Part of a three-volume report on the effects of school finance reform, this volume examines reform efforts in California, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, and New Mexico. Data on districts' tax rates, wealth, and number of pupils were obtained from state sources. Data on household income, percent urban, percent white, and percent poverty were obtained…

This paper discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of three alternative philosophical and practical approaches for the equitable distribution of state aid to local school districts. These three approaches include the "equity through uniformity" approach, implemented through a Full State Assumption school finance model; the…

This report consists mainly of four separate issue papers, each prepared by an individual committee of the Minnesota School Task Force. Topics of the papers include educational management systems, Minnesota's state foundation aid program, school tax levy limitations, and educational overburden. In addition to the issue papers, the report also…

The current system of school finance in Texas allows for gross inequities among districts. Statistics indicate that although Texas ranks slightly higher than the nation's average in state wealth, its support of schools, as measured by the percentage of personal income devoted to education, ranks about 35th. These figures suggest that the state…

This paper examines previous changes in school finance reform, makes some future projections about the direction finance reform might go, and indicates what strategies seem particulary effective. It begins at the Federal level by taking a look at the overall Federal budget picture and its implications for the Federal role. The author proposes that…

This report is one of a series on education finance undertaken to document existing disparities in expenditures for education, to analyze the sources of the disparities, and to describe and evaluate the gains and losses that would occur in differing types of school districts under alternative fiscal policies. This study shows that North Carolina's…

What happens to fine public school systems when equalization causes expenditures to be cut back to some level that is determined outside the community? Offers a case study from the two-school New Trier High School district on Chicago's suburban North Shore. (Author/RK)

Following a summary of Canadian equity policies and of specific provisions made by Alberta, a statistical analysis of the impact of the existing funding mechanism leads to the conclusion that the alternative models of power equalizing and percentage equalizing would generally increase the level of equalization. (MJL)

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 report outlines the educational fiscal impacts of the present Massachusetts system of school finance and describes the fiscal characteristics and effects of alternative finance plans that are both equitable and elastic in nature. The first part of the report describes and evaluates the overall character of the Massachusetts State-local fiscal…

This document compiles several studies on educational finance, including "Federal Aid to Education: Who Benefits?""The Financial Aspects of Equality of Educational Opportunity," and "Legislator's Guide for School Finance." Also included are two briefs filed in the San Antonio vs Rodriguez case and a listing of current…

This analysis provides an overview of the educational finance problem, particularly as it relates to property tax burdens and equality of education. It also describes some systems of State funding and outlines and evaluates possible solutions to the finance problem. Some of these solutions include (1) increased Federal aid, (2) a local nonproperty…

This paper describes funding formulas for the new Foundation School Program in Texas enacted under the Education Opportunity Act (H.B. 72), raises issues that have accompanied its first year of implementation, and provides preliminary data to compare prior and existing law. The state finance system, which previously distributed state aid according…

An overview of the status of rural school financing revealed three major reasons why rural schools are facing major problems in financing today: (1) school reforms have generally failed to address the specific needs of rural and small schools; (2) researchers have failed to recognize small school differences in their collection, classification and…

Part I of a two-part series examines various approaches currently used by states to provide aid to local school districts, including flat grants, foundation grants, matching systems, the multitier approach, categorical aid, transportation aid, and capital outlay/debt service support systems. Related issues and special features are then discussed.…