1. SOCIAL THE FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
Governance and Finance
EAF 228
Dr. Mohamed

2. Hierarchy of Educational Control
U.S. Constitution (Tenth Amendment)
State Constitutions
State Legislatures makes laws affecting public schools
State Boards of Education set policy affecting public schools
Local Boards of Education translate policy to public schools
Local Schools

3. Typical State and Local Educational Governance Structures
Citizens
Governor
State Legislature
State Courts
State Department of Education
State Board of Education
Commissioner of Education
Citizens
Local Board of Education
Superintendent

4. Typical State and Local Educational Governance Structures (continued)
Superintendent
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
Assistant Superintendent for Business
Assistant Superintendent for Special Services
Principal
Teachers and Staff
Students

5. Who Controls What? Levels of Educational Power
STATE GOVERNMENTS
• Levy taxes
• License teachers and other educators
• Set standards for school attendance, safety, etc.
• Outline minimum curricular and graduation standards (sometimes including specific textbooks to be used and competency tests for student graduation and teacher certification)
• Regulate the nature and size of local school districts

6. LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Who Controls What? Levels of Educational Power (continued)
LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS
• Implement state regulations and policies
• Create and implement local policies and practices for effective school administration
• Hire school personnel
• Provide needed funds and build appropriate facilities
• Fix salaries and working conditions
• Translate community needs into educational practice
• Initiate additional curriculum, licensing, or other requirements beyond state requirements
• Create current and long-range plans for the school district

7. Federal Budget
Source: NEA, based on the 1998 budget.

8. Public Opinion of Federal Educational Spending
Source: Greenberg-Quinlan Research, Inc./The Tarrance Group, January 1998.

9. Number of School Districts by State, School Year 1997-1998
50 states and DC 14,427
Alabama 127
Alaska 53
Arizona 307
Arkansas 311
California 994
Colorado 176
Connecticut 166
Delaware 19
District of Columbia 1
Florida 67
Georgia 180
Hawaii 1
Idaho 112
Illinois 927
Indiana 292
Iowa 377
Kansas 304
Kentucky 176
Louisiana 66
Maine 227
Maryland 24
Massachusetts 245
Michigan 659
Minnesota 373
Mississippi 152
Source: U.S. Department of Education, May 1999, p. 10.

10. Number of School Districts by State, School Year 1997-1998 (continued)
Missouri 524
Montana 457
Nebraska 624
Nevada 17
New Hampshire 165
New Jersey 581
New Mexico 89
New York 705
North Carolina 117
North Dakota 231
Ohio 611
Oklahoma 549
Oregon 198
Pennsylvania 500
Rhode Island 36
South Carolina 90
South Dakota 173
Tennessee 137
Texas 1042
Utah 40
Vermont 250
Virginia 132
Washington 296
West Virginia 55
Wisconsin 426
Wyoming 48
Source: U.S. Department of Education, May 1999, p. 10.

11. Community Power Structures, School Boards, and Superintendents
Types of School Boards
Superintendent Styles
1. Dominated
2. Factional
3. Pluralistic
4. Inert
4. Sanctioning
1. Functionary
2. Political
3. Adviser
4. Decision making

12. Everything You Always Wanted To Know about School Boards but Never Thought to Ask
• The first school board was established in 1721 in Boston.
• In the United States, there are almost 15,000 school
boards in charge of 52 million students in 87,000 schools.
• Three-quarters of the school districts are small, with fewer
than 2,500 students in each.
• Just 1 percent of the school districts in urban areas enroll
23 percent of all students in the United States.
• Eighty-five percent of local school boards are elected.
• School board members are typically white (86.9 percent),
male (55.3 percent), financially secure (more than half
earning above $50,000 and more than a third earning over
$80,000), and middle-aged (85 percent being above 41
years of age).
• School boards hire superintendents who look much like
themselves (96 percent of the superintendents are white,
89 percent are male, 95 percent are married).

13. School Year Federal State Local 1919–1920 1959–1960 1970–1971
Percentage of Revenues for Elementary and Secondary Schools from Local, State, and Federal Sources for Selected Years, to
School Year
Federal State Local
1919–1920
1959–1960
1970–1971
1980–1981
1984–1985
1991–1992
1992–1993
1996–1997
Source: U. S. Department of Education, 1995, 1999.

14. The Public Education Dollar: Expenditures by Function, School Year 1996-1997
Source: U. S. Department of Education. June, 1999, p. 5.

15. Source of Revenue per Student and School District Wealth
Source: Condition of Education, 1998.

16. Sources of Revenue for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1970-71 to 1994-95
Source: U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State School Systems; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education; and Common Core of Data surveys.

17. Current Expenditure per Pupil in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1970-71 to 1996-97
Source: U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State School Systems; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education; and Common Core of Data surveys.

18. School Resources and Student Achievement
Source: Linda Darling-Hammond, “Teachers and Teaching: Testing Policy Hypothesis From a National Commission Report,” Educational Researcher, 27, No 1, Jan-Feb 1998.

19. Legal Landmarks in Educational Finance
• Serrano v. Priest (California, 1971)
• San Antonio v. Rodriguez (U.S. Supreme Court, 1973)
• Serrano II (California, 1976)
• Levittown v. Nyquist (New York, 1982)
• Rose and Blandford v. Council for Better Education et al. (Kentucky, 1989)
• Edgewood v. Kirby (Texas, 1989)
• Abbott v. Burke (New Jersey, 1990)
Source: Adapted from Thomas Toch, “Separate but Not Equal,” Agenda 1 (Spring 1991): pp