Source: Education Week
How—or whether—to pour more money into public school coffers has emerged as one of the most divisive issues for states in this year’s midterm elections. In at least nine states, voters this fall will consider ambitious ballot measures that seek to increase, or in some cases curtail, how much legislatures distribute to schools. “Legislatures are having a really difficult time,” said Michael Griffith, a senior school finance analyst for the Education Commission of the States. “Taxpayers are not willing to be taxed much more. The types of taxes we have are antiquated. It’s based on an industrial economy, not a service economy. Even though the economy is fairly stable, perhaps, it’s not manifested in district spending.”