Equity and Efficiency of Community College Appropriations: The Role of Local Financing

This study analyzes the equity of community college financing and demonstrates intrastate variations in appropriations to community colleges. The ratio of 90th to 10th percentile values ranges from 2.0 to 2.8 in half of the states analyzed, levels which are considered high in comparison to K-12 finance inequities. In 10 states with high revenue disparities, the direction of revenue deviations is more often progressive in state-funded than in local-share states, suggesting that the local role may undermine equity. This paper explores differences in economies of scale, geographic costs, and program costs as factors determining funding disparities.