Education Finance
'Nutcracker Effect’: The Fiscal Outlook For States
[PDF]Presentation to the National Education Writers Association’s 61st National Seminar, outlining the effects of falling property values, demographic trends, and inflation on school finance. State revenue data are provided by region and for selected states. Concludes that schools have three choices: raise taxes, cut services, and/or find ways to use resources more cost-effectively.
Robert B. Ward, Presented at the National Education Writers Association 61st National Seminar, April 26, 2008.
State-Specific Data Reveal Growing Differences in Education Resources Since the last Recession
[PDF]State-level information about changes in K-12 revenues between 2002 and 2005. The report finds that state governments’ funding of education fell in three out of four states since the last recession, after adjusting for inflation and enrollment. By contrast, local funding of education increased in three out of five states, and federal funding grew in all states. States, however, varied greatly in their fiscal experiences. States that had previously spent more than the national average on K-12 typically maintained or increased their revenues after 2002, while states that had spent less than the national average typically saw declines in state revenues and overall spending.
Suho Bae and Thomas Gais, July 2007
K-12 Education Spending By State and Local Governments: Drop in State Revenues After Last Recession Continued in 2005
[PDF]State support for K-12 education — in inflation-adjusted, per-pupil terms — continued to fall in 2005, over two years after state revenues began to rebound from the 2001-02 recession. Increases in financial support from the federal and local governments cushioned school budgets from the full effects of cuts in state funding. But in states that have traditionally spent the least on K-12 education per pupil, these other sources were not sufficient to prevent overall education funding from dropping. These findings are described in this report by Suho Bae and Thomas Gais. The report is the third in a series of Institute reports on recent developments in state fiscal systems. Previous reports examined state social welfare spending and state-level tax and expenditure limitations.
Suho Bae and Thomas Gais, June 2007
SFN # 4.5: K-12 Education Still Growing Strongly
[PDF]According to recently released 2002 data, state and local governments increased current spending on elementary and secondary education by 39 percent between 1997 and 2002 — a period before the state fiscal crisis hit. Even after adjusting for inflation and growth in pupil enrollment, spending grew by nearly 17 percent.
Donald J. Boyd, June 2004
Challenges for Financing Public Higher Education
[PDF]Diminishing support from state governments has triggered significant increases in tuition and fees at public institutions. Meanwhile, many studies predict that the number of high school graduates will continue to increase. These and other problems bring into question the state governments’ ability to finance public institutions as less expensive alternatives to private higher education.
Nicholas Jenny and Emrah Arbak, March 2004
The State Fiscal Crisis and Higher Education
[PDF]Provides both short- and mid-term outlooks and concludes that several years of hard choices are ahead.
Donald J. Boyd, presented at The Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, October 20, 2002
K-12 Education Spending Up an Inflation-Adjusted 15 Percent Over the Last Decade
[PDF]Expenditures per pupil on public primary and secondary education increased by nearly 15 percent from the 1991-92 school year to the current 2001-02 school year, adjusting for inflation.
Nicholas W. Jenny, May 2002
Long Rise in Education Spending Slows as Economy Weakens
[PDF]Throughout the twentieth century, states and local school districts increased spending on elementary and secondary education dramatically.
Donald J. Boyd, March 2002