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So Slow to Change: The Limited Growth of Nontax Revenues in Public Education Finance, 1991–2010

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  • Tom Downes

    (Department of Economics, Tufts University)

  • Kieran M. Killeen

    (Department of Leadership and Developmental Sciences, University of Vermont)

Abstract

We examine changes in the use of nontax revenues for education finance from 1991 to 2010. Beyond the summary of usage over time, we ask whether nontraditional revenues like fees accentuate or mitigate the impact of downturns. More generally, we examine the extent to which school districts have responded to fiscal pressures by turning to nontax revenues. We also document the extent to which the use of nontax revenues varies across districts according to student poverty status. We show that alternative revenues continue to be a small source of local revenues and have increased quite little since the early 1990s. There was at most a minimal shift to nontax revenues in downturns, though there is evidence of greater use of these revenues among school districts facing more permanent fiscal pressures like tax limits. Differential access to fee revenues and other alternative revenues during downturns may slightly accentuate inequities in K–12 education spending. © 2014 Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Downes & Kieran M. Killeen, 2014. "So Slow to Change: The Limited Growth of Nontax Revenues in Public Education Finance, 1991–2010," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 567-599, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:9:y:2014:i:4:p:567-599
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Downes, 2016. "Why have revenue-strapped New England school districts been slow to turn to alternative funding sources?," Current Policy Perspectives 16-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    2. Chernick, Howard & Reschovsky, Andrew & Newman, Sandra, 2021. "The effect of the housing crisis on the finances of central cities," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nontax revenues; education finance; fiscal pressures; student poverty status; tax limits; differential;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

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