Although the United States Constitution does not make any federal provisions for public education, every state's constitution guarantees some level of free public schooling for its citizens (School, 2005). Each state governs its own public education system, and determines how it will be financed. The federal government, state governments, school districts, and schools all have some decision-making role in how the money is spent, with substantial variation from one school district to another. The percentage of school funding collected from different tax sources differs considerably from state to state, and traditionally, government funding for schools comes from local, state and federal sources (Sources, 2005). The American School Board Journal has estimated that 93 percent of financial support for public schools comes roughly 48.9 percent from state and 44.2 percent from local sources, with the federal government supplying only 6.9 percent of funding. Historically, the major source of funding for public schools has been property taxes (School, 2005). Most states get funding for education from state revenue sources such as the state sales tax, personal income tax, corporate income tax, excise tax or from a tax on the manufacture, sale or consumption of a commodity (Sources, 2005). Many states have a tax or revenue for education such as a general sales tax, severance tax, tobacco tax, motor vehicle license tax, gambling tax, utility tax, liquor tax, and the sale of lottery tickets.
At the local level, property tax is the main source of education revenue for most states (Sources, 2005). Funding is also obtained to a lesser extent from local sales tax and income taxes. In some districts, private sources of funding such as local education foundations provide another important source of revenue, equipment and services for the schools. Districts also pursue different fund-raising strategies such as the formation of booster clu...