Resource

The Phantom Menace: Policies that Protect Districts from Declining or Low Enrollments, Drive Up Spending, and Inhibit Adaptation

By
By John Fullerton
Guest Author
Marguerite Roza
Guest Author

This paper examines how current funding practices lead to inefficiencies, particularly through the funding of “phantom students.” The authors explain current accounting procedures in K-12 education, propose ways to make them more precise, and discuss how ending these practices would reduce costs and encourage districts to innovate.

The George W. Bush Institute’s Education Reform Initiative presents The Productivity for Results series