The passage of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA) in 1990 had a dramatic impact on the funding of primary and secondary education in the state. The amount of money spent on education increased significantly with the passage of KERA with districts in rural areas of the state experiencing the largest growth in spending (Hoyt, 1999). This has…

This study seeks to inform the debate over a proposal in Georgia to give tax credits for contributions to organizations that provide scholarships to K-12 private schools. Such a program would extend to K-12 education the philosophy of choice that is inherent in the state's existing Hope Scholarships program for college students. This study…

This report is the final result of a six-year study of America's school finance system, including more than 30 separate studies at a cost of $6 million and involving an interdisciplinary team of more than 40 scholars including many of the country's best known economists, policy analysts, lawyers, and specialists in school finance, instruction,…

Throughout the end of the 1990s and the early years of the current decade, states experienced severe downturns in their economies. As has happened during other recessions, higher education, often viewed as discretionary spending compared to other budget demands, was hit particularly hard. During these years of severe fiscal constraints, however, a…

This paper presents the public higher education system trends in Connecticut for 2009. This report contains the following sections: (1) Higher Education in a Statewide Context; (2) Expenditure Trends; (3) Comparative Funding Indicators; (4) Enrollment Trends; (5) Degrees Conferred; (6) Position Trends; (7) Tuition and Fees; (8) Student and State…

On Nov. 8, 2005, California voters will decide whether to pass Proposition 76, known as the "Live Within Our Means Act." Sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the measure seeks to address state budget problems that have been particularly severe in California since 2002 due to cuts in state taxes and increases in state expenditures.…

The funding of K-12 public schools in Ohio is a joint effort with 7.4 percent coming from the federal government, 47 percent coming from local sources and 45.6 percent coming from the state, based on FY04 revenue (the latest data available). Of the approximately $6.8 billion in state aid, about 80 percent is distributed through the Ohio School…

Individual states have a long tradition of providing financial support for their public K-12 schools. This support reflects the state's constitutional requirement to educate its citizens. However, states vary widely in both the amount of funding provided to public schools, and the distribution of funding among schools. The fundamental observation…

A workgroup of chief business officers from a diverse array of districts met over several months to make recommendations on changes to the community college funding formula. The following report is the product of the workgroup?s deliberations and is submitted for the review of the CCCT and CEOCCC boards and the broader community college system.…

This report is the first in a series examining the policy issues relating to charter schools in Hawai'i. It addresses the overall challenges to charter schools, the law establishing a charter funding formula, a new program area of the state budget, fringe benefits, and issues needing clarification and resolution. The purpose of this series of…

Attempts to provide useful data concerning higher education costs by instruction level. Analyzes case study results to determine the ratios between unit costs of providing instruction at lower-division, upper-division, and graduate levels. Considerable care must be exercised in developing and using cost ratios in funding or allocation formulas.…

In October 1994, President Clinton signed into law a substantially modified version of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA), which extends and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and related legislation. This article describes Title I LEA grant formulas before the 1994 amendments, major criticisms of these formulas, and an…

Financing school capital projects in New York State is a responsibility involving both local school districts and the state government. State building aid is provided through an aid ratio and approved expenditure formula. This formula has an equalizing effect among districts by explicitly providing an aid amount inversely proportional to property…

Explores the consequences of adopting formula-based systems of resource allocation and questions assumptions underpinning development of such systems. Findings, based on a case study of a British university that adopted a decentralized system in the late 1980s, revealed changes in micropolitical activities and organizational culture. (33…

Examines the U.S. Department of Education's Impact Aid program, a financial subsidy program for military children attending local public schools, specifically the influence of the complex funding formula combining the basic support program (BSP) with the learning opportunity threshold (LOT) on the distribution of aid to school districts. (PKP)