Waste not want not: school finance reform and educational equity in new jersey

Abstract

School finance reform is contentious. Critics charge that funds states provide to poor districts are wasted on salary increases, administrative featherbedding, and reduction of local property taxes. This paper analyzes the results of New Jersey's most recent school finance reform. The findings show that (a) little money was spent on property tax relief, (b) the salary gap between rich and poor districts remained, and (c) the proportion of staff that were administrators was comparable in both rich and poor districts. Thus, funds were not wasted, and a number of useful expenditures were made. However, after three years of reform, rich districts still spent more and had more staff.