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This book presents a rationale for developing new approaches to conceptualizing the costs associated with the implementation and operation of models supporting comprehensive, community-based support systems (CCBSS) for children. CCBSS are broad-based approaches that have no single model or specification for reform; the configuration of the model is dependent on the needs, values, and perspectives of the community in which it is developed and implemented. Sections of this paper discuss various models in terms of conducting a flexible community-based cost analysis, identifying the resources needed to support the model, adjusting for marginal cost, and the distribution of cost. A cost template is presented to guide local policymakers through a systematic consideration of the total and marginal costs of the resources necessary to operate CCBSS models in their own communities. The template is intended to be a useful tool for policymakers in early planning stages--as well as those interested in monitoring the costs of initiatives already in operation--to gain a better sense of the types, amounts, and distribution of costs associated with various models of CCBSS. The template is applied to a sample model of a CCBSS. A final section draws conclusions from the previous sections and suggests next steps that should be taken in field-testing and expanding the template. (ET)

Programs serving children and families are funded through countless federal, state, and local governmental channels, as well as through private sources. Every one of these programs contains a unique set of standard rules and requirements about how funds may be used and who is eligible to receive them. Increasingly, policymakers, educators, professional service providers, and advocates have begun to recognize the limitations of such fragmented approaches to the delivery of children's services and have begun to outline new systems of children's support that integrate programs across service sectors into comprehensive, community-based support systems (CCBSS) characterized by a focus on prevention-oriented services and supports, flexibility in supporting the needs of children within the context of their families and communities, a strong community role in program design, implementation, and governance, and a focus on accountability for outcomes. This report is made up of three sections. The first section provides background on the current financing of children's services and supports, discussing the magnitude of public expenditures and public funding mechanisms. The second section, which discusses innovations in financing integrated services, includes private expenditures public financing strategies, decategorization methods, refinancing, fund redeployment, and investments in inter-professional development. The final section discusses the challenges ahead in the areas of management systems, external grant mechanism, and professional development activities. (Contains 25 references.) (ET)

This analysis of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (BEA) and its implications for public financing of education and other children's services notes that voters want more and better education and related services, and at the same time want to pay less in taxes and balance budgets at every governmental level. The first section details recent changes in budget process rules. The 1995 budget resolution signals the intention of Congress to retool some BEA procedures to suit its new agenda. The second section looks at the effect changes in rules have had on legislative strategy and funding outcomes for children's programs. Relevant changes include dramatic lowering of the caps on discretionary spending; construction of fire walls between defense and nondefense discretionary spending; pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) spending to pay for tax cuts with cuts in appropriations; and restoration of fixed deficit targets to rein in automatic growth in mandatory spending. The third section shows how BEA rules can interact with current proposals under debate in Congress, and the final section suggests items for further discussion. The paper concludes by taking the position that advocates of children's causes should focus their efforts on influencing budget and program politics rather than trying to rewrite budget process rules. (ET)

This paper reviews recent state tax-commission recommendations in selected states and identifies critical factors for the success of state tax-reform commissions. The paper focuses on factors linked to the process of forming a commission and generating the necessary consensus to enact tough reforms. It describes and compares comprehensive studies of state tax systems and evaluates the factors that contribute to successful state tax-study commissions. Tax systems are examined from 7 states for which comprehensive tax studies have been conducted in the past 10 years: Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas. Data were obtained from a review of the final reports of each commission study and interviews with study directors and commission members. A conclusion is that the primary fiscal issues facing state and local governments are state structural deficits, state financing of local school districts, and antiquated revenue structures. Although organization of the different commission reports makes across-the-board comparisons difficult, many of the reports' proposed solutions are similar. The reports recommend simplifying the state personal-income tax, making it more progressive, broadening the state's sales tax base, implementing property tax reforms (to either simplify the tax or provide tax relief), and examine corporate income tax. All studies also looked in varying degrees at the fiscal relationships between the state and local governments. Most of those interviewed identified the objective of a commission study as the ability to produce sound recommendations and "raise the level of the debate." One table is included. Appendices contain state-by-state findings and a list of state tax studies. Information on the Finance Project and its available resources is included. (LMI)

