Developments in School Finance, 1999-2000

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries. We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to: or call toll free 1–877–4ED–Pubs Data Conferences. These Conferences attracted several state department of education policymakers, fiscal analysts, and fiscal data providers from each state, who are offered fiscal training sessions and updates on developments in the field of education finance. The presenters are experts in their respective fields, each of whom has a unique perspective or interesting quantitative or qualitative research regarding emerging issues in education finance. It is my understanding that the reaction of those who attended the Conference was overwhelmingly positive. We hope that will be your reaction as well. This proceeding is the sixth education finance publication from NCES Summer Data Conferences. The papers included within present the views of the authors, and are intended to promote the exchange of ideas among researchers and policymakers. No official support by the U.S. Department of Education or NCES is intended or should be inferred. Nevertheless, NCES would be pleased if the papers provoke discussions, replications, replies, and refuta-tions in future Summer Data Conferences. Foreword J J J J Jeffr effr effr effr effre e e e ey A. y A. y A. y A. y A. O O O O Owings wings wings wings wings, , , , , A A A A Asso sso sso sso ssociat ciat ciat ciat ciate C e C e C e C e Commissioner ommissioner ommissioner ommissioner ommissioner E E E E Elementar lementar lementar lementar lementary/S y/S y/S y/S y/Sec ec ec ec econdar ondar ondar …