| The “Robin Hood” Bill, formally known as Texas Senate Bill 7, fueled the 1993 policy debate over school districts' expenditures and tax rates found at the local level. Property rich school districts are well financed, while property poor districts struggle to generate sufficient resources. Texas has sought to redress this problem by changing the funding per-pupil requirements in order to equalize funding to all school districts. Its formula to equalize funding to all school districts may be effective; yet, its impact on the housing market may not be realized.;As an analysis of political economy of public school finance, this dissertation first analyzes the equity issues that surround funding requirements for all public schools. Secondly it examines the policy-making arena where the courts rule that the legislative body makes equitable funding laws. Thirdly, it develops and statistically measures the response of property values to a change in public school expenditures per pupil. The passing of Senate Bill 7 suggests an experimental design of interrupted time-series to evaluate the equalization of educational resources.;Studies that traditionally examine the effects of government policy on school funding have done so at the district level. I go on to estimate property value differentials at the elementary school zone level while controlling for the district effect. The findings suggest that convergence occurred by 1997 for the expenditures per pupil, the test results that used to measure academic achievement, and premiums on the sale of a home. With the use of GIS, I demonstrate these findings spatially.;The data comes from the Dallas Central Appraisal District, Texas Education Agency, and the independent school districts. The Tiebout Hypothesis and hedonic price modeling are used to analyze the consequences of Senate Bill 7. These finding indicate that funding to the school districts has a negative and significant effect on property values. |
