The Supreme Court's decision in "Mueller v. Allen" raises important constitutional questions about state financial support for the promotion of religion. The case also raises the issue of whether this nation can provide adequate financial support for public schools while simultaneously diverting tax resources to the nonpublic schools.…

To improve the equity of Vermont's school finance system, the state legislature passed Act 60. This new funding mechanism is described, with a focus on the equity issues raised by the state supreme court. A court's decision struck down substantial dependence on local property taxes to provide revenue for local school districts. The report reviews…

This paper discusses an approach to solving the school financing problem that treats separately the twin concerns of taxational and educational equity. Part 1 reviews the decision of the California supreme court in Serrano 1 as it relates to these concerns and the manner in which the state district court on remand attempted to utilize the concept…

By refusing for the last decade to meet rising educational costs, local citizens have permitted Ohio schools to become a disaster area. Discussed is the educational chaos in the state and the attempts to correct the situation. (Author/RK)

This paper reports on the protracted history of the Arkansas school-finance case, the longest-running school-finance lawsuit in the United States. It details in chronological sequence the lawsuit filed in 1992 by the Lakeview School District, a very small all African-American school district alleging that the state school-finance plan was…

The Levittown v Nyquist court case is bound to have serious repercussions for New York State. In dispute is the legality of the State's system for financing elementary and secondary education. The case was initiated in 1974 by Levittown and 24 other suburban and rural school districts who claimed to be unable to generate an adequate level of local…

Reviews a Minnesota study of tax concessions to private school parents and provides an analysis of the strategy of constituency mobilization. The Minnesota experience shows that a mobilized, powerful issue constituency can enforce political accountability on the bargaining process and influence educational policy. Such single issue linkages…

Court-imposed school finance equalization and tax limitation measures in California have created a centralized system of school finance. Political tensions and conflict that have arisen from this centralized control are discussed, with reference to the Serrano mandate and categorical funding. (SLD)

The history of and issues involved in the implementation of a tax appraisal program in West Virginia are highlighted in this paper, with a focus on taxation litigation since 1975. Efforts of the state legislature to implement a uniform tax system since the 1982 "Recht Decision," which found the state school funding system to be…

Examines the role of the courts in requiring the Internal Revenue Service to fulfill its statutory and constitutional obligations to identify racially discriminatory private schools and to revoke their tax exempt status as charitable organizations. Available from Harvard Law Review Association, Gannett House, Cambridge, MA 02138; sc $5.95. (Author)

Argues why U.S. Judge Russell Clark, who is presiding over the Kansas City desegregation case "Jenkins v. Missouri," is an example of an imperial judiciary at its worst. The article explains how the cost of the judge's desegregation plan has adversely affected Missouri's budget for 18 years, has caused undue hardships on its population,…

Citizens in rural Nebraska filed a lawsuit challenging the reliance on local property taxes for school funding that has led to inequities between rural and urban schools. One answer may be to give smaller school districts more money through a state system of taxation and equalization aid to improve school standards. (LP)

Issues in public school finance are discussed in this research monograph, with an emphasis on Texas. Chapter 1 provides a national historical overview, examining the changing definition of equality. The second chapter examines equity challenges in the courts, specifically, two major types of constitutional issues: (1) equal protection clauses of…

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…

There appears to be growing concern that state systems of financing capital outlay may be vulnerable to successful legal challenge. Outlines considerations for the development of a defensible conceptual base for allocating scarce capital outlay funds. (Author/MLF)