Historical Observation of Contradiction as Constitutional Law: Wisconsin’s First School Finance Equity Case and Reform Efforts to 1975

Michael W. Simpson, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Abstract

This paper examines school finance in Wisconsin. The focus is on school finance efforts following World War II with particular emphasis on the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Several themes run throughout: activist lawyers and judges may be conservative or liberal, efforts at financial equalization are often joined by accountability and standards or possibly can be seen as part of the same forces, that tinkering reforms which are often advanced by education insiders are more likely to be implemented than drastic changes often advanced by education outsiders, and that even tinkering must preserve the relative advantage of the wealthy.

Recommended Citation

Simpson, Michael W. (2006) "Historical Observation of Contradiction as Constitutional Law: Wisconsin’s First School Finance Equity Case and Reform Efforts to 1975," Essays in Education: Vol. 17: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://openriver.winona.edu/eie/vol17/iss1/10