Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?
This book describes all the problems of using taxpayer dollars wisely in paying for public education and offers some creative solutions. It is full of surprises and is written in blessedly clear, jargon-free English. You can't really understand how we can make schools better unless you read this book. --Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist and author of Work Hard. Be Nice. How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in AmericaThis is one of the most important books ever written about public education in this country. It clearly documents how--unbeknownst to most policymakers and education administrators, not to mention the public--high-poverty schools get less than their fair share of education dollars (and certainly not extra funds to close achievement gaps). This, despite the progressive intentions embodied in policies, mission statements, and campaign promises intended to benefit our neediest students. Drawing on a decade's work pioneering new approaches to analyzing school-level finance data, Roza surfaces pervasive and systematic inequity in the way actual dollars are spent in public schools. She concludes by outlining design principles for a coherent system of education finance, one arguably more capable of furthering strategic goals or matching words to deeds. Educational Economics is crucial for those concerned about investment in and preparation of the future U.S. workforce in an increasingly competitive world. --Cynthia G. Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American ProgressA forceful analysis of why following the money in K-12 education generally leads to confusion, misalignments, and frustration. Roza lays out the problems and offers powerful ideas for improving the system. --Andrew J. Rotherham, Cofounder and Partner, Bellwether Education, and Author, Eduwonk.com