State Takeover of School Systems and Within-District Fiscal Equity.

This article examines the impact of state takeovers of school districts on within-district education spending levels and equity, using newly available school-level finance data from the National Education Resource Database on Schools (NERD$) for the 2018–2019 school year. Analyzing a national sample of 24 districts taken over between 2013 and 2019 and matched comparison districts, the study finds that state takeovers are associated with increased per-pupil spending—about $550 more per student on average—with relatively greater funding directed toward schools serving higher proportions of Black and Hispanic students. While takeovers slightly improve racial and ethnic fiscal equity within districts, they do not significantly affect spending equity based on income (Free and Reduced-Price Lunch eligibility), nor do they substantially reduce overall education finance inequities or disparities in teacher quality. The findings suggest that although state takeovers can modestly increase and somewhat redistribute funding, they are insufficient alone to meaningfully address systemic inequities in school finance.