The argument of this book is that differences in educational opportunity are largely due to the wealth of the tax base in the local community, that the quality of a child's educational opportunity is related to the particular community in which his parents' economic capacity enables him to reside. It is argued that such economic differences deny…

In this paper, the author attempts to clarify several implicit hypotheses about local school finance reform, set up tests whereby hypothesis validity can be affirmed or rejected, and outline the policy implications of the results. Two mathematical models of school district behavior are examined, and their implications are tested on a sample of 150…

This paper describes the development of school finance reform in Oregon from 1968 through legislative enactments in 1973 and proposals for the voters in 1974. The first section describes the 1973 school finance reform proposal, rejected by voters, as it was originally submitted (whereby the State would have assumed 95 percent of the operating…

This report concentrates on the equity problem in Illinois public school finance. Central to this report is the thesis that there are three basic strategies for attacking the equity problem: make adjustments in the existing "foundation level" grant-in-aid system, abandon the "foundation" idea for a grant-in-aid system, and…

In this speech, the author discusses the sources of revenue for public education and the methods of distributing funds for its financing. The discussion is based on the underlying premise that equalizing educational opportunity is desirable. The author points out trends in educational legislation and common philosophical points of view on school…

This publication describes State funds transmitted to local agencies for the support of elementary and secondary education. Each distribution identified as a separate fund by the State is described in terms of (1) title, (2) legal citation, (3) appropriation for the school year or estimate, (4) percentage of total State funds transmitted, (5)…

This paper describes a project designed to provide educational decisionmakers with projections of and forecasts about future metropolitan conditions and problems, and information about the implications of alternative ways of solving metropolitan problems. Project components included (1) population and economic projections and forecasts, (2)…

This report contains 38 papers on diverse current problems, issues, and trends in educational finance. The most frequent topic of discussion concerns equality of educational opportunity. Some authors attempt a definition of equal opportunity; others present evidence that equal education is not being achieved. Other topics covered in the papers…

The authors, after discussing the St. Louis school system and its financial history, survey both traditional and innovative construction finance alternatives that have been used across the country. These alternatives, which fall into two categories, include: (1) conventional financing through tax incomes including State and Federal aid, and (2)…

This report presents data on enrollments, budgets, levies, costs per pupil, and teacher and staff salaries in Montana's smallest (Class "C") school districts for 2002-03. Class C indicates high school enrollment of 130 students or less. Surveys were received from 69 of 93 public schools and 1 of 5 nonpublic schools in the category. The…

This special bulletin examines the Texas Supreme Court's January 1995 final opinion in the Edgewood vs. Meno case, the latest in a series of rulings on the constitutionality of the Texas public school funding system. The first article summarizes the majority opinion, discusses the implications of the court's 5-4 ruling, and suggests that further…

Fiscal year appropriations and supporting data are presented for comparative analysis of state financing of public higher education (defined as all public institutions listed in the "Education Directory, Colleges and Universities" of the National Center for Education Statistics). The report is based on the fall collection of state…

Three basic issues were examined in this study: (1) the variance in the purchasing power of the dollar among Texas school districts, (2) the variance in local property tax burden among Texas school districts, and (3) consideration of alternative Texas school finance formulas. Data used were from the data banks of the Texas Education Agency and…

Parental rights in schooling, which protect parents' entitlement to provide for the education of their children, are discussed in this chapter. The courts and legislatures are being forced to deal with these rights. Further, churches, schools, and parents are pressed to define and better protect parental rights, because of the following…

Cases related to school finance, in which decisions were handed down in 1982, are reviewed in this chapter. It is observed that the constitutionality of existing state school finance programs was upheld in New York, Colorado, and Georgia, and that litigation was prevalent in the areas of taxation for schools and uses of school revenue. Issues…