This analysis provides an overview of the educational finance problem, particularly as it relates to property tax burdens and equality of education. It also describes some systems of State funding and outlines and evaluates possible solutions to the finance problem. Some of these solutions include (1) increased Federal aid, (2) a local nonproperty…

This publication examines 16 of the 18 basic educational issues identified in an earlier publication entitled, "Basic Issues in Texas Public School Finance: An Analysis of the Plans." Five major school finance bills pending before the Texas Legislature in April 1975 are discussed in relationship to each of the 16 issues, with cost…

This paper describes funding formulas for the new Foundation School Program in Texas enacted under the Education Opportunity Act (H.B. 72), raises issues that have accompanied its first year of implementation, and provides preliminary data to compare prior and existing law. The state finance system, which previously distributed state aid according…

An overview of the status of rural school financing revealed three major reasons why rural schools are facing major problems in financing today: (1) school reforms have generally failed to address the specific needs of rural and small schools; (2) researchers have failed to recognize small school differences in their collection, classification and…

Part I of a two-part series examines various approaches currently used by states to provide aid to local school districts, including flat grants, foundation grants, matching systems, the multitier approach, categorical aid, transportation aid, and capital outlay/debt service support systems. Related issues and special features are then discussed.…

This document gathers together the Alaska state statutes dealing specifically with education and those affecting education although not limited solely to education. Both elementary and secondary education and postsecondary education are dealt with. The topics covered include the administration of the schools; the rights and responsibilities of…

This paper traces the development of school reform pressures in Kansas from the implementation of the foundation program in 1965 to the passage of substitute Senate Bill 92 during the 1973 legislative session. Bill 92 is designed to produce equalization of school district expenditures and tax levies by a formula based on the concept of funding the…

In this speech, the author makes recommendations for the development of a national policy that would delineate roles among local school districts, intermediate school districts, States, and the Federal Government concerning the operation of school programs, the financing of school programs, and school governance. The author recommends that (1)…

This publication presents comprehensive, comparative expenditure data by local school system for the whole United States for the 1969-70 year and compares four decades of progress in school finance. The analysis in the document permits a view of State and national progress toward reducing or eliminating financial inequality and of the magnitude of…

This report projects Texas school costs to 1982-83 under the present school finance system and suggests alternatives for modifying the projections. It also considers high and low cost projections, foundation costs by program, student and teacher populations, the financing of special programs, the cost of salary increases, and State costs of…

After tracing the historical development of its present school finance system, the author considers Minnesota's school finance court cases and the finance disparities among its local school districts that led the 1971 legislature to increase State aid given to local school districts for maintenance expenditures. The document reviews the…

The conceptual differences between the foundation program and educational needs approaches to the distribution of school funds are analyzed. Under the foundation approach, the state generally guarantees that, irrespective of local wealth, every child will have a minimum number of dollars expended on his education. In operation, the foundation…

The commission's findings indicate that Connecticut's present system of school finance is inherently inequitable. Because educational expenditures rely primarily on local wealth, Connecticut towns differ in their ability to support education and to provide equal educational opportunity for all students. In order to increase equality of educational…

This document contains papers on: (1) proposals for national foundation programs; (2) state support of education; (3) tax reform at Federal, state, and local levels; and (4) contemporary problems in school finance, including equal educational opportunity, urban school finance, grants-in-aid, Federal income tax rebates to the States, voter behavior…

The material in this document is divided into three parts relating to the three debate propositions that: (1) a voucher system should be established as the primary means of financing elementary and secondary education in the United States, (2) governmental financial support for all public elementary and secondary education in the United States…