Summarizes alternative tax systems available to school districts in Ohio and reviews their development. Presents socioeconomic information about the populations of two Ohio towns, summarizes limitations of the property tax as the primary source of local school funds, and discusses implications of passing a city-district income tax in Euclid, Ohio.…

Fully 40 percent ($5 billion) of Georgia's FY 2000 general funds budget is for K-12 education. There is increased funding for a homestead exemption, expansion of the HOPE (higher education) Scholarship Program, capital outlay projects, remedial assistance programs, and instruction of limited-English speaking students. (MLH)

Florida's rapidly growing public school system enrolls over 2 million students. Total operating costs are over $11 billion annually. School funding declined in the early 1990s and is still 3% below the pre-recession peak. Despite an $11 billion tobacco industry settlement, the state is pushing fiscal performance incentives instead of increasing…

Discusses available data on special-education costs, reviews New York State's initiative to document educational outcomes for special-needs students, and summarizes three service-delivery models. A cost-analysis of one district's program shows a model's cost is related to the identified number of special-needs students and their needs. (Contains…

Suggests that freedom for parents to choose their children's education (a kind of educational voucher system) would improve the quality of education in states where equality of per-pupil expenditures has been mandated. (PKP)

Discusses Oklahoma's school finance legislation of 1981, designed to promote fiscal neutrality among districts and vertical equity for students while maintaining a partnership between the state and local districts in financing education. Proposes total commitment by Oklahoma to percentage equalizing, noting that the revenue potential exists. (PGD)

Discusses ways educational planners can reduce school construction costs by sharing facilities with other public and private organizations, remodeling existing buildings, designing schools to accomodate other community needs, and utilizing innovative construction systems. Also examines some of the constraints imposed by state school finance…

A 1990 lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois' school-finance system was dismissed twice by lower courts and finally by the state supreme court in 1996. Lacking pressure to change, the legislature failed to pass necessary educational adequacy, equity, and tax-relief legislation. The status quo prevailed. (Contains 10 references.)…

Briefly reviews 18 recent court cases relevant to the broad area of educational finance, including cases dealing with state school finance systems, assessment and distribution of property taxes, and provision of educational services to physically and mentally handicapped students. (JG)

When current fiscal data of New York State school districts are analyzed with information on pupil characteristics and staffing patterns, some policy issues are raised, including a mismatch between local district need and avaliable resources, shortchanging of New York City pupils, and a close relationship between local wealth and staff…

Debate over the proper identification and placement of gifted children in public schools is not new. But the pressure put on public schools by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has brought advocates and opponents of gifted education into starker conflict. This presents a chance to reexamine the foundational premises of the argument in…

Divides the history of educational federalism into three eras: (1) Presidential Federalism (from the Constitution's enactment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1958); (2) Congressional Federalism (from ESEA until Reagan's election); and (3) Gubernatorial Federalism (the 1980's). Federal aid to education has been reduced,…