Spending More on the Poor? A Comprehensive Summary of State-Specific Responses to School Finance Reforms from 1990–2014

Kenneth A. Shores (), Christopher A. Candelaria () and Sarah E. Kabourek ()
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Kenneth A. Shores: Department of Education and Social Policy, College of Education and Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716
Christopher A. Candelaria: Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203-5721
Sarah E. Kabourek: Academic Research Centers NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637

Education Finance and Policy, 2023, vol. 18, issue 3, 395-422

Abstract: Sixty-seven school finance reforms (SFRs), a combination of court-ordered and legislative reforms, have taken place since 1990; however, there is little empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of SFR effects. In this study, we estimate the effects of SFRs on revenues and expenditures between 1990 and 2014 for twenty-six states. We find that, on average, per pupil spending increased, especially in low-income districts relative to high-income districts. However, underlying these average effect estimates, the distribution of state-level effect sizes ranges from negative to positive—there is substantial heterogeneity. When predicting SFR impacts, we find that multiple state-level SFRs, union strength, and some funding formula components are positively associated with SFR effect sizes in low-income districts. We also show that, on average, states without SFRs adopted funding formula components and increased K–12 state revenues similarly to states with SFRs.

Date: 2023
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