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Education Finance

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.

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The Politics of Budgets: How Fourteen Districts Reduced Spending While Protecting Student Learning Experiences
  • Research Reports    

The Politics of Budgets: How Fourteen Districts Reduced Spending While Protecting Student Learning Experiences

Lisa Chu, Paul Hill, Lydia Rainey

Fiscal crises are no longer the exception for school districts; they’re the new normal. This report examines how 14 districts and charter networks cut costs while protecting student learning experiences.

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Small Changes, Big Relief: How States Can Support School Districts While They Work Towards Strategic Leadership
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  • The Lens    

Small Changes, Big Relief: How States Can Support School Districts While They Work Towards Strategic Leadership

Lydia Rainey, Robin Lake

State education agencies (SEAs) are being asked to do something they have rarely been asked to do before: lead. As the federal government’s influence over education recedes, leaving confusion in its wake, calls for guidance, clarity, and strategic direction are shifting to states.

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Managing Through the Noise: How Superintendents See Shifts in the Federal Role in Education
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  • The Lens

Managing Through the Noise: How Superintendents See Shifts in the Federal Role in Education

Robin Lake, Paul Hill, Lydia Rainey

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), likely changes in federal Title I funding and oversight, and the various executive orders aimed at shifting more responsibility to the state and local levels.

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