The document clarifies an originally proposed program to provide Statewide funding for public elementary and secondary education in Rhode Island by reviewing, stepwise, the actual operation of the plan for establishing tax levies and determining grant allocations; examines the anticipated effects of this proposed plan on the tax rates in…

This report presents a history of the primary objectives, events, personalities, and consequences of the School Finance Study in Rhode Island. The study committee was commissioned with the task of developing a school finance plan that would provide equal educational opportunities to all pupils with similar characteristics and needs, achieve fiscal…

A review of the property tax system of financing education in Ontario provides historical background for the consideration of alternative approaches to reform. The problem of declining enrollment lends a sense of immediacy to the discussion. The present system of finance is found to be unsatisfactory because of inequities in property assessment…

This paper reports that most of the States have appropriated more dollars to support local education than would be required to cover inflationary increases. According to the author, the new money is being channeled into equalization and foundation programs, and States are starting to experiment with "district power equalization." In its simple…

Public schools in New Jersey are financed primarily by local property taxes. This system of finance is unconstitutional, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court, and therefore it must be revised. The proposals for revision range from very slight increases in state school aid to complete state financing of schools, but all of the proposals shift…

1974 is a watershed for New Jersey public schools, a time when the State is under court order to reform its discriminatory and ineffective method of raising and distributing educational revenues. The existing approach to financing education in the state of New Jersey assigns higher educational resources to pupils in richer school districts, yet…

This paper seeks a plan for financing education in Ontario that minimizes the disruptive effects of declining enrollment and changing enrollment patterns, is sensitive to the limitation of resources, and provides clear channels of authority and responsibility between citizen and policy maker. The author considers the alternatives for placing the…

This paper attempts to examine for the State of New York the merits of a district power equalizing formula when it is compared to full State funding of a uniform expenditure level. The author argues against full State funding because he believes that the net effect of many independent decisions that affect small groups of children is preferable to…

Information on state student financial aid programs in New York is provided to the governor and legislature by the Board of Regents. Part I discusses recent developments in the state's student aid programs and recommendations of the regents. Part II's four sections are as follows: the scope of state-administered student aid programs (e.g., the…

This paper examines the development of Alaska's Public School Fund, its current status, and its potential as a major revenue source for elementary and secondary education. The fund, which was created following the 1915 federal school lands grant to Alaska, is examined for the 1916-58 territorial period, the 1959-78 early statehood period, and the…

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…

Using statistical data, this paper analyzes methods for educational finance in Ontario that provide alternatives to present fiscal inequalities. There are currently five barriers to equity: the lack of directly comparable measures of local tax-paying ability, the extremes in unit equalized assessment caused by the large number of school…

This document examines the effect that alternative ways of reforming school finance would have on major city school districts. Using census data, the authors attempt to show that parity between tax effort and revenue yield will not in itself insure fiscal justice for most major city schools. The paper considers the higher costs of educational…

This document contains the proceedings of the 16th annual National Conference on School Finance. The Conference participants included representatives of State education agencies, professional associations, and State legislatures, as well as professors of school finance. Topics discussed include fiscal neutrality, cost differentials and cost…

This report contains nine speeches on various aspects of public school finance. Topics discussed include recent educational finance legislation, equalization aid, full State funding, property tax reform, and urban school finance reform. One speech describes the national public school finance picture; two others detail the Georgia school finance…