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ERIC Number: ED527242
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 235
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-1241-8494-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Florida Education Finance Program from 1981 to 2009: A Historical Review and Equity Analysis
Bowden, Curtis Todd
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of South Florida
In 1973, the state of Florida implemented the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). The program was developed to distribute available funds to public school districts in a more equitable manner than the Minimum Foundation Plan it replaced. Almost immediately, the Florida Education Finance Program came under attack as less equitable and unnecessarily complex. The Florida Education Finance Program provides funding to local school districts based on the number students and the types of educational programs in which they are enrolled. Through a system of program cost factors and district cost differentials the Florida Education Finance Program adjusts for the type of students and the economic environment the district serves. But does it distribute funds equitably? This study was designed to answer one central research question: "Does the Florida Education Finance Program equitably distribute available funding to public school districts in the state?" In order to answer this question, a three phase method was implemented. In the first phase a chronological development of Florida's school finance plan was developed. The second phase employed research based statistical tools to gauge the distributional equity of Florida's mechanism for distributing available funds for Florida public school districts. The final phase used Pearson product-moment correlations to gauge the fiscal neutrality of the system. The study is patterned after a similar study completed in 1982 that called into question the distributional equity of the Florida Education Finance Program. The coefficient of variation, federal range ratio, McLoone index, Verstegen index, and Gini coefficient are all research based measures of distributional equity that are resistant to inflationary pressure. Each of these measures of distributional equity yielded the same results. They showed a high level of equity in the distribution of available funding to Florida's public school districts through the Florida Education Finance Program. This study left open the questions of adequacy and the role of the state in funding public education in the state of Florida to future study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A