Missouri implemented a new statewide funding formula based on the Outstanding Schools Act in 1993 to increase equity in school finance. This study examined the impacts of the new foundation funding formula on finance equity compared with the selected equity indices including range, restricted range, coefficient of variation, federal range ratio,…

The impact of performance funding on community college student outcomes is a contested issue. Performance funding policies in most U.S. states involve too small a proportion of funding to change college behavior. English further education colleges are similar to U.S. community colleges. 1992 policy reforms in England centralized policy control,…

In this article, the author reports the ripple effects of the energy squeeze due to Hurricane Katrina and other factors that sent energy costs skyrocketing. Energy costs are a good part of why budget growth, which has been steady over the past five years, has been slowing down. The projected change from FY2005 to FY2006 is only 3.3%, compared to…

Policy makers and educators in the U.S. have recently shown considerable interest in the concept of weighted student funding (WSF) as a means of financing primary and secondary schools. WSF appeals both to conservatives, who see it as a way to promote parental choice and school autonomy, and to progressives, who are attracted by the call of extra…

This study investigates whether Australian multi-campus universities are distinctive in terms of their student profile by field of education (FOE), funding and expenditure profiles, and learning and teaching outcomes, and identifies the implications for higher education policy and funding. Both parametric and non-parametric techniques are used to…

Since 2002, some of the federal funds provided to local school districts under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act have been distributed through "weighted" grant formulas intended to better target funding to districts with the highest concentrations of poverty. These weighted grant formulas have produced some perverse…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

As funding for special education increases, it becomes important for educational policy-makers to understand the effects caused by the distribution of monies. This paper focuses on key programmatic and management issues in the funding of special education. Four main topics are discussed: (1) the relationship between special education programs and…

This report sets out some possible goals for a California school finance system that could better support student performance. It also describes the key forces that will shape any debate about school finance reform in California and examines those in the context of some important aspects of an effective finance system. In the process, the report…

This volume is the third in a series of four publications on aspects of governance in higher education produced by a project to create a Regional University Network on Governance and Management of Higher Education in South East Europe. This handbook gives a general overview of the ways in which higher education is funded in selected countries in…

This report is prepared annually by the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education in accordance with the Public Education Governance Reform Act (1984). It sets forth performance goals established for Tennessee school systems in accordance with the Education Improvement Act (1992) and provides a summary of data needed to evaluate…

In fashioning public school finance systems, states must balance competing values. Michigan's replacement of a general-aid formula and numerous categorical grant programs with a modified foundation formula constituted a substantial shift away from choice (local determination of spending level) and toward equality (smaller intradistrict spending…

Award-winning Colorado Springs Superintendent Trevor Burnley has dedicated his energies to the "kid business"; he recently adopted his two young grandchildren and works diligently to keep schoolchildren away from the eight-ball. Faced with a slashed budget, he had to cut staff and freeze salaries, earning teachers' resentment. He…

Reports findings of a study to determine the equity of the current Indiana fiscal distribution for pupil transportation expenditures and develop a more equitable funding model, if possible. If new state appropriation monies are added, a percentage equalizing method should be instituted that would assist school corporations in greatest need. (seven…

This article brings attention to decision-making in the world of state financing for higher education. It reflects on the origin of this field and the system builders in the 1960s and 1970s, who needed to figure out rational ways to both justify funding requests to the state and distribute resources among institutions. The article highlights one…