Download or read book The Effects of the Outstanding Schools Act on Adequacy, Equity, and Property Tax written by Brian Lee Kirk and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Senate Bill 380, the Outstanding Schools Act of Missouri, as they relate to adequacy and equity, after two years of implementation. In its 1993 ruling, the Circuit Court of Cole County ruled that Missouri's then existing funding formula, was both inadequate and inequitable, thus rendering it unconstitutional. Senate Bill 380 was enacted with the purpose of resolving those issues. Methodology. Financial data were obtained from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for 522 school districts in Missouri for 1992-93 and 1994-95. Data collected included local tax rates, local assessed value per pupil, and total revenues per pupil. The independent variable for the study was the impact of the SB 380 funding formula. The eight dependent variables included (1) mean local revenues per pupil; (2) mean state revenues per pupil; (3) mean local and state combined revenues per pupil; (4) mean equalized operating tax levies; (5) variance in local revenues per pupil; (6) variance in state revenues per pupil; (7) variance in local and state combined revenues per pupil; and (8) variance in equalized operating tax levies. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each dependent variable. The variance and means in local, state, and combined local/state revenues per pupil prior to SB 380 was compared to the variance and means after the second year of SB 380 using a dependent T-test for correlated means and correlated variances. The T-tests were tested at the 0.01 and 0.05 alpha levels. Variances and means for tax rates were analyzed using the same techniques. Conclusions: Related to Equity. (1) At the conclusion of the 1994-95 school year the new funding structure for Missouri school districts under SB 380 is moving the schools of the state toward more statewide equity. (2) The new funding formula is beginning to work as it was designed to work. Related to Adequacy. (3) Funding for Missouri school districts has increased at both the state and local levels. Trends. (4) As a result of the SB 380 funding formula, local property tax rates have and will probably continue to increase.