This report presents case studies from seven states showing how state governments are: (1) responding to demands for more efficient and effective delivery of children's services; (2) taking on additional responsibilities formerly handled at the federal level; and (3) passing on added responsibilities to the local level (school districts, local government, dedicated collaboratives, and neighborhood partnerships). The first section of the report discusses progress among the states in financing reform, points to many differences in approach, and notes recurring and cross-cutting themes in each state. This section concludes with observations and a list of critical, ongoing challenges for states as they continue reform efforts in the delivery of children's services. The responses of policymakers and selected education and service initiatives in California, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin are highlighted. State reports are based on interviews with major observers (key state leaders, officials and advocates) and reviews of relevant written materials. For each state there is a report, beginning with a summary, followed by a formatted illustration page, "At a Glance," showing government structure, budget process, fiscal capacity, demographics, revenues, expenditures, and resources for education and other children's services. Each state section also includes an introduction to the state's efforts to reform the financing and delivery of children's services, descriptions of specific programs, discussions of salient issues, and overall observations. (ET)

The impact of changes in Pennsylvania's special education program rules and financing system during the first 2 years of implementation (1991-92 and 1992-93) are considered. Policy objectives were: to control escalating state expenditures for special education, to give school districts greater control over special education expenditures, and to reduce the number of students identified for special education programs by using instructional support and provision of services in the regular classroom. Information is presented on controlling state and local costs through special education formula funding. Factors hypothesized to influence a district's inability to control its special education costs are analyzed, including poverty, total expenditures per pupil, percentage of special education pupils, percentage of children with severe disabilities, level of intervention, and program control. Data are provided on: school district enrollments; numbers of students receiving special education, including the location of the service delivery and provider of the service; total school district expenditures; special education expenditures; and state support of special education expenditures through the new formula. Data are also provided on special education expenditures per student and special education as a percentage of total expenditures. Initial results for the first 2 years suggest that the aims of policymakers generally are being realized, although not uniformly throughout the state. Suggestions for a continuing research agenda are offered for policymakers. Four tables present the data. (SW)

This document contains eight articles that offer a nonpartisan evaluation of the pros and cons associated with tax reforms. They were written by members of the Technical Study Group, which was established by the New York State Department of Education in 1994 to examine the generation of revenue for public education. The work of the study group comprises four broad categories: an overview and critique of the property tax as practiced in New York; proposals for reforming the real property tax; proposals for shifting tax burdens away from real property; and proposals for generating resources through improvements in the management of educational systems. Following the executive summary by David H. Monk, the contents include: (1) "Raising Revenues for New York's Public Schools: A Synthesis of Options for Policymakers" (David H. Monk); (2) "Discrepancies Between Ideal Characteristics of a Property Tax System and Current Practice in New York" (Dick Netzer and Robert Berne); (3) "Taxpayer Burden and Local Educational Finance in New York" (Hamilton Lankford and James Wycoff); (4) "Regional School Taxing Units: The Texas Experience" (Catherine Clark); (5) "Statewide Taxation of Nonresidential Property for Education: A Policy Proposal for New York State" (Helen F. Ladd and Edward W. Harris); (6) "Reducing Reliance on the School Property Tax: Rationales and Results" (Robert P. Strauss); (7) "Reducing Local School Property Taxes: Recent Experiences in Michigan" (C. Philip Kearney); and (8) "Finding Resources by Changing Management and Organization" (Allan Odden). The executive summary lists policy options for the consideration of New York State officials. (LMI)

This discussion paper raises important issues for the future of Utah's public library services, specifically, the state's bookmobile service. Federal dollars used to support daily bookmobile operations in 22 counties will come to an end with the expiration of the "Library Services and Construction Act" in 1996. Beginning in 1997, the State Library Division proposes that new funding and administrative relationships should be established. The concepts of fiscal capacity and financial effort in support of library service are proposed as central considerations in distributing additional charges to the counties, and in allocating state dollars to the counties for their library service. In addition, the counties will need to shoulder higher percentages of the total costs of services. State-funded library service "Development Grants" will continue and a state-funded "Transition Grant" should be given to the counties in 1997, 1998, and 1999, in order to give county library boards and officials time to establish priorities and adjust budgets. Three possible administrative models are proposed to govern the services in individual headquarters, beginning in 1997. These entail leaving local boards to play a restricted policy role (unified formula model); providing more flexibility to county library boards to structure the service to meet local needs (zero-based budget model); and transferring all physical assets to the county (county ownership model). The division also proposes that in 1996, each county should formalize 5-year library service plan, 1996-2000. Appendices include five tables of fiscal indicators of local government support for public library service in Utah using 1993 data, and a listing of county bookmobile headquarters. (AEF)

