An analysis of isolation as a resource allocation factor in financing small rural schools in Oklahoma.

Abstract

Oklahoma's isolated school districts do not fit the general characterization of isolated school districts found in the literature. Oklahoma's small rural schools have been declining in number as the state became more urban. This research assumed that some rural schools would need to be considered "necessarily existent" because of geographic isolation. The findings of this research indicated that inequities exist because of disparity in income between Oklahoma's rural school districts, and that more differences occurred between small isolated and small non-isolated schools. This is interpreted to reflect the relationship between size of district and degree of ruralness. This study was concerned with school district isolation and its effect on school resources and resource management. Hypotheses concerning income, expenditures, and quality related variables were tested for isolated and non-isolated schools, with samples of schools with 0-249 enrollment and 250-500 enrollment for each category. Comparison of isolated and non-isolated districts indicated that isolation significantly affected income, expenditures, and quality as measured by total per capita expenditures, program scope, and teacher experience and education.