Financing Public Education in an Era of Change.

The essence of this book is that, while states have devised very complex finance formulas for funding elementary and secondary education, the questions of school finance remain simple:

* what or whom to fund,

* what amount to fund,

* where to get the money and

* how to share the funding among different levels of government.

In addressing these four simple questions, the book looks at the critical issues and funding questions facing America.

The authors first delve into the arena of who is being educated. Currently U.S. educational institutions are challenged and stimulated by a very different population than they had 20, or even 10, years ago. Today's population is more mobile and diverse, with large metropolitan areas and western states having a large number of minority students. The future growth appears to be consistent with current trends: The number of white births will drop, while black and other minority groups will grow at much higher rates. As the population becomes more diverse, public school policies, goals, criteria and outcomes must meet the needs of the population.

The goals that the authors address include equity, adequacy and local choice. The authors then look for a financing system that can meet the criteria of stability and predictability, responsiveness, feasibility, nonmanipulability and ease of administration. They further contend that the financing system should be able to achieve the goals with the criteria set forth and that accountability, efficiency and productivity should be the evaluation criteria.

Jordan and Lyons go on to address the different methods of funding public education, including national support, state support and local effort. They present funding mechanisms used across the United States and explain how each is computed and the variables involved. Also discussed are funding mechanisms for special education, compensatory education, bilingual education, vocational education and programs for at-risk youth. On the revenue side of the equation, the various types of taxation and their impacts for local schools are explored.

After presenting a mass of base data and information, the authors leave the reader with the issues that continue to face public education:

* nontax sources of funding for schools,

* parental choice,

* school funding related to student performance,

* educational overburden (i.e., an unusually large number of special-need students and/or the increased cost of particular student populations in some districts),

* site-based decision making and

* financial incentives for outstanding school performance.

Financing Public Education in an Era of Change is by far the best book I have read in presenting the background data, information and issues of funding education in America today. Although I did not get a strong sense of who the intended reader was, I have started to circulate it to my school board, an elected body. The book also would be an excellent reading choice for citizens and taxpayers concerned about education and the issues, and I believe it would be a very good text to use in management classes in education or funding public services. What makes this book very special is the authors' ability to present well-documented, controversial issues in a very logical and understandable format.

Financing Public Education in an Era of Change is available for $5, plus a $3 processing fee, from Phi Delta Kappa, Shipping Department, P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, IN 47402 (812/339-1156).