Discusses new research directions for school finance that should accompany a national policy shift toward improving education quality. Traces the evolution of school finance, outlines school finance topics related to recently enacted state education reforms, and projects future education policy isues and related financial research problems.…

When current fiscal data of New York State school districts are analyzed with information on pupil characteristics and staffing patterns, some policy issues are raised, including a mismatch between local district need and avaliable resources, shortchanging of New York City pupils, and a close relationship between local wealth and staff…

This paper's goal is to redefine fiscal health by broadening its predictive function and to determine which fiscal indicators are useful for forecasting fiscal health for one, two, and three years. Results indicate that school district fiscal health forecasts are potentially great planning tools for local for local decision makers. Includes 11…

Discusses major characteristics of the Reagan Administration's proposal to make National Direct Student Loan repayments contingent on borrowers' income. Summarizes alternative repayment schemes and legislative action to conduct an income-contingent demonstration project for 1987 through 1991. The proposal shifts loan program costs to students and…

Summarizes public school finance in New York State, focusing on recent high levels of state aid. Discusses Speaker of Assembly's role as education advocate. This powerful Democrat formed a 1983 task force that studied financing, set priorities, issued a report, and produced a five-year plan to initiate further legislative action. Contains 2…

Traces state financial aid to private colleges in New York State, culminating in McGeorge Bundy's subsidy program beginning in 1967. Questions whether students have actually benefited from Bundy Aid. A statistical analysis shows that private college tuition levels are determined more by academic quality than by costs, religious affiliation, or…

Provides a demographic and fiscal profile of New Jersey's schools and analyzes equity implications of minimum teacher salary legislation for poor school districts. Direct salary impacts should not destabilize local finances or create undue fiscal distress. Other states considering similar legislation should first examine their economic…

To help educators understand the Hawaiian system of school finance, this article reviews previous studies, describes the state government's role in the budgetary process, and discusses statewide funding impacts in comparison with other urban school districts and states having similar per capita income and student achievement ratings. Includes two…

Prospects for financing educational reform in West Virginia are grim. Added to the state's high unemployment rate are the following problems: declining sales, income, and property tax revenues and erosion of federal support due to Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. Residents have set other priorities for public funding. Includes five references. (MLH)

Examines a "Forbes" cover story on educational expenditures that poses questions related to three current research guidelines for educational finance: adequacy, equity, and efficiency. Different "production functions" must be sought for children of differing family backgrounds. Without adequate education, the world's armies,…

Summarizes American public school finance history from the post World War II period to the present, focusing on the work of R.L. Johns, Edgar Morphet, and numerous colleagues. Discusses the conflict and schism in school finance during the 1970's resulting from demands for greater equity in the face of diminishing local financing choices. (MLH)

Argues that educational provision components satisfying private demands almost invariably prevail over their public goods components. People find educating other people's children more onerous than educating their own. This effect diminishes the supply of social benefits and stifles social mobility. The condition of black, inner city, and…

Divides the history of educational federalism into three eras: (1) Presidential Federalism (from the Constitution's enactment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1958); (2) Congressional Federalism (from ESEA until Reagan's election); and (3) Gubernatorial Federalism (the 1980's). Federal aid to education has been reduced,…

Outlines the development of thinking concerning equal educational opportunities as related to school finance. Discusses effective schools research and its implications for educational equity, school operation, and professional preparation and practice. The roles of individual schools and competent leadership should prevail over preoccupation with…

In "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez" (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Texas school finance system did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment and that education was not a fundamental right deserving of strict judicial scrutiny. This paper discusses various school financing schemes recently challenged in…