The impact of the Great Recession and its aftermath has been devastating in Nevada, especially for public education. This article discusses the budget shortfalls and the impact of the economic crisis in Nevada using case study methodology. It provides a review of documents, including Governor Gibbon's proposals for the public K-12 education system…

This article presents the authors' response to a response to their research on Illinois in which the authors analyze the equity, adequacy, and legal issues related to school finance. The Responders' quarrel with that portion of the authors' research that addresses equity and create a "de novo" analysis, by treating unequals equally--an…

This research investigates state finance policies for public education using survey methodology. The purpose is to update previous work and the existing knowledge base in the field as well as to provide a compendium of finance and policy options that are used across the states to finance public elementary and secondary schools. Chief state school…

Public education in Virginia during fiscal year 2002 is characterized by fiscal crisis, reductions in funds, and no new salary increases for state employees including teachers and university faculty. The current context of recession and budget deficits, together with tax reductions imposed by the previous gubernatorial administration and current…

Employed various statistical techniques to measure fiscal equity in Virginia. The new state aid system for financing education was unable to mitigate large and increasing disparities in education revenues between more and less affluent localities and a strong and growing linkage between revenue and wealth. Includes 34 footnotes. (MLH)

Virginia's school funding system is characterized by large inequalities and inadequacy. Disparities are increased when the state fails to pay for the full cost of education, state funding is inadequate, facilities are not state-funded, funding rewards only wealthy localities, and ability to pay is measured inaccurately. (Contains 25 references.)…

Divides the history of educational federalism into three eras: (1) Presidential Federalism (from the Constitution's enactment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1958); (2) Congressional Federalism (from ESEA until Reagan's election); and (3) Gubernatorial Federalism (the 1980's). Federal aid to education has been reduced,…

Discusses the Montana Supreme Court's declaration that the Montana system of financing education was unconstitutional as it relates to emerging legal principles drawn from federal school finance court challenges. Speculates on future directions in state education finance equity litigation. (54 references) (MLF)

This report describes the legislative response to state supreme court rulings on rural and small schools and districts. The paper addresses the following questions: How have rural and small schools and school districts been affected by state supreme court rulings and subsequent legislation? What has been the experience of rural and small school…

As in previous years, this publication provides information on two dimensions of public education finance in the United States--raising and distributing education dollars. Information as reported by each of the 50 states is provided. The first section shows the current financing structure used in each state. In 1990, states generally reported four…

This brief provides an overview of three recent state court cases in Alabama, Wyoming, and Ohio that uniquely address the constitutionality of state special education finance systems. In each case, the courts found the special education finance systems to be unconstitutional due to inequitable or inadequate funding for children with disabilities.…

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…

Wide scale reform in Texas education financing was enacted in 1984 under the Equal Education Opportunity Act (Texas House Bill 72). This paper examines the reform through an analysis of the newly enacted weighted pupil Foundation School Program (FSP) during the 1985-86 school year. Two modes of inquiry were used: correlational analysis between…

New directions in federal educational policy in the 1980s have had clear and consistent implications for state education finance systems. This study reviews the financing arrangements that have emerged during the 1980s at the state level, discusses the costs of new legislative mandates and state programs, and assesses the extent to which federal…