The Great Recession led to marked declines in state revenue. In this paper we investigate whether (and how) local school districts modified their funding and taxing decisions in response to state aid declines in the post-recession period. Our results reveal school districts responded to state...

This paper examines voluntary contributions to public education via charitable school foundations, booster clubs, parent teacher associations, and parent teacher organizations. We use panel data on school-supporting charities with national coverage from 1995 to 2010, which we geocode and match...

This is the first study to directly examine the relationship between tax increment financing (TIF) and education expenditures, using the state of Iowa as a case study. I find that greater use of TIF is associated with reduced education expenditures. I also find little evidence to support the...

I investigate a possible unintended consequence of Proposition 2½ override behavior -- that it led to increased segregation in school districts in Massachusetts. This can occur because richer, low-minority towns tend to have more successful override votes that attract similar households with...

Student loan debt and defaults have been steadily rising, igniting public worry about the associated public and private risks. This has led to controversial regulatory attempts to curb defaults by holding colleges, particularly those in the for-profit sector, increasingly accountable for the...

School districts throughout the United States are increasingly providing greater autonomy to local public (non-charter) school principals. In 2005–06, Chicago Public Schools initiated the Autonomous Management and Performance Schools program, granting academic, programmatic, and operational...

Historically, the early childhood care and education (ECCE) workforce has been characterized as a low-education, low-compensation, low-stability workforce. In recent years, considerable investments have been made to correct this, but we lack evidence about the extent to which these investments...

National Board Certification (NBC) for teachers has become an important innovation in long-standing efforts to improve teacher quality. As states, districts, and teachers increasingly invest resources in this process, information is needed on its cost, impact, and value. This analysis estimates...