ABSTRACT
This chapter refers to four categories of resources—simple, compound, complex, and abstract—to show that inputs to schools go far beyond the simple resources that dominate the Money Myth and to understand how money is actually spent. Ever since the mid-19th century, advocates supporting higher spending for public education have had to fight tax cutters who opposed taxation and funding for schools. One of the greatest concerns among those who study school spending has been the equity of funding. In effect, time and energy are resources that depend on funding, though in these cases, the influence of money is complex and indirect rather than simple and direct. Others critiqued the waste of time on ineffective instructional practices like worksheets and movies, and exhorted educators to replace them with purposeful lessons and coherent curricula. Most importantly, focusing on resources rather than money helps us to understand the inequities in schools.
