Footnotes

1. See Missouri v. Jenkins, Freeman v. Pitts, and Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell.  [Back]

2. The leading cases are Robinson v. Cahill (Robinson I), Serrano v. Priest (Serrano II), Horton v. Meskill (Horton I), Dupree v. Alma School District, Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby (Edgewood I), Helena Elementary School District No. One v. State of Montana, Rose v. Council for Better Education, and Abbott v. Burke (Abbott II).  [Back]

3. For background on this trend, see Brennan (1977); Howard (1976); Pollock (1985); Williams (1985); Williams (1992). This trend towards increasing use of state constitutions has not gone uncriticized, however. See, for example, Gardner (1992).  [Back]

4. See Banks (1992); Johnson (1979); Thro (1989); Thro (1990).  [Back]

5. Campbell and Fischel (1996) contend that economic rationality drove voter opposition to a gubernatorial candidate who sought to comply with a state supreme court decision with an income tax-funded equalization plan—even though most taxpayers would financially benefit from equalization.  [Back]

6. For a discussion of the types of equality see Rae et al. (1981). For a discussion of how measuring the different types of equality necessarily requires the exercise of value judgements see Berne and Stiefel (1984).  [Back]

7. Because states use different accounting methods and expenditure definitions, it is not possible to compare directly expenditure and revenue categories across states. Consequently, I have had to use different categories of expenditures, or revenues, in each state. Therefore, one cannot compare equities across states—for example, that Kentucky's funds are distributed more equitably than Texas'. These figures are useful for determining trends in equity within a state over time. This way we can determine whether a particular state supreme court has been more effective than another in its efforts to promote school finance equity.  [Back]

8. The decisions were delivered in the following years: Connecticut, 1977; Texas, 1989; New Jersey, 1989; Kentucky, 1990. The New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision in 1973 that triggered an earlier round of school financing changes in that state. For an overview of the politics and results of those changes, see Goertz (1983); Goertz (1979); and Lehne (1978).  [Back]

9. The New Jersey Supreme Court confined the scope of its decision to two specified types of school districts within the state: approximately 30 "special needs" districts which are largely urban districts and roughly 110 affluent, suburban districts. In my analysis, I have only included those districts that were included within the court's decision. The equity trends shown here only demonstrate the degree to which these districts have become more equitable. It does not address the equity of all districts within the state.  [Back]

10. See Bogart and Vandoren (1993) and Mintrom (1993).  [Back]

11. I am not examining the racial affect of respondents, but their racial identity, and then estimating the likelihood that they will oppose school finance equalization. The difference is important because if one is to argue that racial prejudice drives this opposition then one needs a further measure of racial affect—or other evidence of racial hostility. Evidence of a racial cleavage on this issue is not tantamount to evidence of racial prejudice. The former is a form of racial politics; the latter is a form of racism. The two—while both lamentable and, I contend, destructive—are different.  [Back]

12. Star Ledger/Eagleton Poll (1990).  [Back]

13. For a brief and useful discussion of logistic regression techniques see Aldrich and Nelson (1984).  [Back]

14. This table and calculations follow the "first differences" formulas recommended by King (1989), pp. 107-108.  [Back]

15. The dependent variable was coded one for approval, two for disapproval; a positive parameter estimate, then, means a greater propensity to disapprove of the QEA.  [Back]

16. See Rugeley (1993). The poll surveyed 790 individuals and had a margin of error of plus or minus four points.  [Back]

17. See Associated Press (1993). The Mason-Dixon poll surveyed 819 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points.  [Back]

18. See Rugeley and Markley (1993).  [Back]

19. Professor Kent Tedin of the University of Houston has conducted surveys of Houston-area residents to determine their support for school finance equalization. Although I cannot fully compare our analyses here, I should note that we reach similar conclusions through different routes.  [Back]

20. The New Jersey Supreme Court allowed an injunction to lie against the disbursement of state funds for education in July, 1976. The entire school system shut down. Within nine days, the legislature passed an income tax in order to remove the injunction. See Lehne (1978) for details. Since then, no legislature has endured an injunction although other state courts have come perilously close, particularly Texas and Connecticut.  [Back]

List of Cases   [Top]

Abbott v. Burke, 119 N.J. 287, 575 A.2d 359. 1990. (Abbott II).

Bismark Public School District #1 v. State, 511 N.W. 2d 24. 1994.

