| Within the past decade Texas public school finance has come under great scrutiny in its attempt to provide an appropriate means for the redistribution of funds to equalize the range of expenditures per pupil while at the same time creating adequacy and excellency. The integral link between fiscal equity and educational excellence as well as the relationship between school size, resources, processes, and outcomes are issues that have come to the forefront. Research data have frequently provided inconsistent and inconclusive results regarding the correlation among these variables.;The researcher provided an in-depth five-year study of the relationships among fiscal resources, school-community practices, and student outcomes in six small, above the state average, property-wealthy districts as they implemented the mandates regarding school finance equity. This descriptive study utilized the input-process-outputs model to organize both the inquiry and the results. In addition, the 1993 outcome comparison study was replicated using 1998 data.;Among the six districts, top-performing districts had a higher residential tax base, smaller class sizes, greater staff involvement in the budget process and a positive school/community climate. Conversely, the low performing districts had a larger fund balance, little staff involvement in the budget process, and a higher teacher turnover rate. The only district that lost state funds through redistribution was the only district to significantly decrease its level of outcomes.;The outcome comparison study which examined outcome indicators from districts with 200 to 5000 enrollment, above the state average property wealth, and at least 33 percent economically disadvantaged students, found that the top performing districts were smaller, had higher attendance rates, higher total expenditures per pupil, higher state assessment scores (TAAS) and a lower percentage of economically disadvantaged students. The percentage of economically disadvantaged students had a negative relationship on each performance indicator. The same conclusion was reached in 1998 as in the 1993 study: small school districts, with sufficient monetary resources, appeared to be inherently efficient in preparing their students. |
