In 1994 the state of Michigan changed its school finance system. Over a nine-month period between July, 1993, and March, 1994, state legislators and the voters of Michigan acted to change the tax structure and address funding equity for public schools. In the fall of 1994, Michigan’s public schools began operating under an entirely new set of school finance reforms. The primary focus of this research is the articulation of the effects of the 1994 Michigan school funding reform (Proposal A). The purpose of this research was to conduct a policy analysis and impact analysis of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts. The research, which is drawn from Thompson (1967) and Pfeffer & Salancik (2003), traced the relationship between environment and governance actions as it pertained to fund allocation in the K-12 Michigan school system. A case study design with a qualitative emphasis was chosen as the structure of this research. The research centered upon the formulation and instrumentation of organizational changes for two northern lower Michigan school districts, as they occurred, as well as the results of those changes. Research focused around data which consisted of interviews, observational notes, state and local documents, and other artifacts. The initial focus was upon the events leading to Proposal A and why these factors necessitated change. Those data are followed by a review of the relationship between fiscal federalism, governance, and resource dependency theory and application of those findings to data relevant to the two districts in northern Michigan. This study is unique in its narrowed focus and structural specificity.
","abstract_html":"<p>In 1994 the state of Michigan changed its school finance system. Over a nine-month period between July, 1993, and March, 1994, state legislators and the voters of Michigan acted to change the tax structure and address funding equity for public schools. In the fall of 1994, Michigan’s public schools began operating under an entirely new set of school finance reforms. The primary focus of this research is the articulation of the effects of the 1994 Michigan school funding reform (Proposal A). The purpose of this research was to conduct a policy analysis and impact analysis of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts. The research, which is drawn from Thompson (1967) and Pfeffer & Salancik (2003), traced the relationship between environment and governance actions as it pertained to fund allocation in the K-12 Michigan school system. A case study design with a qualitative emphasis was chosen as the structure of this research. The research centered upon the formulation and instrumentation of organizational changes for two northern lower Michigan school districts, as they occurred, as well as the results of those changes. Research focused around data which consisted of interviews, observational notes, state and local documents, and other artifacts. The initial focus was upon the events leading to Proposal A and why these factors necessitated change. Those data are followed by a review of the relationship between fiscal federalism, governance, and resource dependency theory and application of those findings to data relevant to the two districts in northern Michigan. This study is unique in its narrowed focus and structural specificity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cooper, James D"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership and Counseling","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ronald Williamson","Derrick Fries","Theresa Saunders"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z","subjects":["Fiscal Federalism","Governance","Proposal A","Resource Dependency Theory","School Finance","School State Aid","Counseling","Leadership Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/768","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ronald Williamson","Derrick Fries","Theresa Saunders"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cooper, James D"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership and Counseling"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fiscal Federalism","Governance","Proposal A","Resource Dependency Theory","School Finance","School State Aid","Counseling","Leadership Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/768"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In 1994 the state of Michigan changed its school finance system. Over a nine-month period between July, 1993, and March, 1994, state legislators and the voters of Michigan acted to change the tax structure and address funding equity for public schools. In the fall of 1994, Michigan’s public schools began operating under an entirely new set of school finance reforms. The primary focus of this research is the articulation of the effects of the 1994 Michigan school funding reform (Proposal A). The purpose of this research was to conduct a policy analysis and impact analysis of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts. The research, which is drawn from Thompson (1967) and Pfeffer & Salancik (2003), traced the relationship between environment and governance actions as it pertained to fund allocation in the K-12 Michigan school system. A case study design with a qualitative emphasis was chosen as the structure of this research. The research centered upon the formulation and instrumentation of organizational changes for two northern lower Michigan school districts, as they occurred, as well as the results of those changes. Research focused around data which consisted of interviews, observational notes, state and local documents, and other artifacts. The initial focus was upon the events leading to Proposal A and why these factors necessitated change. Those data are followed by a review of the relationship between fiscal federalism, governance, and resource dependency theory and application of those findings to data relevant to the two districts in northern Michigan. This study is unique in its narrowed focus and structural specificity.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The impact of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ronald Williamson","Derrick Fries","Theresa Saunders"],"dc:creator":["Cooper, James D"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In 1994 the state of Michigan changed its school finance system. Over a nine-month period between July, 1993, and March, 1994, state legislators and the voters of Michigan acted to change the tax structure and address funding equity for public schools. In the fall of 1994, Michigan’s public schools began operating under an entirely new set of school finance reforms. The primary focus of this research is the articulation of the effects of the 1994 Michigan school funding reform (Proposal A). The purpose of this research was to conduct a policy analysis and impact analysis of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts. The research, which is drawn from Thompson (1967) and Pfeffer & Salancik (2003), traced the relationship between environment and governance actions as it pertained to fund allocation in the K-12 Michigan school system. A case study design with a qualitative emphasis was chosen as the structure of this research. The research centered upon the formulation and instrumentation of organizational changes for two northern lower Michigan school districts, as they occurred, as well as the results of those changes. Research focused around data which consisted of interviews, observational notes, state and local documents, and other artifacts. The initial focus was upon the events leading to Proposal A and why these factors necessitated change. Those data are followed by a review of the relationship between fiscal federalism, governance, and resource dependency theory and application of those findings to data relevant to the two districts in northern Michigan. This study is unique in its narrowed focus and structural specificity.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/768"],"dc:subject":["Fiscal Federalism","Governance","Proposal A","Resource Dependency Theory","School Finance","School State Aid","Counseling","Leadership Studies"],"dc:title":["The impact of Proposal A on two Michigan school districts"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership and Counseling"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z"}