Blase v. State, 55 Ill. 2d 94, 302 N.E. 2d 46. 1973.

Board of Education v. Walter, 58 Ohio St. 2d 368, 390 N.E. 2d 813. 1979.

Board of Education Levittown Union Free School District v. Nyquist, 57 N.Y. 2d 127, 439 N.E. 2d 359. 1982.

Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237. 1991.

Brigham v. State, (Docket No. 96-502), 1997 VT LEXIS 13. 1997.

Britt v. North Carolina State Board of Education, 86 N.C. App 282, 357 S.E. 2d 432 aff'd mem. 320 N.C. 790, 361 S.E. 2d 71. 1987.

Buse v. Smith, 74 Wis. 2d 550, 247 N.W. 2d 141. 1976.

City of Pawtucket v. Sundlun, 662 A.2d 40. 1995.

Claremont School District v. Governor, 138 N.H. 183, 635 A.2d 1375. 1993.

Coalition for Adequacy and Fairness in School Funding v. Chiles, 680 So. 2d 400. 1996.

Committee for Educational Rights v. Edgar, 174 Ill. 2d 1, 672 N.E. 2d 1178. 1996.

Danson v. Casey, 484 Pa. 415, 399 A.2d 360. 1979.

DeRolph v. State, (Docket No. 95-2066), Ohio LEXIS 687. 1997.

Dupree v. Alma School District No. 30 of Crawford County, 279 Ark. 340, 651 S.W. 2d 90. 1983.

Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby, 777 S.W. 2d 391, 33 Tex. Sup. J. 12. 1989. (Edgewood I).

Fair School Finance Council of Oklahoma, Inc. v. State, 746 P.2d 1135. 1987.

Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U.S. 467. 1992.

Gould v. Orr, 244 Neb. 163, 506 N.W. 2d 349. 1993.

Helena Elementary School District No. One v. State of Montana, 236 Mont. 44, 769 P.2d 684. 1989.

Hornbeck v. Somerset County Board of Education, 295 Md. 597, 458 A.2d 758. 1983.

Horton v. Meskill, 172 Conn. 615, 376 A.2d 359. 1977. (Horton I).

Horton v. Meskill, 195 Conn. 24, 486 A.2d 1099. 1985. (Horton III).

Knowles v. State Board of Education, 219 Kan. 271, 547 P.2d 699. 1976.

Kukor v. Grover, 148 Wis. 2d 469, 436 N.W. 2d 568. 1989.

Lujan v. Colorado State Board of Education, 649 P.2d 1005. 1982.

McDaniel v. Thomas, 248 Ga. 632, 285 S.E. 2d 156. 1982.

McDuffy v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Education, 415 Mass 545, 615 N.E. 2d 516. 1993.

Milliken v. Green, 390 Mich. 389; 212 N.W. 2d 711. 1973.

Missouri v. Jenkins, 1995.

Northshore School District No. 417 v. Kinnear, 84 Wash. 2d 685, 530 P.2d 178. 1974.

Olsen v. State ex. rel. Johnson, 276 Ore. 9, 554 P.2d 139. 1976.

Pauley v. Kelly, 162 W.Va. 672, 255 S.E. 2d 859. 1979.

Richland County v. Campbell, 294 S.C. 346 S.E. 2d 470. 1988.

Robinson v. Cahill, 62 N.J. 473, 303 A.2d 273. 1973. (Robinson I).

Roosevelt Elementary School District No. 66 v. Bishop, 179 Ariz. 233, P. 2d 806. 1994.

Rose v. Council for Better Education, 790 S.W. 2d 186. 1989.

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1. 1973.

School Administrative District No. 1 v. Commissioner, Department of Education, 659 A.2d 854. 1995.

Seattle School District No. 1 v. State of Washington, 90 Wash. 2d 476, 585 P.2d 71. 1978.

Serrano v. Priest, 5 Cal. 3d 584, 487 P.2d 1241. 1971. (Serrano I).

Serrano v. Priest, 18 Cal. 3d 728, 557 P.2d 929. 1976. (Serrano II).

Shofstall v. Hollins, 110 Ariz. 88, 515 P.2d 590. 1973.

Skeen v. State, 505 N.W. 2d 299. 1993.

State ex. rel. Woodahl v. Straub, 161 Mont. 141, 520 P.2d 776. 1974.

Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter, S.C. No. 01-S01-9209-CH-00101. 1993.

Thompson v. Engelking, 96 Idaho 793, 537 P.2d 635. 1975.

Unified School District No. 229 v. State, 256 Kan. 233. 1994.

Washakie County School District No. 1 v. Herschler, 606 P.2d 310. 1980.

References  [Top]

Aldrich, J. H., and F. D. Nelson. 1984. Linear Probability, Logit and Probit Models. Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. No. 07-045. ed. Michael S. Lewis-Beck. Beverly Hills and London: Sage Publications.

Associated Press. April, 1993. "Backers of School Proposal Face a Tough Sale, Poll Finds." Dallas Morning New. 26A.

Banks, J. 1992. "State Constitutional Analyses of Public School Finance Reform Cases: Myth or Methodology?" Vanderbilt Law Review. 45(1): 129-160.

Berne, R., and L. Stiefel. 1984. The Measurement of Equity in School Finance. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Bogart, W. T., and P. M. Vandoren. 1993. "Do Legislatures Vote Their Constituents' Wallets? (And How Would We Know If They Did?)." Southern Economic Journal. 60(2): 357-375.

Brennan, W. J., Jr. 1977. "State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights." Harvard Law Review. 90(3): 489-504.

Campbell, C. D., and W. A. Fischel. 1996. "Preferences for School Finance Systems: Voters Versus Judges." National Tax Journal. 49(1): 1-15.

Edsall, T. B., and M. D. Edsall. 1992. Chain Reaction. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gardner, J. A. 1992. "The Failed Discourse of State Constitutionalism." Michigan Law Review. 90(4): 761-837.

Goertz, M. E. 1979. Money and Education: How Far Have We Come? Princeton, NJ: Education Policy Research Institute, Educational Testing Service.

Goertz, M. E. 1983. "School Finance in New Jersey: A Decade After Robinson v. Cahill." Journal of Education Finance. 8(4): 475-489.

Hickrod, G. A. et al. 1992. The Effect of Constitutional Litigation on Education Finance: A Preliminary Analysis." Journal of Education Finance. 18(2): 180-210.

Howard, A. E. 1976. "State Courts and Constitutional Rights in the Day of the Burger Court." Virginia Law Review. 62(5): 873-944.

Johnson, A. B. 1979. "State Court Intervention in School Finance Reform." Cleveland State Law Review. 28(3): 325-372.

King, G. 1989. Unifying Political Methodology: The Likelihood Theory of Statistical Inference. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 107-108.

Lehne, R. 1978. The Quest for Justice. New York: Longman. pp. 156-163.

Mintrom, M. 1993. "Why Efforts to Equalize School Funding Have Failed: Towards a Positive Theory." Political Research Quarterly. 46(4): 847-862.

Pollock, S. G. 1985. "Adequate and Independent State Grounds as a Means of Balancing the Relationship Between State and Federal Courts." Texas Law Review. 63(6,7): 977-993.

Rae, D., D. Yates, J. Hochschild, J. Morone, and C. Fessler. 1981. Equalities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rugeley, C., and M. Markley. April, 1993. "School Finance Foes Wage Low-Budget War." Houston Chronicle. A1.

Rugeley, C. April, 1993. "Robin Hood Not Greeted Merrily." Houston Chronicle. A1.

Star Ledger/Eagleton Poll. 1990. New School Funding Plan Gets Low Grades. Eagleton Institute of Politics. Poll SL/EP 29-4 (EP 79-4).

Tarr, G. A. and M. C. Porter. 1988. State Supreme Courts in State and Nation. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Thro, W. E. 1989. "Note: To Render Them Safe: The Analysis of State Constitutional Provisions in Public School Finance Reform Litigation." Virginia Law Review. 75(8): 1639-1679.

Thro, W. E. 1990. "The Third Wave: The Impact of Montana, Kentucky, and Texas Decisions on the Future of Public School Finance Reform Litigation." Journal of Law & Education. 19(2): 219-250.

Williams, R. F. 1985. "Equality Guarantees in State Constitutional Law." Texas Law Review. 63(6,7): 1195- 1224.

Williams, R. F. 1992. "Foreword: The Importance of an Independent State Constitutional Equality Doctrine in School Finance Cases and Beyond." Connecticut Law Review. 24(3): 675-702.

[Court-Ordered School Finance Equalization...]