The State of School Finance Policy Issues, 1994

This monograph is the third in a series of reports, that provide a state-by-state review of current school-finance policy issues. It analyzes the link between the policy issues and education finance at the national level, in 31 states, and in the province of Ontario, Canada. The report is subdivided by geographic region. Part 1 contains reports from midwestern states; part 2 deals with northeastern states; part 3 reviews states in the South; part 4 is devoted to states in the West; and part 5 addresses the province of Ontario. Each chapter identifies major school-finance policy issues and provides detailed information and analysis as to how the issues are "playing out" in a state or province. The introductory article presents a national overview of school-finance policy issues in the United States. Information is based on a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) database of school-district finance data for fiscal year 1992. The data show considerable variation in all types of state aid, both within the nation and within states, which is due to geographic differences in costs, state actions, or school district actions. (LMI)