Date of Award

2000

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Terry G. Geske

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of instructional salaries with and without a state-sponsored, supply-side subsidy on the academic productivity of schools in Louisiana. The subsidy under investigation was the Level 3 allocation for instructional salaries outlined in Louisiana's Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) that provides fiscal support for educational costs to local school boards. An educational production function model within the general systems framework outlined by Rossmiller and Geske (1977) was used in this study. All selected variables were aggregated to the school-level, which served as the unit of analysis for the study. The study's final sample (n = 296) approximated the population of secondary schools in Louisiana. This study examined eight hypotheses. Bivariate correlation analyses examined the first four hypotheses. Four additional hypotheses were tested using hierarchical, regression analysis within four production function models with data collected during academic year (AY) 95--96 and AY 97--98. The bivariate correlation analyses suggested that the exogenous factor and community type inputs were significantly (p < .01, one-tailed) correlated with academic productivity during both academic years. Per-pupil expenditures for instructional salaries with and without the presence of the Level 3 subsidy were not positively correlated with academic productivity during AY 97--98. The four production function models provided no evidence that per-pupil expenditures for instructional salaries, with and without the Level 3 subsidy, influenced the academic productivity of schools in the sample. The exogenous factor and community type input produced significant (p < .01) Beta values and accounted for a majority of the variance in the dependent variable. The findings from this study provides evidence that Louisiana's educational finance policy of using the Level 3 subsidy to increase the academic productivity of secondary schools has been unsuccessful. Data suggest the benefits received by producers as a result of instructional salary increases being shifted to a third party were not reflected in academic productivity. Further, the findings suggest simple increases in per-pupil expenditures for instructional salaries had no significant impact on academic productivity in Louisiana's public secondary schools.

ISBN

9780599905696

Pages

165

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.7244

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