The well-being of a large portion of American children is distressingly low. Integrated service delivery--which provides the broadest range of education, health, housing, and social services--is viewed as one way to remedy the failure of public and private institutions to deliver effective services that can ameliorate or reverse these problems and conditions. This paper focuses on exemplary examples of community-based comprehensive service initiatives (CCBSS) in five pertinent areas: (1) restructuring intergovernmental relationships in California (Bill 1741), Iowa (Decategorization), Virginia (Comprehensive Services Act), Wisconsin (Community Aids), and Tennessee (Children's Plan); (2) tying outcome accountability to budgets in Oregon and in Minnesota; (3) efforts to create cross-system decision making bodies in Georgia (Savannah Youth Futures Authority), Missouri (Family Investment Trust), and West Virginia (Governor's Cabinet on Children and Families); (4) linking education with human services in Colorado (Family Resource Schools), California (Healthy State initiative), New Jersey (school-based services program), California (San Diego's New Beginnings program), New York (Beacons program in New York City), and Kentucky (Kentucky Education Reform Act); and (5) building comprehensive services at the neighborhood level in Maryland (Lafayette Courts, Baltimore project services team), New York (Brooklyn Center for Family Life program, and the South Bronx CCRP: Comprehensive Community Revitalization Project), and Texas (Austin's Empowerment Zones programs). The paper concludes with observations and conclusions. (ET)

The Public Law (PL) 81-874 Impact Aid Program (IAP), first authorized in 1950, was originally designed to provide financial relief to local education agencies (LEAs) that had been impacted by the expanded activities of the armed forces and other federal activities. This document describes the expansion of military activities at Fort Drum, New York, to illustrate how federal activities affect LEAs and how the financial burden has been shared at the federal, state, and local levels. In 1984, an increase in military personnel at Fort Drum led to the anticipation of higher enrollments in area schools. Because the IAP has not been fully funded and payments must be "ratably" reduced, a greater proportion of the increased educational costs is borne by state and local taxes. At the end of the 5-year military expansion period at Fort Drum, the impact on most LEAs, although significant, was actually less than expected. At the end of the 1988-89 school year, only two out of the six LEAs were heavily impacted. These two school districts received more federal Impact Aid than the other area districts. These LEAs experienced an increase in student enrollment, an increase in the number of special-needs students, and an expansion of kindergarten programs. Five tables and endnotes are included. (LMI)

Questions about inequities in educational funding were raised in New Jersey when the legislature enacted the state's second major education-finance-reform law, the Quality Education Act of 1990 (QEA). This paper describes changes in revenues, expenditures, and programs in 11 diverse New Jersey school districts during the first year of implementation of the QEA, the school year 1991-92. The sample included three types of school districts--special needs, transition aid, and foundation aid. District-level data were collected through document analysis and interviews. Site-level data were obtained through visits to at least four schools in each district, interviews with the principal and staff, and a teacher questionnaire that yielded a 60 percent response rate. Findings indicate that the QEA helped poor urban districts make significant but incremental changes in their educational programs. In contrast, the reduction of state aid to wealthy suburban districts did not undermine educational quality. Although the QEA had a modest impact on equalizing expenditures between rich and poor districts, it did produce noticeable increases in revenues and expenditures for special-needs districts. However, substantial disparities in expenditures remain between the special-needs and transition-aid districts. Finally, increased aid given to special-needs districts did not appear to be misspent. Eleven tables and five endnotes are included. (Contains 16 references.) (LMI)

This report identifies issues and offers recommendations concerning the development of all three sectors of Iowa's higher education community (community colleges, independent colleges and universities, and regent colleges and universities). The report first outlines the educational environment within Iowa in terms of demographic, educational, economic, and fiscal factors. Next, the report states Iowa's commitment to higher education and presents its mission statement for the future in providing access and choice among higher education programs of preeminent quality. Strategic issues are identified in the areas of quality, accountability, sector roles/coordination, access/choice, resource management, and support of economic development, social, and cultural needs. For each area the report presents goals, objectives, and recommended strategies and the action plans needed to implement the strategy. Action plans are proposed which would create several task forces whose jobs it will be to fulfill objectives in the areas of quality, accountability, and accessibility and choice. An appendix describes each of the three higher education sectors in Iowa. (GLR)

