A critical issue is restoring education's central role--preparing people to live in a democracy, not a "government-industrial complex." Education should not be a training ground for business and industry. Common schools should be championed, not demeaned. Choice and charter school options must be more objectively evaluated. Better…

Three high schools in Minnesota's Twin Cities area exemplify impressive educational equalization gains stemming from a 1971 law shifting school funding from local taxes to state income and sales taxes. Although the schools vary in structure, populations, and leadership style, all are accomplishing major restructuring efforts via flexible…

Outlines 10 reasons why rural education does not receive appropriate levels of federal and state funding. Discusses strategies to remedy the problem, including creating a cohesive rural vision and organizing a rural constituency. (SV)

Nonpublic school educational choice proposals are largely derived from monetarist economic and social theory and exemplify right-wing privatization goals. The U.S. health care system has plenty of competition among insurers, hospitals, and doctors; but it is the most expensive, least equitable system in the industrial world. The mystical belief…

Voucher plans are undemocratic and will perpetuate class distinctions and the fragmentation of society. The choice agenda will particularize loyalties rather than encourage a sense of common loyalties among people. The individual parent will be forced to claw and scramble for the benefit of his/her kid only. We should not dismantle democratic…

Analyzes two new state funding programs for low-wealth and small-enrollment schools in North Carolina, compared with funding distribution provided under the already existing Basic Education Program. The distribution of low-wealth funds among counties is erratic, and the small-school funding program benefits some small-enrollment counties with…

Explains why Jonathon Kozol's first six books about the need for public education reform have neither penetrated educational curricula nor influenced educational reformists or practitioners. His messages and observations, although sensitive and substantive, vent so much rage and anger that readers run for cover. The exception is "Savage…

Unsatisfactory results from 1980s reforms stressing equalized funding, higher standards, and testing have prompted educators to reinvestigate inequality-producing mechanisms and consider program equity and adequacy. However, the problem is not solely within schools. Output goals must be tied to explicit programs and standards to raise up the…

Suggests some consequences of program equity for educational policy and practice. Stakes go up because program equity demands support for high minimum performance outcomes and coordination of implementation decisions and actions across a fragmented education system. Teacher networks are one way to link top-down and bottom-up change strategies…

Definitions of equal educational opportunity have evolved from access to schooling, to equal spending per pupil, to variable spending per pupil depending on individual need. Although the quest for funding equity has dominated recent legal and political actions, funding adequacy deserves great attention. A single-minded pursuit of equity may lead…

Despite high costs, bringing fiber optics telecommunications to every doorstep would be as revolutionary as the rise of printing technology. School leaders concerned with costs, equity, and instructional effectiveness should understand the roles of two key players: the telephone industry and state governments. Sidebars advise about planning…

The Madison, Perry, and Painesville Township school districts in northeastern Ohio pooled their resources and ran a joint tax levy campaign in 1990. The districts also developed a formula to distribute new tax revenues on an equalized per pupil basis. The Perry nuclear power plant was the key to the financing district's success. (MLH)

National standards and assessments (President Clinton's Goals 2000 Act) are being proposed to improve schools. This article reviews the bill and examines equity issues, including disparities in instructional conditions among racial/ethnic groups. Using tests to change teaching and learning reflects overreliance on top-down policy, distrust of…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 landmark "Rodriguez" decision (constitutionally challenging Texas's school-finance system), courts have increasingly used student assessments as evidence of educational adequacy and focused more on educational quality than fiscal equity. Despite pitched battles, a consensus of adequacy and quality may…

Explores differences between analyses of instructional resource allocation at district and school levels in Florida's 67 counties, concentrating on possible effects of noneducational student characteristics on deprivation of educational opportunity. Results revealed clear evidence of inequality for schools with high percentages of low…