Mandated by the Education Amendments of 1978 as part of a set of studies on the federal role in financing education, this study reports the results of over 100 interviews with practitioners and policy-makers in education. The topic is education finance issues. Identified as the foremost educational problem today and in the future was the financing of elementary and secondary education, especially its adequacy. Most respondents favored increased funding. Respondents were unanimous in their opinion that federal education policies have affected educational decision-making at the state, local, and school levels, and they cited both positive and negative results of federal interventions. The tendency of federal programs to increase staffing levels was noted. In general, the respondents felt that federal programs did provide needed services, but were often accompanied by restrictive paperwork. Except for respondents associated with private schools, most did not favor new federal policies for private schools, such as vouchers or tuition tax credits. The federal role in elementary and secondary education to date was viewed favorably by national level respondents, but state and local level respondents dwelt more on the negative aspects of federal involvement. (Author/JM)