This publication offers interested citizens of California a brief analysis of the problems the State faces in financing its public school system, a brief presentation of general financing alternatives, and a look at legislative measures which have been proposed or are being proposed to implement these alternatives. The research that produced these findings was concentrated heavily on the analysis and comparison of individual school districts in California, and was rooted in a detailed examination of school financing arrangements in nine States that enroll 29 percent of the nation's public school students. For purposes of the study, 146 selected districts were sorted into central city, slow-growing suburban community, fast-growing suburban community, smaller city, and rural. Study results indicate that school finance reform is an enormously complex issue; and any satisfying, long range resolution of the numerous problems hinges on many factors. A conclusion derived from the detailed analyses suggests that current debate on financing education should be based on something more than a simple redistribution of revenues or the transferring of tax burdens from one level of government to another. The study also endeavors to describe and evaluate some of the crucial economic and political ingredients involved in redressing the inequalities in the present school finance system pointed up by the recent Serrano vs Priest decision. (Author/DN)