A Study of the Principles and Methods of Educational Finance as They Pertain to Greece Central School District #1

Abstract

The question on how to properly finance public schools is an important one. In this study, the author explains the methods used in the State of New York. The Town of Greece is used to illustrate how these methods are used in a real life example. The revenue used for education comes from multiple sources including state aid, cafeterias, property taxes, and miscellaneous. Originally, state aid would compensate for all financial needs not met. This meant that a rich community could pay less and receive more state aid than a poor community. The original program didn’t give communities an incentive to raise money for education. This was changed to make all communities pay $6.80 for every $1,000 of property value through taxation, before they were eligible for state aid. This new program gave communities a great amount of incentive to raise specific amounts of money. It also requires a richer community to raise more money than a poorer one. The amount of state aid offered is dependent upon two factors, the number of students in average daily attendance and the wealth of the community. Students are weighed differently in determining the average daily attendance, with kindergarten students counting as a half of a student, and students from grade seven to twelve counting as one and a quarter student. There are three criticisms for this method that are brought up. The cost per student remains the same while the cost of living goes up, the average daily attendance method ignores the number of teachers employed, and that the average daily attendance gives administrators incentive to close school for any minor occurrence that may lower attendance. A state aid worksheet with values is given in the appendix to help understand calculations.