This paper traces the development of school finance reform pressures in Wisconsin from pressure in 1967 for property tax reform to 1973 legislative reform proposals. The 1973 proposal is designed to provide further equalization of educational opportunity to all Wisconsin students and to guarantee adequate financial resources to provide these…

This paper examines several major State finance revisions and the procedures used to analyze their impact on school district per pupil expenditures, State aid, and local tax rates in New York, Massachusetts, and California. Policy alternatives include utilization of measures of educational need, municipal overburden factors in the general formula,…

With data retrieved from the Common Core of Data collection of surveys, this report presents revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary education in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories for school year 2000-01. Two pie charts display revenues by source and current expenditures by function. Seven tables…

This study analyzes the effectiveness of a "guaranteed tax base" (GTB) as a reform measure designed to reduce the traditional heavy reliance of school financing on local property tax revenues and to help equalize per pupil expenditures across districts. Such measures call for matching locally raised tax dollars with state aid and…

Chapter 6 of a book on school law, this chapter deals with the financial support of schools. According to the author, the constitutionality of state support programs continued to be a major issue in school finance litigation during the past year. The number of cases involving financial aspects of programs for children with special needs increased,…

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…

Fiscal support for higher education and policy concerns at the state level during difficult financial times are discussed, with specific reference to the western states. States vary widely in several ways: the strength of their economies, the actions of legislatures and voters to reduce the revenues or the expenditure base of state and local…

In this policy statement adopted by the Vermont Higher Education Planning Commission, the cultural and economic benefits of higher education to the state are discussed. A growing financial problem affecting student access and the health of both public and private institutions is identified. Declining state financial support of higher education as…

This book was prepared by the research staff of the special Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity of the Oregon legislature to examine alternative patterns of school finance reform that have been considered for adoption in Oregon. It presents analyses of a variety of school finance formulas, discusses possibilities for increasing school…

An essential prerequisite to reform of present methods of financing elementary and secondary schools and the development of an equitable, adequate, and workable system of school finance is a precise understanding of how the existing system works and its impact on different school districts and population groups. This report documents the existing…

The Minnesota school finance system is the method by which funds are provided for the operation of public elementary and secondary schools and public postsecondary vocational-technical institutes. This document comprises a reference guide for state legislators to the Minnesota school finance system. It begins with historical and legal background…

In Serrano v. Priest, the California Supreme Court in 1971 initiated a modern era of elementary and secondary school finance reform. This paper first examines the present problems of urban school finance to ascertain why urban adjustments are necessary today in the new school finance formulas. All urban school finance adjustments in use at the…

This document contains papers that discuss (1) the role of the Federal Government in educational finance; (2) some proposals for full State funding of schools; (3) the implications for educational finance of recent State court decisions invalidating inequitable State school finance systems; (4) State plans for financing public schools; and (5)…

The purpose of this monograph is to stimulate discussion of vertical equity through an assessment of the funding systems in four states (California, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin) that ascertains how and to what extent at-risk factors are addressed. (In education, children defined as at risk of low academic achievement or of dropping out…

Offers statistics showing community colleges to be one of the most cost-effective segments of higher education. Compares figures for public and private two- and four-year colleges with respect to tuition; federal, state, and local revenues; appropriations and grants; student financial aid; tax support; per capita government assistance; and…