Country v. Town: School Finance Reform in Tennessee.

Three conference papers on school finance reform in Tennessee are presented in this document, with a focus on the disparities between rural and urban public school funding. The first paper examines the nature and size of contributions of various funding sources to the per-pupil revenue in local school districts, analyzes specific problems of the Tennessee Foundation Program (TFP), and investigates state categorical support. The second paper presents an overview of state legislation challenging the TFP's constitutionality. The declaratory judgment handed down in "Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter" (1978) held that Tennessee school funding was not uniform and was therefore in violation of the equal protection provisions in the state constitution. The third paper determines the extent to which the TFP equalized funding for all districts and concludes that none of the 1979 Tennessee School Finance Equity Study's recommendations have been implemented. Problems of the TFP included inadequate appropriations, inadequate state funding, and failure to keep up with inflation. References and tables are included with each article. (LMI)

Hirth, Marilyn A.; And Others