Examines the recent spate of judicial decisions on school finance requiring that the quality of public education not be a function of a school district's wealth, and explores possible alternative sources of funding such as increasing State sales or income taxes or adopting a statewide property tax. (Author/SF)

Discusses the implications of the Serrano vs Priest decision. (JF)

Discusses the implications of the Serrano vs Priest decision on the Illinois State school financing system. (JF)

Discusses the implications of the California Serrano vs Priest decision for the federal aid program. (JF)

An overview of recent legislation in the field of educational finance reform which describes a number of similarities among the bills enacted after the Serrano decision but before the first major reversals of some of the earlier decisions. Weaknesses common to these efforts are detailed and indications of future trends are suggested. An Appendix…

The South Carolina Education Finance Act of 1977 aims toward equalization of public school finance in South Carolina. A major goal is the state provision of 70 percent of school funding. The bill contains three other major provisions: the Defined Minimum Program (DMP), the Index of Taxpaying Ability, and the Weighted Pupil/Base Pupil calculation.…

Implications of some specific educational trends and their possible impact on the institutional structure of public schools are discussed. These trends are grouped under the categories of public criticism, finance and governance, and labor management friction in the schools. Central in this discussion are the future ramifications of Proposition 13…

One way in which the analysis of educational finance reform might be broadened to include an analysis of the fiscal effects of such reform is to show fiscal competition between large cities and their suburbs. It is not possible to say that "most central cities" or "most suburban areas" deserve a greater share of State…

Reports on legislative action affecting higher education in the Southern states that held regular or special legislative sessions in 1978 are presented and a preview of 1979 sessions is provided in this publication. In most Southern Regional Education Board States in 1978, higher education maintained or slightly increased its share of state tax…

Discusses the effect of recent court decisions on the role of the state in school support. (JF)

In Brigham et al. v. State of Vermont (1997), the Vermont Supreme Court struck down the previous state-funding system and directed the legislature to come up with a new system that would eliminate the inequities among the local school districts. An analysis of this decision and its consequences is offered here. The paper recaps the funding system…

This paper discusses the continuing need for additional educational funds and suggests that the only way to gain these funds is through concerted and persistent political efforts by supporters of education at both the federal and state levels. The author first points out that for many reasons declining enrollment may not decrease operating costs…

Under the plan described in this report--a so-called "Equal Yield" formula contained in Senate Bill No. 110--each district will have an equal opportunity to realize the same amount of revenue per pupil from each unit or "mill" of local tax levied in combined State and local funds. The publication examines in detail several key…

This booklet presents a variety of updated information for use by study groups and others interested in Texas public school finance. Section 1 reviews various study group projects related to Texas school finance; section 2 reports on finance-related activities and research projects of the Texas Education Agency; section 3 lists several…