The history of and issues involved in the implementation of a tax appraisal program in West Virginia are highlighted in this paper, with a focus on taxation litigation since 1975. Efforts of the state legislature to implement a uniform tax system since the 1982 "Recht Decision," which found the state school funding system to be…

Ways of measuring the fiscal capacity of school systems are examined in this paper, which presents a representative tax system model. Fiscal capacity is influenced by factors other than tax base size; the "ideal" model should address adjustments for variations in cost across communities and school systems. The first section examines the…

Ways of rethinking school financial policy issues are examined in this report. This rethinking has evolved from growing recognition of two related principles: school finance as part of public finance; and policy formation as a product of commitments and constraints. Principles of public finance, commitments and constraints are described. Five…

Data on the financial position of Ontario's universities are provided. Statistical tables and graphs cover: expenditures per client served, 1977-1985; percentage increase in provincial operating grants and total budgetary expenditures, 1977-1986; Ontario Universities' share of provincial budgetary expenditures; growth of Ontario Gross Domestic…

This field network study is an account of how three essential features of Reagan federalism affected South Dakota government and programs from 1981-1983: (1) tightening eligibility requirements for entitlement programs to reduce costs; (2) combining 57 categorical grants into 9 block grants, which broadened program goals to permit wider state…

Data on the financial position of Ontario's universities are provided. Among items covered by the report's 27 statistical tables and 18 graphs are: expenditures per client served, 1977-1987; percentage increase in provincial operating grants and total budgetary expenditures, 1977-1988; growth of Ontario government expenditures and grants to…

This paper focuses on state school financing systems based on the wealth of the state as a whole rather than on the wealth of a student's parents, neighborhood, or community. Studies highlight the fact that when the choice between programs and operations is debated, capital needs become the priority concern. The needed dollars and lack of…

The "Public School Districts" machine-readable data file (MRDF) is a subfile within the Common Core of Data (CCD) program (a continuation of the Elementary and Secondary General Information Survey-ELSEGIS). This file contains approximately 16,000 records, each representing a public school district (or other local agency) providing free…

Appointed in 1978, the New York State Special Task Force on Equity and Excellence in Education was charged with improving educational equity in the state. This volume of the report first presents seven alternative school finance plans developed by the task force to demonstrate how its recommendations could be implemented. The report notes each…

Seven papers examine a number of issues that have dominated school finance research and policy in the 1970s. Among the topics covered are revenue limitation movements and school finance reform, with papers on experiences in California and Nevada; educational equity, including equity in both taxpayer rates and expenditures per student; price…

The author tests several ways in which income can be added to property wealth to improve the measurement of school-district fiscal capacity. His first chapter discusses the economic and legal reasons for this improvement, notes that seven states already combine income and property, and distinguishes adding income and property together from…

A SCHOOL BUDGET CONTROVERSY IN KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, STIMULATED AN NEA-WEA SPECIAL COMMITTEE STUDY OF THE CONTROVERSY, THE COMMUNITY, THE CITY GOVERNMENT, AND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SCHOOL FINANCES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE CITY COUNCIL WERE CHRONOLOGICALLY TRACED. COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN BETWEEN THE…

This document examines the current Canadian tax structure, legislation, sources of tax revenues, exemptions, deductions, and tax treaties with foreign countries. Part I reviews the sources of revenue and explains why the tax system is so complex. Among the reasons given for the complexity are that the system must spread the tax load over as many…

This is the second in a series of reports concerned with evaluating the impacts of land development. This report discusses in considerable depth and detail how development affects the revenues and expenditures of local government. Questions include the following: (1) Will new development inflate the demand for public services and facilities in…

Decreasing enrollments of American colleges and universities of all types and geographic regions are described that have resulted in many deficits since 1968-69. Contributing to the financial squeeze are inflation, unionization, and sharp reductions in the level of scholarships and research support. Studies of four-year liberal arts colleges…