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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.

  • Research Reports    

Tinkering Toward Transformation: A Look at Federal School Improvement Grant Implementation

Sarah Yatsko, Robin Lake, Elizabeth Cooley Nelson, Melissa Bowen

In 2009, the federal government committed over $3 billion to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools. This report looks at the results of a field study of the first-year implementation of those grants in Washington State, where researchers found that districts and schools are using the grants for only marginal change.

  • Research Reports    

Ch. 5 – For Charter Schools and School Districts, Empty Space Equals Opportunity (HFR ’11)

Parker Baxter

In this chapter Parker Baxter argues that by reimagining the distribution of funding, facilities, and other district assets without regard to whether a school is a district school or a charter school, districts can strike a unique and powerful bargain with charter schools: shared resources and shared responsibility.

  • Research Reports    

Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2011

Robin Lake, Betheny Gross

The 6th annual edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality provides a clear roadmap for school districts and charter schools interested in working together to improve education options.

  • Research Reports    

The Changing Role of States in Education: The Move from Compliance to Performance Management

Patrick J. Murphy, Paul Hill

This essay was written for the PIE Network 5th Annual Policy Summit, September 2011. The authors argue that state education agencies need to shift from their role of compliance monitor to performance manager—a shift most are ill-positioned for.

  • Research Reports    

State Capacity for School Improvement: A First Look at Agency Resources

Patrick J. Murphy, Monica Ouijdani

This report examines whether State Education Agencies (SEAs) have the capacity they need to fulfill their expanding roles in turning around schools in need of improvement.

  • Research Reports    

Limited Capacity at the State Level: A Threat to Future School Improvement

Patrick J. Murphy, Monica Ouijdani

This study identifies key functions performed by state education agencies, estimates the relative level of resources devoted to each activity, and explores ways SEAs could free up resources to build school improvement capacity.

  • Research Reports    

Will Seniority-Based Layoffs Undermine School Improvement Efforts in Washington State?

Robin Lake, Michael DeArmond, Cristina Sepe

This brief examines why policies known as “last in, first out” may disproportionately affect schools receiving federal School Improvement Grants.

  • Research Reports    

What Does Washington State Get for Its Investment in Bonuses for Board Certified Teachers?

Jim Simpkins

Washington State is set to spend nearly $100 million in the next two years on pay bonuses for teachers who receive national board certification.

  • Research Reports    

Paying for Scale: Results of a Symposium on CMO Finance

Robin Lake, Allison Demeritt

In April 2010, the Center on Reinventing Public Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation convened a group of researchers and financial analysts to discuss how to better understand the financing and sustainability of CMOs.

  • Research Reports    

The Promise of Cafeteria-Style Benefits for Districts and Teachers

Noah Wepman, Marguerite Roza, Cristina Sepe

This brief describes how a different method of supplying benefits to employees might work for districts: cafeteria plans. While typical school district plans offer a one-size-fits-all package of benefits to employees, cafeteria plans allow employees to customize their benefits within a given cost.

13 / 2013
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