Research Library
A False Dilemma- Policy Brief
Author: Timar, T. & Roza, M.
Publisher: CDE & CAP-Ed
Publication Date: 2008, April
Summary or Abstract: Until the late 1970s, local property tax revenues comprised the major share of California's school funding. Today, the bulk of funds comes from state coffers and is state controlled. The transformation of the state's school finance system raises important questions. Most important among them is the effect that centralization of education financing has had on the capacity of the state's nearly 1,000 school districts to provide educational services. This report examines the question: Should the state impose decisions about how resources are used in districts, or should those decisions be left up to local districts and schools? Embedded in that question are important issues regarding policy goals related to equity, efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. Are those policy goals more likely to be realized in a centralized or decentralized system of school funding?