chapter 9
After the Serrano case, Proposition 13 was passed by voters in California to
Limit increases in the property tax rate.
property tax
Local real estate taxes (also cars and personal property) historically used to fund local schools.
Reformers who used the courts as a means to redistribute school funds between affluent and less affluent districts were called
Robin Hood reformers.
chief state school officer
The executive head of a state department of education. The chief state school officer is responsible for carrying out the mandates of the state board of education and enforcing educational laws and regulations. This position is also referred to as state superintendent.
accountability
The obligation of schools and teachers to be held responsible for student performance
state board of education
The state education agency that regulates policies necessary to implement legislative acts related to education.
At the end of her school lunch, Sue always looked forward to the cookies that the cafeteria sold. One day she was surprised to see her cookie iced in the shape of a famous athletic apparel brand. What Sue experienced was a type of
guerrilla marketing.
According to Donald McCarty and Charles Ramsey, authors of The School Managers: Power and Conflict in American Public Education, a school board in a community dominated by a few powerful figures will seek out a superintendent who
has a functionary style.
In the last fifty years or so, state funding for schools
has increased dramatically.
What does the example of Horatio Alger illustrate about Americans' willingness to tolerate dramatic inequities in school funding?
he American belief that wealth and success are the fruits of individual labor alone
Local school boards are responsible for all of the following
hiring and firing teachers. negotiating teacher salaries.Local school boards are responsible for all these functions. Feedback:
The school superintendent
is the most powerful education officer in the district.
Urban school districts suffer from municipal overburden in part because
lower property values reduce the tax revenues from property taxes. which are still a major source of school revenue.
San Antonio v. Rodriguez
(1973) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a Texas three-judge District Court
A local business owner decides to run for the school board. He campaigns on a platform of sound fiscal governance based on his experience as a successful businessman. He grew up in the community, attended its schools, and knows the people and their educational concerns. This person is most likely positioning himself as
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Edelman, Marian Wright
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Serrano v. Priest
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The 1960s Coleman study was influential in reinforcing American tolerance for educational inequality because it
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educational partnership
A business relationship between schools and corporations through which companies offer schools services and products and often have their corporate names used in the schools.
bond
A certificate of debt issued by a government guaranteeing payment of the original investment plus interest by a specified future date. Bonds are used by local communities to raise the funds they need to build or repair schools.
adequate education
A legal approach that ensures educational opportunities for poorer students based on state constitution guarantees for an efficient, thorough, or uniform education. Calls for adequate education have replaced previous calls for equal educational expenditures.
site-based (school-based) management
A school governance method that shifts decision making from the central district office to individual schools.
What was the importance of Edgewood v. Kirby?
A state supreme court found that gross differences in per-pupil expenditures violated the state constitution.
state department of education
An agency that operates under the direction of the state board of education, accrediting schools, certifying teachers, appropriating state school funds, and so on.
collaborative decision making
An effort to empower teachers in which teachers share power with the school principal and actively participate in curricular, budgetary, and other school policy decisions.
school boards
Elected or appointed officials who determine educational policies for school systems.
Today, governments have become less reliant on property taxes and have emphasized value added taxes to fund school districts.
False; Although only 2 percent of Americans still work the land, the property tax continues to be a major source of school revenue.
School boards derive their authority from the local government and operate at the local level.
False; Although school boards operate at the local level, their authority derives from the state.
States tend to have fairly similar interpretations of what constitutes an adequate education.
False; States differ dramatically in how they interpret adequate education and how effective or ineffective their responses are.
American public schools are funded primarily through the federal government, since the United States uses a centralized educational funding system.
False; Unlike many nations that use a centralized funding system, the U.S. has a decentralized system. Currently, the local and state governments share the biggest burden of funding schools, with the federal government responsible for just 6 to 8 percent of the total.
States differ dramatically in how they interpret adequate education and how effective or ineffective their responses are.
False; While many superintendents do enjoy status and community respect, there is a relatively high turnover rate. Politics is one reason, and financial problems, particularly in urban districts, can be another source of tension.
Marketing to children is a problem in the United States, as it is in most other industrialized countries.
False; industrialized countries do not let this happen. Television marketing to children is banned in Norway and Sweden, junk food ads for the young are banned in Britain, and Greece never allows war toys to be advertised.
block grants
Federal dollars provided to the states, with limited federal restrictions, for educational aid and program funding.
categorical grants
Financial aid to local school districts from state or federal agencies for specific purposes.
Robin Hood reformers
State legislators favoring the redistribution of revenue from wealthier to poorer communities to equalize educational funding.
Which of the following was NOT a result of San Antonio v. Rodriguez?
The Court called for congressional intervention to change funding inequities in education.
Tenth Amendment
The constitutional Amendment that establishes that areas not specifically mentioned in the Constitution as federal responsibilities are left to state authority. Since education is not mentioned, each state is free to create its own school system.
decentralization
The trend of dividing large school districts into smaller and, it is hoped, more responsive units.
consolidation
The trend toward combining small or rural school districts into larger ones.
hidden government
The unofficial power structure within a school. It cannot be identified by the official title, position, or functions of individuals. For example, it reflects the potential influence of a school secretary or custodian.
One of the important results of the Supreme Court decision in San Antonio v. Rodriguez was that education was not considered to be a fundamental right under the Constitution.
True; In a landmark decision, San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973), the Court declared that education was not a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution.
The Tenth Amendment identifies education as a state responsibility because it is not a responsibility specifically assigned to the federal government in the Constitution
True; Responsibility for the public education system resides with the states under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people."
The emphasis on teacher testing and the current controversies over developing school standards would arguably be different if teachers had been included as part of the policymaking process.
True; The current trend toward testing teachers and developing school standards is an example of what happens when teachers are left out of policy
Site-based management and collaborative decision making have not enjoyed universal popularity among teachers.
True; The results have been mixed. Some teachers enjoy making curricular and budgetary decisions, but to others such participation simply becomes "just another meeting you've got to go to."
Marian Wright Edelman's work embraces all the following
a mission of "Leave No Child Behind." ensuring quality health care for all children. training mentors to support the education of students of color and those who are poor.
School boards are often criticized for
dealing with too limited a range of issues.
Schools that have been engaged in site-based management have found that
federal policies often undermine teacher governance.
The Abbot v. Burke case is notable because it
focused attention on educational outcomes.rather than financial input.
The city council of Anytown faced difficult decisions when it met to discuss the new budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The school district requested more funds with which to operate the schools, but property values remained low and the hospital authority, the police, and the sanitation program also needed more money to fund their operations at current levels. Anytown is suffering from municipal
overburden.
The Chief State School Officer is responsible for
overseeing important school activities and functions.
When school principals are forced to prioritize the upkeep of their schools, which are they likely to place first?
placing sound baffles in the halls and commons areas to reduce unwanted noise
Advocates of equitable funding for schools believe that
poor districts should receive more assistance from the state than rich ones.
The right to an "adequate education" is
provided for under many state constitutions and laws.
An adequate education
results in different educational goals depending on the interpretations of "adequate education" in each state. Adequate education is provided through state constitutions and laws. No Child Left Behind is a federal law and requires proficiency in math, reading, and science.
As a result of the current economic environment
school districts will have to reduce the growth of technology in their schools.
Principals who have graduated from the Leadership Academy in New York City
tend to be younger than the average school principal.
