Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

We use school district tax elections to estimate the impact of funding increases on operational spending and education outcomes. The analysis indicates that 6-8 years after districts held tax elections, districts in which tax levies passed had spent up to $600 more per pupil annually. This spending came in the form of higher instructional expenditures—particularly higher salaries—and corresponds to achievement gains of approximately 0.08 standard deviations in districts with a high proportion of impoverished students. There are no achievement gains in districts with relatively advantaged students and no attainment gains regardless of district type.