TY  - JOUR
AB  - Targeted school funding is a potentially valuable policy lever to increase educational equality by race, ethnicity, and income, but it remains unclear how to target funds most effectively. We use a regression discontinuity approach to compare districts that narrowly passed or failed a school funding election. We use close tax elections in 9 states to identify effects of operating funds and close bond elections in 8 states to identify effects of capital funds. Results indicate positive achievement returns to spending, especially for math achievement and for operating funds. We find similar returns to spending by race, ethnicity, and income (not statistically different), but we find significantly larger returns for students in low-resource districts than in high-resource districts, including larger returns for Black, Latinx, and low-income students. Mediation analyses suggest spending on teacher salaries and counselors may be particularly effective mechanisms to increase achievement among Black and low-income students.
AU  - Rauscher, Emily
AU  - Mellon, Greer
AU  - Loeb, Susanna
AU  - Abott, Carolyn 
PY  - 2024
ST  - When Money Matters Most: Unpacking the Effectiveness of School Spending
TI  - When Money Matters Most: Unpacking the Effectiveness of School Spending
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1016
ER  -