School Finance: State Efforts to Equalize Funding Between Wealthy and Poor School Districts
HEHS-98-92
Published: Jun 16, 1998. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how well state funding is targeted to poor school districts.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| If federal policymakers want to encourage greater state efforts to reduce funding gaps between poor and wealthy districts, then Congress may wish to consider establishing additional or different incentives than those that federal programs now have. |
Closed – Implemented
|
In this report, GAO concluded that one policy decision for the federal government for reducing or eliminating funding gaps involves whether to increase targeting to poor students, knowing that such targeting can affect funding equalization. In the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Congress greatly enhanced the incentives by (1) expanding the definition of equity factors in the formula for the Finance Incentive Grants, (2) funding Targeted and Finance Incentive Grants for the first time, and (3) distributing large increases in funding for Title I almost exclusively through targeted grants. |
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Topics
Aid for educationDisadvantaged personsElementary educationMunicipal taxesPublic schoolsSchool districtsSecondary educationState aidlocal relationsTax base