School Finance Systems: Aging Structures in Need of Renovation

Abstract

This article argues that traditional school finance systems are aging structures in need of dramatic change to make them more supportive of the goals and strategies of standards-and school-based education reform. This article reviews the shortcomings of current finance structures, provides several suggestions for changing school finance structures, including a shift from fiscal equity toward educational adequacy, and also suggests several performance enhancement elements that could enhance such new school finance systems.