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…

The constitutionally erected wall of separation between church and state is the only viable foundation for maintaining religious freedom and for preserving our public school system. The patchwork of recent court decisions and State and Federal legislation concerning aid to parochial schools threatens to erode that wall. Justifications for such aid…

The document analyzes economic factors that might cause the output of educational services to diverge from the theoretical optimum because of a divergence between marginal social valuation and marginal social cost. Education contains both investment and consumption aspects. The analysis shows that the only distortion resulting from uncertainty…

Nine experts examine the nature and administration of the property tax, analyzing its effects on educational opportunity, land use, racial residential patterns, central city finance, neighborhood deterioration, and low income housing. The so-called circuit-breaker, a form of property tax relief that has rapidly come into widespread use, is viewed…

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…

A STUDY WAS MADE OF THE VARIOUS FACTORS WHICH CAUSE THE FAILURE OF SCHOOL REORGANIZATION PROPOSALS TO WIN POPULAR SUPPORT. SIX CITIES WERE SELECTED. A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 3,000 RESIDENTS AND A MATCHED SAMPLE OF 630 PUBLIC OFFICIALS WERE INTERVIEWED. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM RESIDENTS AND OFFICIALS ON THEIR (1) LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE OF SCHOOLS, (2) LEVEL…

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…

Examines how well, after 12 years and 3 billion dollars, North Carolina's counties and their school systems have succeeded in meeting their previously stated needs for school construction. Focuses on the role of state money in helping counties and on the state's efforts to assist the poorest counties in meeting their needs. (Contains 15 figures.)…

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…

Growing frustration with educational finance in Illinois prompted school districts to file, in 1990, a lawsuit that demands adequate funding, equitable distribution of funds, and increased economic efficiency in public education. This document includes a description of events leading up to the suit. Early attempts to improve educational equity…