This report provides 10 guiding principles for aligning school spending with the goal of creating a system of high-performing schools: (1) It is necessary to recognize that money matters--"you get what you pay for" applies to schools; (2) Aligning school spending to the goals of high performance requires investing in those things that research has found to matter; (3) School funding formulas must recognize that, economically and educationally, all children are not created equal; (4) It is time for North Carolina to reassess what is a "sound basic education," or what matters; (5) School funding policies must squarely address the time limitations imposed by today's school calendar; (6) Funding policies must recognize the centrality of teaching: good teaching matters; (7) Limited, one-time school facility savings resulting from building large schools should be secondary; (8) School-funding roles and state and local government responsibilities should be redefined; (9) Strong, focused, goals-oriented, responsible leadership matters most of all; and (10) A framework for aligning school spending to the goal of high-performing schools will take policies that meet the high performance needs of all schools, rich and poor, urban and rural. (DFR)