ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of how public school districts are funded, usually through a mix of property taxes and federal grants for operating costs and bonds for capital projects. The chapter explores challenges to inter-district funding inequities under the federal Constitution in the first wave of school finance litigation, followed by challenges to inter-district funding disparities under state constitutions in the second wave of school finance litigation. The chapter concludes with a review of the authority of local school boards to raise and spend money.
