School Finance and Adequacy

PPIC - Public Policy Institute of California informs the public discussion by providing careful analysis of the issues and trends that affect public policy. PPIC provides policymakers with the research and nonpartisan advice critical to developing innovative solutions. The website provides links to research publications and resources related to education (i.e., school finance, adequacy, class size reduction, student achievement).
www.ppic.org

High Expectations, Modest Means: The Challenge Facing California’s Public Schools
This report provides background information on the state’s academic standards, resources, and funding mechanisms. Its findings point to relatively low levels of school spending in California, a large gap between academic standards and school resources, a finance system based on previous funding levels rather than actual school resources and their costs, and questions about the most efficient uses of the state’s already modest school funds. In addition, the report addresses Proposition 98 and its origins and concludes that the (yet to be assigned) Quality Education Commission may provide a useful bridge between the State Board of Education, which sets academic and content standards, and the legislature, which allocates school funds.
http://ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=326

For Better or For Worse? School Finance Reform in California
Beginning in the 1970s, school finance in California was transformed from a local to a state system. Has this transformation been good for California? For Better or For Worse? School Finance Reform in California traces the origins of school finance reform and assesses its chief consequences. Concluding that this reform did not achieve most of its original goals, the authors attribute this failure to two factors: the reformers’ misreading of the inequities under local finance and the effects of Proposition 13.
http://ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=65

---

EdSource - Originally founded to establish a neutral, balanced, reliable source of information to explain California’s controversial Serrano v. Priest court decision mandating equity of funding among all the state’s school districts. Since that time, EdSource has broadened the public education policy topics it researches. Today EdSource covers education policy related topics such as accountability, assessment, charters, choice, models & partnerships, school finance, school management, standards, students, teacher quality, and other reforms.
www.edsource.org

School Finance Portal
This EdSource school finance portal provides information about how public education is funded, including where the money comes from, how the money is used, how California’s school finance system is set up, the state of the budget, special education funding, school facilities upkeep and construction, and links to related EdSource articles and publications.
http://edsource.org/edu_fin.cfm

Just Schools California - Provides California’s public with education news, research, information about advocacy group, and other resources. Its mission is to promote a more equitable system of public education by engaging the public. The website is produced by UCLA/IDEA (Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access). The website offers information on accountability, Brown v. Board of Education, college/work readiness, English Language Learners, facilities/overcrowding, parent involvement, school funding, school resources and conditions, and teacher quality.
http://justschools.gseis.ucla.edu/index.html

Decent Schools For California
Regarding the Williams case, this report seeks to demonstrate the psychological and academic effects that inadequate structural facilities, teacher quality and turnover, and lack of resources have on California students. Links to other expert reports on equity, school resources and conditions are available.
http://justschools.gseis.ucla.edu/research/index.html#resources