The recent marked increase in voter-taxpayer rejection of school budget and school bond issues at polls across the United States -- a phenomenon popularly called the "taxpayers' revolt" -- has given rise to the widespread claim that public school finance is in a state of crisis. This paper develops a simplified model of a political…

The study reported in this document examined Connecticut's present system for financing public education and analyzed alternative systems. On the basis of study findings, some conclusions are presented in this report concerning (1) the total fiscal system within which Connecticut finances its schools, (2) fiscal disparities in the established…

The task force was charged with the responsibility of reexamining the whole base for financing public elementary and secondary education in Wisconsin, making recommendations for shifting the base of elementary and secondary school funding from the local property tax to other means of public support to eliminate the disparity of educational…

The first part of this document consists of a report on the role played by familiar elements of American educational finance in perpetuating widespread and systematic denials of equal educational opportunity. The partnership among local, State and Federal resources for financing public elementary and secondary education is discussed with an…

The combination of defeated bond issues and rising building costs is contributing to a decline in both the construction of new school buildings and the remodeling of existing buildings. For the first time in many years, debt service and capital outlay expenditures actually declined on a per pupil basis. No change in either voter preferences or…

In this speech, the author summarizes the economic and political issues relating to the current interest in school finance reform and discusses the research efforts of the National Educational Finance Project. He focuses on those efforts of direct relevance to school business administration -- cost differentials among educational programs,…

This paper outlines the historical background leading to the California Serrano vs Priest decision, discusses the implications of that decision, and suggests what might be done to fashion the elements of a State aid formula to meet the tests of equity and fairness demanded by Serrano. The author presents the various equalizing formulas and…

With reference to the case of Ohio, this paper considers whether various types of state grants affect school districts by increasing total spending or by providing tax relief. Regression equations are used to estimate the effects of categorical and general purpose assistance on local tax revenue and on outlays for teacher salaries. (MJL)

To explore the issue of school finance reform, a series of community forums held across the state were carried out, the results of which are presented. The paper provides some major findings: a basic school finance system already exists, namely, property taxes supplemented by equalized state aid; the magnitude of the school property tax means…

Examines the present status of curriculum laws, the constitutional rights of those who oppose curriculum laws, and the possible impact of reduced local property taxes on state-mandated curricula. Available from Willamette University College of Law, Salem, OR 97301. (Author/IRT)

Alaska's public schools cost $1.2 billion in the 1992-93 school year. That included both operating and capital spending and amounted to about $10,000 for each of the state's 119,000 elementary and secondary students. Roughly one-quarter of the state government's general fund budget went to the schools, covering 64 percent of costs. About 30…

School finance is basic to understanding and improving the condition of rural education. The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine the relationship between educational spending and component property wealth in the rural schools of Illinois; (2) examine potential trends in component property wealth in Illinois; and (3) identify and facilitate…

This report which describes state systems for financing special education programs for school-age children with disabilities, is based on a is based on a national survey of state directors of special education during the 1992-93 school year. Emphasis is on determining state funding formulas, recognizing that many states are currently in various…

This paper presents an overview of the financing of vocational training in Latin America. The paper is organized in six sections. The first section discusses diversification of vocational education funding as a response to crisis, as well as to a more favorable climate within businesses. In the second section, factors of change in funding of…

This document reports on a survey of 30 school districts (five percent of all New Jersey school districts) which contain over two-thirds of the State's total minority enrollment. Twenty-three of the 30 districts are classified as urban communities and over 98 percent of the minority students live in them. Property taxes are the primary source of…