In the fall of 1995 the National Association of Child Advocates began the Children's Budget Watch Project in order to collect information regarding children's programs expenditures in 12 randomly selected states and two cities for the fiscal years from 1990 to 1995. Data were collected on the areas of income support, child care, health, abuse and…

The Chicago (Illinois) Board of Education has been engaged in a process of system-wide reorganization that may shift the locus of decision-making authority for many administrative functions from the Central Office to individual schools. Proponents of decentralization contend that restructuring will reduce costs and increase efficiencies at the…

This resource paper describes two recent studies and one report on special education costs and the methodology used in their analyses. Each study and its data source are summarized with a short discussion on the quality of the data and its usefulness and limitations in generating reliable cost estimates for special education. The paper summarizes…

The relationship between educational expenditures and pupil achievement has been a topic of increasing interest to legislators, school boards, and more recently, the courts. This paper examines the relationships among various measures of school district wealth and spending, other school district characteristics, and student achievement within the…

This document presents findings of an audit of 17 Texas school districts, conducted during spring 1993. The audit used the Savings Profile System, which is based on the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data, to identify potential cost-saving opportunities for each district. It is conservatively estimated that school districts…

Basic facts are summarized about the public schools of Wisconsin in the 1993-94 school year. Nine statewide summary tables (Section A) present information about ethnicity and the numbers of schools, districts, students, teachers, and other school personnel. Student and staff data are shown by school district in a table in Section B. Two tables in…

Summary data on the general characteristics, fiscal revenues and expenditures, educational agency and school numbers and sizes, and students and staff for each state, the District of Columbia, and the five outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) are presented. Factors for which data…

This document provides findings of a National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) survey of Catholic elementary school finances for the school year 1992-93. The survey of 1,028 Catholic elementary schools (out of a total of 7,174) elicited returns from 619 schools, a 60 percent response rate. The sample represents almost 9 percent of all…

This background paper examines the current state of higher education finance--the scope of the higher education enterprise, challenges to its funding base, and undesirable consequences of current financing practices--and describes what is meant by a "restructuring" of higher education finance. It demonstrates that the structures and practices…

The basic formula used by the Chapter 1 Migrant Education Program to allocate funds to state agencies includes an adjustment to help defray the cost of summer services for migrant children, which can be particularly expensive. In recent years, policymakers have questioned whether the current funding formula unfairly rewards states with modest…

This report presents a description of the status of academic libraries in 1994, a time of rapid technology-related change and increased introduction of electronic services. Two of the national education goals for the year 2000 emphasize the important roles played by resources and staff efforts of academic libraries. The report presents detailed…

Vermont state legislation provides additional funding to small schools--those enrolling fewer than 100 students. To meet legislative requirements, a study group examined costs, educational quality, and consolidation issues in Vermont's small schools. In 1996-97, Vermont had 50 small schools (16 percent of all public schools), primarily K-6…

Responses of southern states to revenue shortfalls and their significance for public schools and higher education are examined in this report. Many different actions have been take to address state fiscal problems: most strategies require changes in revenue polices that increase taxes and fees or reallocate funds, and many have mandated spending…

The first 5 years of South Carolina's 1984 Educational Improvement Act (EIA), a major educational reform program to deliver equal education opportunity and improve academic performance, are analyzed in this paper. A review of South Carolina's per-capita disposable income as compared with other states reveals an improvement in South Carolina's rank…

An evaluation was done of State University of New York (SUNY) Central Administration costs by comparing them to peer systems and by evaluating how economically its duties were carried out. Central Administration provides oversight and executive leadership to the system and manages budgeting, accounting, capital facilities, student affairs and…