The Politics of School Funding

How State Political Ideology is Associated With the Allocation of Revenue to School Districts

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21581982
AutoresNathan Favero (0000-0002-8816-088X, American University, Washington, DC, USA, autor correspondente), Ali Kagalwala (0000-0002-0136-4581, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA)
Ano2025
Volume39
Fascículo3
Páginas693-722
Data de publicação2025-05-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEducational Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0895-9048 • E-ISSN: 1552-3896
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/08959048241258724
OpenAlexW4399981023
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas43

States diverge widely when it comes to education funding choices, leading to substantial differences in how much states spend on schooling, the role of local versus state revenue sources, and relative differences among districts in funding levels. Prior studies have documented that Democratic party control of state governments appears to be associated with higher levels of spending on K-12 education, but beyond that we know little about how political ideology is related to patterns of education funding allocation by states. This study examines this question using a nationwide dataset of school district expenditures from 1999 to 2015. The results indicate that states that are more politically liberal tend to provide more funds (per pupil) to local districts. More liberal states also provide relatively more favorable distributions to districts that are more urban and have larger Black student populations, in addition to perhaps rewarding districts with higher local property tax rates

Economics · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Revenue · Sociology · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Law · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Finance