The system that finances Michigan's schools from kindergarten through 12th grade is a perennial topic of conversation among policymakers, parents, taxpayers and voters. A constructive discussion of this issue, however, requires a sound knowledge of the financial workings of Michigan's elementary and secondary school system. This knowledge is…

This article details the challenges that UC Merced faced in building up the critical areas of student and residence life. The new institution held great promise for achieving the ideal of a student-centered university, but certain bedrock problems proved difficult to overcome. One was that at the beginning, both administration and faculty saw…

This article by T. Edward Hollander, offers an overview of the current condition of state funding for higher education, noting that unlike secondary and elementary education, higher education may appear to be a discretionary appropriation which state leaders can expand or reduce depending on the state's fiscal circumstances. Suggesting that…

This paper uses examples of systemic sex discrimination at one Canadian university to illustrate the need to continue to redress the causes of such discrimination. An opening section explores some legal definitions of systemic discrimination from court decisions and government regulation. Using these, this section develops a working definition of…

Three generations of children have passed through the Baton Rouge (Louisiana) school system since the "Brown" decision (1954) and one generation since the federal court's 1981 desegregation order. The impact of school desegregation on African American children was studied in the East Baton Rouge School District. For the student body as a…

In order to determine the effectiveness of Hawaii State expenditures on public education (one-third of Hawaii's general revenues funds), the state legislature asked that the state auditor study the feasibility of applying a model to analyze expenditures for public education. The state auditor engaged Dr. Bruce S. Cooper, a professor at Fordham…

This paper describes the state of interactive distance learning in Connecticut, particularly the current and future provision of these services by the telecommunications and cable television industries. The overview examines questions of where obligation and responsibility lie (with schools, local exchange companies, cable franchises, etc.) in…

This book has been prepared so that taxpayers, school board members, and administrators may learn more about school finance in their own districts. It will equip them with the information necessary to understand and evaluate both the statewide system of education in Illinois and how this system relates to their own school district. Despite…

This paper outlines the major challenges to raising state and local funds for education and other children's services and suggests principles for guiding efforts to answer these problems. It focuses on issues of state and local tax-based strategies for financing education and other children's services, and also discusses general fiscal issues…

In the midst of the current concern for system reform and effective services there is renewed attention to the effects of categorical funding as the predominant method of allocating resources for children and their families. This paper presents a historical view of categorical funding for services to children and families. It explores the policy…

This needs assessment survey is the update of one conducted in the Pacific region in 1992. Results were intended to help the Pacific Region Educational Laboratory make decisions about the educational needs of children in the Pacific region. Nine general educational areas, with 34 needs, were defined and presented in questionnaire form. The needs…

In the Northwest, as across the rest of the United States, the basic characteristics of the U.S. household are changing. In demographic and economic terms, the Northwest is at the forefront of changes predicted for the entire country in the coming century. Urbanization is occurring in a region that was once defined by the relationship of human…

Since the early 1980s, the New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department have advanced a complex reform agenda centered around the development of curriculum and related standards. These reforms have considerable implications for the allocation and use of human resources within schooling systems. This paper reports on a series…

Public school funding in Florida differs from other states in a number of important ways. First, Florida has a highly equalized resource-distribution formula resulting in a high degree of interdistrict equity. Second, concerns for quality, while constant, have had to compete with the state's phenomenal growth. Third, the state exercises a much…

This document contains rank-ordered statistics for the 50 states and the District of Columbia for an array of topics relevant to public education. All state data are ranked beginning with the largest figure. The data in the rankings are the most recent actual or estimated data available from state departments of education. Tables in the first…