Financing higher education requires political leaders, policymakers, and educators to address broad public policy questions, including ascertaining: the levels of state funding to colleges and universities that are necessary to maintain the economic and social well-being of the American people; the tuition levels that are appropriate given the…

This paper provides an overview of financing patterns and mechanisms for public education and other services for children. It describes overall levels of support and significant trends over time in funding patterns. The paper also compares and contrasts the financing arrangements and trends in the different children's service sectors, highlighting…

The decade from 1987 to 1997 saw two unsuccessful attempts to reform Illinois's school finance system from a constitutional perspective. In 1997, prospective reforms will probably be limited by partisanship, revenues and anti-tax sentiment, regional antipathies, fragmentation, and pressures for property tax relief. (MLH)

This document contains eight articles that offer a nonpartisan evaluation of the pros and cons associated with tax reforms. They were written by members of the Technical Study Group, which was established by the New York State Department of Education in 1994 to examine the generation of revenue for public education. The work of the study group…

Fiscal stress has plagued state and local governments in the first part of the 1990s, and difficulties in balancing budgets and obtaining revenue for needed public services are likely to continue. This document examines the leading alternatives for increasing state and local tax revenue, pointing out that the best options vary from state to state.…

This report describes findings of a study conducted by the Auburn Enlarged City School District that examined the ability of New York school districts to pay for their students' educational needs. The methodology used involved an economic comparison of the largest 80 New York school districts selected on the basis of enrollment and an analysis of…

In 1994, Michigan voters approved Proposal A, which reduced school property taxes, increased the sales tax, and established a per-pupil funding guarantee for public schools. This report describes the effects of Proposal A and challenges to it. Since Proposal A was implemented, funding for schools has grown substantially while property taxes have…

This study discusses whether two tax programs instituted by local communities in Michigan to generate local economic activity have adversely affected local public elementary and secondary school financing. Analysis of the effects on school funding of The Plant Rehabilitation and Industrial Development Law of 1974 and its expansion in Act 255 of…

After decades of media attention, study, and lawsuits, the solution to inequities in school funding remains elusive. This paper examines several strategies that states have used to try to close the funding disparities in per-pupil spending. It explains the two definitions of equity in the school-finance arena and identifies some important trends…

A review of the literature concerning educational finance, taxation, and California's Proposition 13 (1978) reveals that educational institutions encountered financial pressures before the passage of Proposition 13, and that these pressures--hardly specific to California--are highly visible in the South Carolina Technical Education System. The…

In 1988, 66 of Tennessee's rural school districts brought suit against the state government claiming that the school funding system of a local option sales tax discriminates against rural areas. This study examines the effects of increased reliance on local sales tax revenue on Tennessee's school expenditures. Not every county can support a major…

To provoke public discussion about the role state aid should play in Vermont public education and to make a case for a state aid system structured on the broad principles of equal opportunity, fair tax burdens, and adequate funding levels, this booklet examines Vermont's system of school finance, attempting to highlight its history and its present…

This report provides an analysis of current inequities in school finance in Illinois, the historical roots of those inequities, and an analysis of alternative options for funding primary and secondary education. An introduction briefly describes the basis for the constitutional challenge to the current funding system. The next section describes…