Student enrollment is falling at public schools across the country, impacting funding streams and threatening financial solvency, as schools continue to be on the hook for considerable fixed costs like loans or debts. Having to...
At CRPE, our previous finance research centered on how funding systems could support the growth of charter schools and portfolio-style governance, with a strong emphasis on equity, transparency, and flexibility in resource allocation. We examined how traditional formulas often disadvantaged schools of choice and studied weighted or student-based funding models that might better match dollars to student needs.
Today, our focus has shifted to how education finance can help schools recover and adapt in the face of disruption. We study how pandemic-era funding was used, what lessons districts learned, and how the expiration of those funds creates new fiscal challenges. We also examine how shifting federal priorities—such as efforts to scale back or restructure education funding—affect schools’ capacity to innovate, sustain supports, and equitably serve all students. Across this evolution, our commitment remains the same: to understand how funding systems can be designed to meet student needs while enabling schools to respond to change.
Student enrollment is falling at public schools across the country, impacting funding streams and threatening financial solvency, as schools continue to be on the hook for considerable fixed costs like loans or debts. Having to...
In May 2025, we spoke with about a dozen superintendents across the country—and others who work closely with them—about challenges stemming from recent national events, including a much smaller United States Department of Education (ED),...
I was shocked recently when I read about school enrollment declines in Salt Lake City. Both the public elementary schools I attended are among the many slated for closure, and the district is slowly losing...
The Trump administration is following the Project 2025 agenda, vowing to turn federal education programs into block grants or issue blanket waivers that would let states see money in any way they want. The results...
Union militancy is rising in education beyond traditional teacher pay issues to address a broader “common good” agenda, but it seems that this progressive movement is struggling to keep its coalition united. This new era...
No shortage of ideas abound about how to address post-pandemic learning loss, mental health problems and low school attendance. But the best-sounding ideas may make demands on schools and other public agencies that they often...
Last spring, three weeks before the end of the school year, Oakland teachers walked off their jobs, causing the cancellation of eight days of instruction. The Oakland Education Association charged that the school district was...
Unionized teachers in Fresno – California’s fourth largest district – are threatening to strike. In addition to pushing for increased pay and better benefits for staff, the Fresno Teachers Association is asking for additional student...
Families, teachers, and community members whose schools are closed often pay a big price. But thoughtfully structuring the problem and carefully designing the process for deciding on a solution can help reduce public conflict.
Our analysis reveals dozens of New England districts’ federal spending priorities as they move forward with pandemic recovery.
