The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple decisions made every year in each of these areas. No single report can provide definitive answers to such broad and fundamental questions of public…

One of the most elusive problems confronted in designing state aid programs for the public schools has been the determination of equitable measures of local fiscal capacity. (Author)

A NEW FORMULA FOR MEASURING STATE EFFORT TO SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION WAS PRESENTED IN THIS PAPER. THE MEASURE USED FOR EXPENDITURES RELATED TO CURRENT EXPENDITURES OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR GENERAL CONTROL, INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND FIXED CHARGES AT STATE, INTERMEDIATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS OF…

A survey to find what part of the bill for education the State will be paying. (EA)

This practicum report describes a step-by-step plan followed by the author and his employer, the Massachusetts Teachers' Association (MTA), to correct the fiscal disparities that existed in the Massachusetts school finance system and to provide property tax relief to Massachusetts taxpayers. The plan included assessing the existing Massachusetts…

This analysis used national data to evaluate changes in state higher education appropriations, state revenues, and regional differences in support for higher education from 1980 to 1992. Data from the United States Bureau of the Census and Illinois State University's Center for Education revealed that between 1980 and 1990 the nation's Gross…

This report provides state-by-state figures concerning tax appropriations for the operating expenses of state colleges and universities. Included are an overall analysis of the recent 2-year changes in appropriations, an analysis by geographical region, and the trends in state support. Also highlighted in this analysis are the appropriation levels…

Illinois' education finance plan is described in the first of this report's two chapters, and the second chapter considers the finance plan's equity. Chapter 1 covers the state's Resource Equalizer Aid Program and the tax revenue it guarantees districts; the calculation of maximum tax guarantees and local shares; the apportionment of state aid;…

1976 saw a number of major fiscal changes occurring in New Jersey, all of which had an impact on educational funding. These include the imposition of a state income tax, a property tax rebate program, and a new system of funding public education that significantly increases the state's share of total education support. Based on a measure of the…

Explores two alternatives to the local school property tax: a power equalizing property tax and a statewide tax. Compares effects on tax burdens and service levels for 13 cities in San Diego County. Available from American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 50 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021; sc $3.00. (Author/JM)

School finance reform, in the opinion of many of those concerned, implies a shift away from the local property tax as the main source of revenue for the public schools. The inequities associated with property tax administration and the uneven distribution of property tax wealth within any given state have led to increasing concern about the wisdom…

Recent court decisions have declared that those public school financing systems dependent substantially on local ad valorem (property) taxes violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The violation stems from the fact that local school district spending and educational quality are dependent on the values of real property in the…

Reviews major issues surrounding funding of Nebraska's public schools and presents an alternative funding system sustaining the goals of local control, tax equity, and flexibility for program quality. The new formula would add an economic factor to the weighting of pupils and alow local tax flexibility for districts losing state funding. (MLH)

This report describes and evaluates the North Dakota state/local fiscal system, especially as it relates to financing public education. It identifies and evaluates various fiscal policy options for raising additional tax revenue for support of schools and other public services in ways consistent with the basic characteristics of the North Dakota…

Following a summary of Canadian equity policies and of specific provisions made by Alberta, a statistical analysis of the impact of the existing funding mechanism leads to the conclusion that the alternative models of power equalizing and percentage equalizing would generally increase the level of equalization. (MJL)