This report describes findings of a study conducted by the Auburn Enlarged City School District that examined the ability of New York school districts to pay for their students' educational needs. The methodology used involved an economic comparison of the largest 80 New York school districts selected on the basis of enrollment and an analysis of data for the years 1988 and 1991. The following aspects were examined: district full value; tax rates; state aid; total revenue; combined wealth ratio; enrollment trends; and small cities aid. Findings indicate that the state aid formulas, when adequately funded and without capping losses, are able to address the economic disparities among the districts. Revenue available for education was changed by reducing state aid to education and replacing it with rapid increases in property values. Because small cities lack a sufficient tax base to fund education, it is argued that the state is responsible for ensuring that the formulas provide equal educational opportunities for all students. Nineteen exhibits are included. (LMI)

This document provides an overview of the status of public education in Utah for the year 1992-1993. Chapter 1 provides a general description of the state structures that organize and control public education and identifies significant trends and developments that will affect these structures. Chapter 2 describes Utah's demographic characteristics relative to national averages and provides rural-urban comparisons. The third chapter describes the Utah Core Curriculum and graduation requirements and discusses how these standards have influenced patterns of courses taken by students. Special instructional programs and services for Utah's at-risk students are described in the fourth chapter. Chapter 5 provides a historical examination of Utah's assessment and evaluation programs, an analysis of statewide testing data since 1990, and an examination of the current trends and issues in evaluation. The sixth chapter provides background demographics of education personnel in the state, highlights major state issues and initiatives of the last decade, and identifies future personnel-related issues. The structure of Utah's school finance plan--specifically, the sources of fiscal disparity among school districts and efforts to remedy them--is described in the final chapter. Utah's tax burden is compared with that of other states. Thirty-six tables and 3 graphs are included. (LMI)

This report examines factors that contribute to the differences in local education funding, per pupil revenue, and local resident ability to support present and future educational services in West Virginia. Based on a variety of data generated during 1989-92, the study indicates: (1) the differences in support for local education are attributed to property values, the mix of property classes, and voter approval of the excess levy; (2) Class III and Class IV property values generate the regular and excess levy revenue, and account for 83 percent of local support for public schools; (3) neither the ability of local residents to pay taxes nor revenues from excess levies are included as components of the measurement for local share of the state basic education program; (4) property values and resident ability to pay taxes are only weakly related; and (5) the large differences in local education funding per pupil revenue between the highest ranked school district and the lowest ranked school district is partly due to the state's use of property tax as the single measure of local fiscal capacity. Because the State contributes 66% of the average local revenue, the bias introduced by the property-tax measure for local fiscal capacity is significant; counties with relatively high property tax revenue but low incomes are severely disadvantaged by such a single index measure. Suggestions about using a composite index are proposed. Appendices include definitions of factors examined in the study, a summary of West Virginia's school financing system, and two data charts. This report also contains 21 tables and charts. (Contains 11 references.) (LP)

This report summarizes the finances of major New York school districts during the school year 1990-91, as well as public school expenditures and state aid since 1972-73. A summary of school district expenditures compares various percentiles of operating expenditures per student and describes the magnitude of the disparity in approved operating expenditures per student between districts in the 10th and 90th percentiles for each year. Decile tables ranked by wealth and expenditures per pupil are provided. Five-year trend data are also presented on full value, expenditures, state aid, tax rates, and local revenue. These items are displayed on a per-pupil basis for the state, New York City, and the remaining school districts. A historical perspective of New York school finances is presented in the appendices. Fifteen tables and a glossary are included. (LMI)

This report briefly reviews the history of federal support of higher education in Canada and then turns, in Part II, to an overview of several factors which contribute to uncertainty over the future of federal support. It concentrates on mechanisms for federal support, and though it does not advocate a single funding option, it proposes several options. In addition, the report provides the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's position regarding federal support. This position statement calls for the federal government to continue playing a role, jointly with the provinces, in the support of higher education and university research, subject to the understanding that in the case of higher education, the federal and Quebec governments need to negotiate arrangements appropriate to Quebec's distinctiveness. In addition, the report addresses issues concerning established program financing (EPF) including restoring the original EPF formula, reforming the EPF; and replacing the EPF with a new arrangement. Appendices provide charts outlining the decreasing availability of EPF cash, and a review of the selected options for federal funding of university education and research. (GLR)

