News Release
Research Examines Michigan School Finance Reform
CHICAGO—Linking school finance to school performance outcomes is here to stay, according to research by Chicago Fed Senior Economist Richard Mattoon in the June issue of the Chicago Fed Letter. In the article, titled "School funding ten years after Michigan's proposal A: Does equity equal adequacy?", Mattoon analyses Michigan's school finance reform and its primary aim to improve the equity in funding across school districts.
From the research, Mattoon notes that policymakers are turning their attention to the adequacy of education, ensuring that schools provide a desired level of learning and the necessary resources to support student achievement. He observes that this attention to adequacy of education has supplanted providing equality of resources as a guide to school finance policy. He also concludes that although Michigan's reform achieved greater funding equity and per pupil expenditure levels above the national average, it is not problem-free.
For a full text, go to the June 2004 issue of the Chicago Fed Letter.
