In New York State there is an uneven distribution of wealth and an unequal tax burden among the small city school districts. Because of the tax limits and rising costs for goods and services, many of these school districts have found it difficult to support their educational programs without emergency aid from the state. Such aid is frequently referred to as Hurd Aid because of a 1974 court decision (Hurd v. City of Buffalo), in which the practice of excluding employee benefit costs from the tax limitations was invalidated. The purpose of this paper is to point out some problems in the revenue shortfall approach in identifying the need for Hurd Aid, to explain some of the complexity of school expenditures and revenues, and to suggest other approaches in analyzing the need for Hurd Aid. Three tables illustrate the uneven wealth among the school districts and their relative rankings in their respective counties by operating expenditures and wealth measures. Among specific recommendations for an aid program to small city school districts are that districts demonstrating a tax effort at least equal to the county or regional average tax effort and that have a pupil/staff ratio below the county or regional average should receive a grant to expand educational opportunities for pupils. A glossary is attached. (MLF)