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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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Toward Effective Resource Use: Assessing How Education Dollars Are Spent
  • Research Reports    

Toward Effective Resource Use: Assessing How Education Dollars Are Spent

Jason Willis, Robert Durante, Paul Gazzerro

This paper shows how districts can assess the efficiency of their own resource use compared to similar districts and judge whether non-instructional expenditures are excessive.

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Incentive-Based Financing of Schools
  • Research Reports    

Incentive-Based Financing of Schools

Eric Hanushek

This report analyzes the incentives under which public school teachers and leaders work. It concludes that there are few rewards for producing high levels of student achievement and many rewards for work that does not promote student learning.

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School Finance Systems and Their Responsiveness to Performance Pressures: A Case Study of North Carolina
  • Research Reports    

School Finance Systems and Their Responsiveness to Performance Pressures: A Case Study of North Carolina

Janet S. Hansen, Gina S. Ikemoto, Julie Marsh, Heather Barney

New accountability systems require that states and districts accomplish something never accomplished before—ensuring that all students meet state standards. This report explores how these expectations have altered resource decisions in North Carolina.

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Paying for School Finance Adequacy With the National Average Expenditure Per Pupil
  • Research Reports    

Paying for School Finance Adequacy With the National Average Expenditure Per Pupil

Allen R. Odden, Michael E. Goetz, Lawrence O. Picus

This working paper shows that many districts have accelerated student learning by reallocating funds to emphasize targeted assistance to students, fewer non-instructional burdens on teachers, greater use of instructional technology, coaching for teachers, and class size reduction targeted on core classes only.

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