An Analysis On American Public School Finance From The Perspective Of Equity

The research focuses on some issues about equity in public school finance in America. In school education equity is defined as equally educational opportunitiesand equitable educational outcomes.In American public school finance, the disparity of expenditure per pupil is regarded as inequitable educational opportunity. This problem is caused by different base of local property tax, which provides revenues for public school. The States change the tax system and provide aids for local governments to solve the problem. The change of tax system is to use tax from the States to partly replace local property tax to provide revenues. But the method cannot completely avoid the effect of local property tax. The primary aids from the States are guarantee foundation program and guarantee tax base program. In practice, the latter can better resolve the expenditure disparity. But neither of them can completely achieve the goal.The States were not recognized by the public on making efforts to achieve the equity of opportunities and outcomes of education. Then whether the school districts and the schools can make up for the States on the inadequate distribution of educational resources through the redistribution of educational resources? First the school districts use the main part of the educational budget spends on the classroom instruction. It makes a certain extent help to achieve the equity of educational opportunities and outcomes.Second, the researchers provided a strategic planning for schools in the interest of realizing the "success for all". The school finance will be changed by such reform from the source of funds to how the funds are used more effective to achieve the required standards of performance which are constituted by States.In general, with the attention on education quality, emphasis on education equity gradually shifted from equal education opportunity to equal education outcome in America. The method adapted to achieve equitable educational outcomes was to provide more resources to the students in poor background. Approaches adopted to resolve issues of equity in the public school finance in America can be used for reference to resolve similar problems in China.