Financing New School Construction and Modernization: Evidence from California

In this paper we examine the level and distribution of school facilities spending in California. We find that spending levels dropped prior to passage of Proposition 13. While spending on school facilities has increased in the past decade, California's per capita spending is still 20 percent lower than the national average. We also find that revenue for school facilities is quite unequally distributed across school districts. This disparity is explained almost equally by differences in enrollment growth and assessed values of property.