traces federal court decisions on the issue since 1970, including "Green v. Connally" and current Supreme Court cases involving Bob Jones University (South Carolina) and Goldsboro…

Despite their popularity, early retirement incentive programs (ERIPs) remain controversial. Although early retirement may be appealing to some teachers, others bristle at being shoved into retirement. Following a historical overview, this article summarizes recent state legislation and addresses ERIP legal status under the Age Discrimination in…