In this paper, we put forth a framework called Critical School Finance, articulating the framework itself and then applying it to school facilities finance. First, we go back to first principles and discuss what 'critical' denotes, revisiting critical theorist Max Horkheimer's seminal essay 'Traditional vs. Critical Theory.' Second, we offer five…

California's K-12 school facilities require significant new and ongoing investments to address aging infrastructure, changes in educational programs, and federal and state regulations. Funding for facilities comes mostly from local sources and depends on local property wealth. The state provides some funding through the School Facility Program…

Wisconsin school districts received more than $2 billion in one-time federal relief funds to address the effects of COVID-19 and boost student recovery and district finances. Early spending focused on educational technology to help students and schools adapt to virtual learning, while later spending focused on catching students up academically…

In January 2022, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, launched the second part of its multi-series survey focused on how district leaders across America are utilizing American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to respond to the pandemic and in particular, address student learning recovery. Hundreds of superintendents responded to this survey, which…

In July 2022, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, launched the third in a series of surveys detailing how district leaders across America are utilizing American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to respond to the pandemic and in particular, address student learning recovery. Hundreds of superintendents responded to this survey. The July 2022 AASA…

California's K-12 school facilities require significant new and ongoing investments. Funding for facilities comes mostly from local sources, and depends crucially on local property wealth. The state provides some funding for facilities through the School Facility Program (SFP), which usually requires local matching contributions. The authors begin…

This document contains the technical appendices for the report "Equitable State Funding for School Facilities: Assessing California's School Facility Program." Appendices include: (1) Data Sources; and (2) Supplemental Tables and Figures. [The authors received research support from Joseph Herrera. For the full report, see ED617949. For…

In March 2020 one hundred and twenty-two billion in federal funding delivered through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act was intended to mitigate the harm caused by school closures during the pandemic and ensure the appropriate re-opening of schools across America to get students "back on track." Since July 2021, AASA, The School…

School buildings across America are crumbling. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54 percent of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools. As a result of decades of underfunding school infrastructure, national spending for K-12 school buildings…

With 15 months left before the September 2024 obligation deadline, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, launched its fourth American Rescue Plan (ARP) survey of school district leaders to ascertain what spending priorities and challenges they are anticipating as the fiscal timeline tightens. This 2023 survey administered in June 2023…