This document attempts to show that litigation serves to transform the way in which educators construct their conceptions of the financial aspects of desegregation. First viewed as a cause of retrenchment, desegregation later becomes the catalyst for resource redistribution and program innovation. As a corollary of this resource mobilization…

This article reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of a school finance formula implemented in Virginia in 1974-75, the purpose of which was to provide increased fiscal equity throughout the state. Results show, however, that per-pupil revenue disparities have actually increased since that time. (TE)

Based on pupil-specific observation data drawn from a sample of 13 fifth-grade math classrooms, this article reports efforts to develop and test an economic model of the allocation of teacher resources within classrooms. Tables provide data on teacher attention and resources. (PB)

Although judicial influence in education seems to have faded since 1973, the federal government's diminished involvement in educational support and policymaking may result in a new wave of reform if challenges to the nonenforcement or rewriting of existing statutes providing services to disadvantaged groups are brought to court. (MJL)

In 1999, Illinois enacted a tuition tax credit program. Tax credit supporters suggest tax credits help low-income students. However, opponents argue that they disproportionately benefit higher-income families whose children are already attending private schools and may decrease already limited resources available to public schools. New data from…

In the 1990s, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. (CFE), filed a lawsuit against New York State on behalf of New York City students, charging that the state unconstitutionally underfunded city schools. In 2003, the Court of Appeals held that the state funding system must be reformed to ensure that every school in New York City has sufficient…

For most of its history, Pennsylvania's public school system has consisted of three levels: the state level, the local school districts, and an intermediate level. In 1970, the intermediate level was reorganized into 29 intermediate units (IUs). In 1997 the state's General Assembly directed the Joint State Government Commission to study how the…

This report examines educational expenditures for all Minnesota public schools for the 1997-98 school year and finds that the cost of educating children in smaller schools was higher than in larger schools. Empirical evidence is presented to demonstrate that a more precise relationship between enrollment and expenditures is log-linear, rather than…

This analysis incorporates data measuring progress toward three goals of Maine finance reform programs of the 1970s and concludes that, while substantial property tax relief was provided, movement toward taxpayer equity was limited, and equality of opportunity was not served as evidenced by the disparity in expenditures per student. (MJL)

Data are analyzed in support of the conclusion that fiscal neutrality has nearly been achieved since 1974 legislation mandating uniform tax rates and a foundation program of school aid. Remaining disparities in per pupil revenue and expenditure are interpreted as a function of varying pupil and school district needs. (MJL)

Discusses the use of district inhabitants' income, rather than property values, to measure school district wealth when allocating state aid. Examines data collection and other methodological problems, derives three formulas combining income and property measures for aid allocation, and tests each formula's effects using data from New York State.…

Describes a lawsuit filed in January 1982 by New Hampshire students, parents, and school districts charging that the state's elementary and secondary education system's heavy reliance on local property taxes violates the state constitution by creating substantial inequities in the funds available per pupil in each district. (Author/RW)

A 1996 U.S. General Accounting Office report indicates one-third of the nation's schools need $111 billion worth of repairs or partial replacement. Local school districts cannot keep up with enrollment increases or construction costs and will receive little help from federal or state governments. Capital improvement funding inequities are heating…

Examines three decades of school finance legislation, highlighting emerging judicial constructs of equity and adequacy. Generally, court decisions have turned on adequacy, rather than equity considerations. There is a broad movement under way to secure, in law and practice, poor children's rights to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. This…

Chile's 1981 decentralization reforms kept most educational finance responsibility with the Ministry of Education, but transferred service-delivery responsibility to municipalities and nonprofit private schools. This paper examines this reform's effects. Municipal finance, tied to fiscal capacity, has created inequities in school expenditures.…