Public schools in New Jersey are financed primarily by local property taxes. This system of finance is unconstitutional, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court, and therefore it must be revised. The proposals for revision range from very slight increases in state school aid to complete state financing of schools, but all of the proposals shift…

In this document, the author identifies the principal issues in school finance that need to be confronted and resolved. The text proposes no answers; but, rather, stimulates broad discussion and understanding of the issues as a first step toward consensus on an appropriate federal role. The author examines traditional sources of school funds and…

This paper provides background information relating to a school finance reform movement in Utah and describes the passage of a 1973 bill that provides a power equalizing system to redistribute excess revenue from local taxes in combination with State uniform school funds for a guaranteed program to all districts. The law should bring the level of…

This study documents the revenue and expenditure patterns for categories of school districts and for individual school districts. The fiscal impact of the current system, the nature and extent of fiscal disparities, and the factors that contribute to the disparities are examined. An attempt is made to distinguish between disparities among…

The format of this monograph follows essentially the arrangement of the day-long conference on Serrano vs. Priest: a major paper presentation, followed by a panel of three respondents, and subsequent general discussion involving the audience and conference participants. The editors have attempted to provide both the formal and the extemporaneous…

This pamphlet is intended as a supplement to the booklet, "Recommendations for Legislative Consideration on Public Education in Texas," which was also published by the Texas Education Agency in November 1974. This pamphlet discusses a proposed state school finance plan developed by the State Board of Education and presents 12 specific…

This survey gives a brief history of the movement toward equality of educational opportunity in the United States, reviews recent court decisions mandating equality in educational expenditures, and raises some of the critical questions thus far unanswered either by the courts or by the legislatures regarding ramifications of these decisions. It…

Vermont's Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, "Act 60," was designed to rectify inequities in the state's funding of public education, as determined by the Vermont Supreme Court. This report examines the degree to which Act 60 has improved conditions over the last 5 years, focusing on the 3 main equity goals of Act 60 and the…

This paper discusses five scenarios that have had an impact on school finance in the state of South Carolina during recent years. These scenarios include (1) the Education Finance Act of 1977 (EFA); (2) the Education Improvement Act of 1984 (EIA); (3) the issue of fiscal independence; (4) school fees; and (5) school bonds. The EFA was designed to…

The task force was charged with the responsibility of reexamining the whole base for financing public elementary and secondary education in Wisconsin, making recommendations for shifting the base of elementary and secondary school funding from the local property tax to other means of public support to eliminate the disparity of educational…

This paper traces the development of school reform pressures in Kansas from the implementation of the foundation program in 1965 to the passage of substitute Senate Bill 92 during the 1973 legislative session. Bill 92 is designed to produce equalization of school district expenditures and tax levies by a formula based on the concept of funding the…

This publication offers interested citizens of California a brief analysis of the problems the State faces in financing its public school system, a brief presentation of general financing alternatives, and a look at legislative measures which have been proposed or are being proposed to implement these alternatives. The research that produced these…

The conference dealt with several aspects of the finance problems, such as the theoretical and technical aspects of school finance program design, the development of theory and techniques for working with legislative bodies and with the electorate on school support proposals, and the development of a sound partnership among the governmental units…

After tracing the historical development of its present school finance system, the author considers Minnesota's school finance court cases and the finance disparities among its local school districts that led the 1971 legislature to increase State aid given to local school districts for maintenance expenditures. The document reviews the…

Speeches, panel discussions, and a debate from the 1981 Oklahoma Conference on Education are presented. The topics of the speeches are: (1) administrative decision making in institutions of higher education and the effects of state legislation (Barbara Uehling); (2) experiences of an American hostage in Iran and subsequent feelings about the…