The vast majority of funds for pre-K through grade 12 public schools in the United States -- nearly $800 billion or over 90% -- come from state and local funding sources. States, not school districts, are obligated to ensure that all students have access to the resources they need to succeed. States can take steps to reduce disparities between…

The proverbial clock is ticking for many Kansas school buildings, whether due to implications of a complete slowdown due to code compliance, or due to failure of critical systems. Regardless of the reasons, millions of square footage of learning spaces are in jeopardy of no longer being able to serve students in adequate teaching and learning…

After five decades advocating for school finance reform, Education Law Center (ELC) sees the urgent need to deepen understanding of how differing strategies--from litigation to research to grassroots organizing to communicating with the public--can combine to achieve successful school funding reform in the states. In "From Courthouse to…

State education finance sets the stage for what is possible in schools. Too many state education finance systems today are inequitable, outdated, and inadequate, and there are often significant political barriers to change. Advocates for educational equity can and should play an essential role in shaping the allocation and structure of state…

Despite the myriad of challenges that families, students, teachers and policymakers faced in 2021, the momentum to transform education did not waver. New opportunities for students unfolded in more than a dozen states through expanded private and public school choice. An additional 1.7 million students gained eligibility for private choice alone,…

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the…

When it comes to education, not all spending is equal. Some education dollars are spent more productively than others. In a time of lagging revenues and flat achievement in many districts, policymakers have increasingly started to pay greater attention to the question of whether education systems are getting the most out of every education dollar.…

Information gained from the present study should provide important policy insights into whether adjustments to the School District Finance and Quality Performance Accreditation (SDFQPA) Act funding formula have supported the original goal behind SDFQPA, which was to provide more equal funding to public elementary and secondary pupils in Kansas.…

A school district's budget tells the community a story about the district's visions for its students. It is also a planning vehicle that outlines the district's goals and objectives by showing the degree to which its priorities are being supported. Communicating one's district budget to the community--especially to nonfinancial people--in…

Pennsylvania has historically operated one of the nation's least equitable state school finance systems, and within that system exist some of the nation's most fiscally disadvantaged public school districts. The persistent inequalities of Pennsylvania's school finance system are not entirely a result of simple lack of effort, as policies intended…

State and local funding for general operating budgets for Kansas public schools will be at a five-year low this school year, yet total Kansas school district spending will reach an all-time high of $5.67 billion according to estimates released by the Kansas State Department of Education. Total per pupil spending is projected to reach $12,454 per…

Kansas school districts reduced employment by 327 full-time equivalent positions this school year, the smallest reduction in three years of cuts to district operating budgets. Districts reduced positions by 561 in FY 2010 and 1,626 in FY 2011. Districts eliminated nearly 400 "regular" teaching positions this year, but added 114 special…

The nation's major city public school districts have substantial construction, renovation, modernization, and deferred maintenance needs because of the age and size of their school buildings, shifting populations, and the need to devote substantial resources to instructional personnel to meet their core academic mission. For instance, the average…

This article addresses the design and application of cost adjustments in state school finance policies intended to compensate local public school districts for differences in the costs of recruiting and retaining teachers. Broadly speaking, the state policy objective for including cost adjustments to state aid for such things as teacher cost…

Recent changes in public school educational finance in the state of Kansas are shown to have had little positive effect on student educational achievement. A differences structure is used to determine the effect of changes in revenue per student at the district level on changes in measures of student achievement. Measures of achievement employed…