Facing Realities: The Challenge of Advancing Fiscal Equity in Resource-Strapped Contexts

• In Event: 73.045 - New Approaches for Funding Schools: Illustrations From Australia, China, and the United States

Abstract

Weighted-student funding (WSF), also known as student-based budgeting (SBB), is a multifaceted school finance, management and governance reform that is gaining attention, particularly in urban districts. While WSF has a number of goals, its primary objective is to redress intra-district inequities in funding. This paper draws on a mixed-methods study of the WSF initiative in Prince George’s County Public Schools to examine the impact of this strategy on the distribution of financial resources to the 180 schools that were affected by it. Our findings suggest that technical, political, and economic issues embedded in the design and implementation of WSF in this resource-strapped context undermined its ability to advance its equity goals.

Authors

• Justin Dayhoff, University of Maryland - College Park

• Betty Malen, University of Maryland

• Laura Coward Egan, Westat

• Robert G. Croninger, University of Maryland - College Park