TOWARDS A POLITICAL THEORY OF SCHOOL FINANCE REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES
| Date | 01 February 1974 |
| Pages | 57-70 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009712 |
| Published date | 01 February 1974 |
| Author | G. ALAN HICKROD,RONALD L. LAYMON,BEN C. HUBBARD |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XII, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1974
TOWARDS A POLITICAL THEORY OF SCHOOL FINANCE
REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES1
G. ALAN HICKROD, RONALD L. LAYMON AND BEN C. HUBBARD
As interest in the "politics of education" continue to mount in the
United States it becomes important to try to explicate the fundamental
political ideology which continues to shape current developments in
school finance in that country. In this article it is argued that there is an
identifiable "democratic theory of school finance" and that the roots of
this political theory can be found in the works of such "classical" authors
as Aristotle, Thucydides, Thomas Jefferson, Alex de Tocqueville, Caleb
Mills,
and others. A body of current professional educational literature and
some court opinions are then summarized and illustrations are provided to
show that the basic political values of the "classical" authors are still very
much present in the newer professional literature and in the court
opinions. Finally a postscript is provided to bring the reader even closer to
additional school finance literature in the United States. Students of the
politics of education might be interested to learn that this was a bipartisan
effort. Professors Hickrod and Hubbard are normally associated with the
Democratic Party in the United States, while Professor Laymon
customarily finds himself on the Republican side of the aisle. The article
thus provides some evidence that there can be agreement on principles of
democracy and constitutional government that transcends political party
affiliation.
INTRODUCTION
Let us go back 2000 years in time to an educator writing at the end of the
great period of Greek city states before they bowed under the yoke of
Alexander the Great. We are with a man whom medieval monks would later
refer to simply as "The Philosopher." In the 1885 translation of one of his
classics, the noted Oxford Professor Benjamin Jowett says of this man's
contributions:
No other work of genius is so irregular in structure as some Aristotelian
writings. And yet this defect of form has not prevented their exercising the
greatest influence on philosophy and literature; the half-understood words
G. ALAN HICKROD, RONALD L. LAYMON, and BEN C. HUBBARD are all members
of the Department of Educational Administration at Illinois State University. DR.
HICKROD is known for his many publications in school finance and frequently serves as
consultant to such organizations as the Education Commission of the States, the United
States Office of Education, the National Educational Finance Project, the Phi Delta
Kappa Commission on School Finance, etc. DR. LAYMON teaches and does research in
the areas of general administration, curriculum and school law. University Professor BEN
C. HUBBARD is former chairman of the department and is Research Director for the
Illinois School Problems Commission.
To continue reading
Request your trial