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School Finance: Slowly, the Burden Shifts to the States

By Debra Viadero

In 1900, when the town of Stow in eastern Massachusetts was paying Josephine Newhall the less-than-princely sum of $323 to teach three grades for one semester, the townspeople more than likely picked up the tab.

At the time, schooling was largely considered a community responsibility, and Stow and towns and cities like it all across the United States shouldered nearly 80 percent of the costs of educating their young citizens. Massachusetts, chipping in a meager 15 percent on average, was no different from most states.

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