Cap and Gap: The Fiscal Effects of Property Tax Levy Limits in New York

This is the first study to examine the fiscal effects of the New York property tax levy limit, using variation from the degree of fiscal stringency across school districts and over time in its first five years of implementation. Based on a difference-in-differences estimator coupled with an event study specification, we find that the tax limit has imposed a real cap on many school districts; that is, at-limit districts' total current expenditures per pupil are significantly lower than what they would have spent absent the limit. For those affected school districts, this expenditure gap does not come from spending on teacher salaries or fringe benefits but rather from other instructional salaries/expenses, central administration, transportation, interfund transfers, and undistributed spending. We also find heterogeneity in the constraining effects of the tax limit across different need-based groups of school districts.

Abstract P005: Association Between County Elementary and Secondary Educational Policy With Cardiovascular Health

BACKGROUND: Recent research recognizing the socioeconomic influence of educational attainment on population health, including cardiovascular health (CVH), suggests that modifying educational policy to improve educational outcomes could be an effective approach to improving health outcomes. Although the positive association of educational level with health status is well documented, the effect of education policy on health outcomes is not as thoroughly studied. Identifying relationships amongst educational policy and CVH could provide a target for public policy initiatives designed to positively impact population health. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the potential effect of varying county educational policy on county and individual CVH outcomes. METHODS: Variables of county educational policy were expenditures per pupil, percent of total revenue from each state and local sources, and pupil teacher ratios. School district data from 1997-2005 sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics were adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Dept. of Labor Consumer Price Index as well as regional cost differences using the NCES Comparable Wage Index by school district, and grouped by county. County and individual CVH for 2011 was scored using the AHA’s CVH metric and data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Linear regression models were used to compare the county means for each education policy variable with both county and individual CVH scores. RESULTS: Mean percent revenue from local sources and mean pupil teacher ratio were both shown to be positively associated with county level CVH (p=0.007 and p=0.023). Individual CVH was inversely associated with mean expenditures per pupil (p=0.023), and positively associated with mean percent revenue from local (p<0.01), mean percent revenue from state (p<0.01), and mean pupil teacher ratio (p<0.001). There was an interactive effect between mean expenditure per pupil and county urbanicity on county CVH (p<0.05), which differed in rural counties compared to the most urban. There was also an interactive effect between mean percent revenue from local and county urbanicity on county CVH (p<0.001). Although no significant effect was observed for mean expenditures per pupil on county CVH, mean expenditures per pupil was inversely related to county CVH in the most urban counties (b=-3.58e-06), and positively related to county CVH in most rural counties (b=4.62e-06). Evidence of relationships between county educational policies and resources with CVH suggests the need for continued research more thoroughly examining variables of education policy as indicators for CVH. CONCLUSION: Further clarification of these relationships will help determine if educational policy adjustments driven by health improvement initiatives would be a useful addition to current strategies aimed at improving population health.

Michigan and Ohio K–12 Educational Financing Systems: Equality and Efficiency

We consider issues of equality and efficiency in two different school funding systems—a state-level system in Michigan and a foundation system in Ohio. Unlike Ohio, the Michigan system restricts districts from generating property or income tax revenue to fund operating expenditures. In both states, districts fund capital expenditures with local tax revenue. Our results indicate that although average revenue and expenditures per pupil in Michigan and Ohio are almost identical, the distributions of the various revenue sources are quite different. Ohio’s funding system has greater equality in terms of total revenue, largely due to Ohio redistributing state funds to the least wealthy districts while Michigan does not. We find relatively wealthy Michigan districts spend more on capital expenditures, whereas relatively wealthy Ohio districts spend more on labor and materials. This suggests that constraints on raising local revenue to fund operating expenditures in Michigan could create efficiency issues.

Integrating Economics In The K-12 Curriculum

This is a multi-year study of the effects of integrating economics into the curriculum on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) economics outcome scores. The study was carried out using State summary and disaggregated data and summary data for each school system in the State of Maryland. The 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2000 MSPAP economics outcome scores for grades 3, 5, and 8, constitute the dependent variable for the study with the level of integration of economics in the curriculum and class size, being the main explanatory variables. Using comparative static analysis and regression analysis three questions were addressed. The first question asks how school systems with different levels of integration of economics in the curriculum compare to the State average. The second question asks how these groupings compare to each other. The third question employs regression analysis to determine the effect of economics instruction and class size on the economics test scores. Other explanatory variables considered include: wealth per capita, income per capita, expenditures per pupil, student enrollments, and the level of performance on the overall battery of MSPAP tests.

Where Has the Money Gone? An Analysis of School District Spending in New York

An important, but infrequently discussed, aspect of whether “money matters” concerns how school district expenditures have been allocated. New York state school districts spent $12 billion more on public K–12 education in 1991–1992 than in 1979–1980. School districts increased real expenditures per pupil by 46% over the 1980–92 period. A surprisingly large portion of the additional spending has gone to students designated as disabled, whereas the share of the new money to nondisabled students has substantially decreased. Other findings address the growth in administrative expenditures, district responses to changing enrollments, and increased compensation for teachers.