CPR Working Paper Series No. 62
School Finance, Equivalent Educational Expenditure and Income Distribution: Equal Dollars or Equal Chances for Success?
Kathryn Wilson, Kristina Lambright, and Timothy M. Smeeding
August 2004
This paper breaks new ground in the debate on school finance and equality of per pupil school expenditures. We are able to allocate expenditures per pupil at the individual student and family income level. This allows us to examine both student and school district characteristics and to assess several measures of equality of expenditure across the income distribution of parents and by funding sources. We find a surprising degree of equality in the actual amounts expended per child in low vs. high income families. But, adjusting for student needs to reach equivalent education expenditures results in much great inequality over the income distribution. Policy implications for school finance and increased equality of educational opportunity are drawn in closing.
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