Information on basic trends in state and local government finances is presented in this fact sheet, which presents data on aggregate state and local government revenues, expenditures, and related variables for the period 1961-90. Data were derived from the Department of Commerce's National Income and Products Accounts to describe aggregate state-local trends and to contrast those with federal level trends. Data from the Bureau of Census and the Office of Management and Budget provide more detailed breakdowns of state and local revenues and expenditures. Trend data are presented in a graphic format accompanied by brief narrative descriptions. Individual sections present information on the following: the fiscal condition of the state-local sector; federal and state-local financing of domestic expenditures; state-local expenditures; state-local intergovernmental revenues; state-local own-source revenues; and recent experiences of state-local finances. Findings indicate that the state-local sector is experiencing record high tax burdens and deficits in financing current service operations and increased responsibility for financing domestic expenditures. With regard to revenue, state-local revenues from the federal government have decreased and revenues from personal income, general sales, and property taxes have increased. Five tables and 30 figures are included. Contributors to the report are listed in the appendix. (LMI)

Findings of a study that examined the relationship between Ohio school district income levels and student testing performance are presented in this paper. The first statistical analysis categorized districts by residents' average income, and the second analysis classified them according to the percentage of families receiving Aid to Dependent Children (ADC). Each group of districts was compared to the percentage of ninth-grade students who passed the state mathematics, reading, writing, and citizenship proficiency test during 1990-91. Findings indicate that the passing rates were significantly related to family wealth. Districts with higher average incomes had higher passing rates than those with lower average incomes, and districts with a lower percentage of ADC families had higher passing rates than those with a higher percentage of ADC families. Conclusions are that passing rates on proficiency tests reflect wealth, not school effectiveness or instructional quality, and that proficiency test scores are not a valid measure of educational quality. Two tables are included. (LMI)

Findings of a study that investigated the relationship between the socioeconomic characteristics of Ohio school districts and district test performance are presented in this paper. Methodology involved ANOVA analyses of data derived from the 611 Ohio school districts that participated in the state's 1989-90 testing program. The independent variable was district wealth and the dependent variable was district performance based on students' scores on the state's reading, language, and mathematics tests. Wealth was operationally defined as the average family income per tax return in the first analysis, and as the percentage of district families receiving aid to dependent children (ADC) in the second analysis. Findings show that district performance rankings were largely a measure of family wealth, which did not reflect school effectiveness or instructional quality. School districts should not be ranked according to test scores that are highly influenced by wealth, but on the basis of three categories of educational quality: access to knowledge; district expectations; and the teaching environment. Two tables are included. (LMI)

State legislatures have become increasingly willing to experiment with school choice. Since 1985, more than half the states have passed school choice laws. This article reports on a survey conducted in the summer of 1991 and updated in the fall of that year that focuses on state choice statutes. Six categories of school choice laws are discussed: (1) interdistrict transfer laws; (2) intradistrict transfer laws; (3) postsecondary enrollment option laws; (4) residential and special high schools for academically talented students; (5) educational clinics for high school dropouts; and (6) laws allowing private schools or special contractors to provide education to general school populations. A sidebar lists the states with programs in each category. Restrictions contained in the language of the laws reflect the pressures that legislatures are under when considering any school choice legislation: fiscal constraints; the desires of educational constituencies; and existing laws and court decisions that are the product of a national commitment to racially integrated schools. However, the school choice movement has been aided by the fact that state governments now pay a large share of the cost of public education, with many states providing for state aid to follow the student from the sending district to the receiving district. A second development that has aided the school choice movement is a growing consensus among state lawmakers that school choice can be an effective strategy for improving schools. (11 references) (MLF)

This report presents a model and an approach that institutions of higher education can use to analyze and project the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors on both net and gross tuition in the context of the increasing practice of tuition discounting. It is noted that two key questions drive this effort: (1) what influence does gross tuition pricing have on institutionally funded financial aid, and hence, net tuition? and (2) how much does a college or university need to increase its stated tuition rate to realize a desired level of net tuition revenue growth? To answer these questions, this report first examines relationships among tuition, student need, institutionally funded financial aid, and other institutional factors from a broad education industry perspective. The next section depicts the interaction of these elements by applying the discounting model developed to a fictitious, representative college. The detailed derivation of the model, and the formulae used, are presented in the appendix. (GLR)