In 1996, the Mississippi State Department of Education published information on accreditation, finances, student achievement, and other variables that could be utilized to assess each school district's success. After the report's publication, questions surfaced regarding disparities in the funding of the public school districts in the state. An…

Presents a history of New Jersey's Public School Education Act of 1975, including a discussion of the landmark decision Robinson v. Cahill (1970), which found the state's educational finance system unconstitutional. Measures of expenditure disparity and wealth neutrality are then used to assess the present New Jersey school finance system. (JW)

In its first year (1986-87), a $37.4 million Connecticut aid program has markedly reduced disparities in teacher salaries and expenditures per pupil. This paper reviews the use of school aid increases in Connecticut, describes the simulation models used, explains the models' role in targeting state aid, and outlines the legislation and its…

Financial data of the 1992-93 school year were collected from 86 of the 99 surveyed Class C school districts in Montana, which range in size from 56 to 484 students in Grades K-12. This report consists almost entirely of data tables providing information on enrollment, taxable valuation, guaranteed tax base per mill, general fund budget,…

This publication provides information concerning New York State's school expenditures, state aid, and local support. Summarized are the finances of major school districts in the school year 1986-87 as well as public school expenditures and state aid since 1963-64. The first section deals with the financing of public education in New York State in…

Research on intra-district inequalities is necessary for determining if changes in state financing formulas have affected inequitable distributions of educational resources within school districts and between classrooms in individual schools. Material inequalities in per pupil expenditures based on race were outlawed by the Hobsen vs Hansen court…

This paper attempts both to provide a way of looking at school finance in order to make wiser decisions about it and to discuss some alternative ways to finance the public schools of New York State. The New York school finance system is examined in terms of equity, efficiency, and responsiveness, as are some of the characteristics of the…

This report summarizes the financial problems facing large urban school districts in the United States as a result of recent enrollment and revenue trends and presents a variety of enrollment and financial data for the period 1970-75. The first section discusses the financial plight of urban schools as their enrollment falls, their percentage of…

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 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…

This paper discusses some of the questions and issues implied in the California Serrano vs Priest decision. Note is made that if courts adopt a strict definition of uniformity as a criterion of equality, States may have to abandon local taxes and establish systems of full State funding plus federal aids. On the other hand, if courts adopt dynamic…

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…

A study of the financing of 96 small rural K-8 and K-12 Missouri school districts found that it was more difficult to support small rural high schools than small rural elementary schools. Small K-12 districts could convert to K-8 districts and contract with adjoining districts to instruct their high school students. (TD)

The funding and operation of Michigan's K-12 public school system was substantially changed in March 1994, with voter approval of a constitutional amendment and legislative adoption of 24 implementing state statutes. The comprehensive school funding proposal substantially reduced local property taxes; increased, and in some cases decreased, the…