Aaron Garth Smith
Director of Education Reform, Reason Foundation
Aaron Garth Smith is the Director of Education Reform at Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank advancing free minds and free markets.
Prior to joining Reason, Smith was senior director of analytics at YES Prep Public Charter Schools, a nationally-renowned charter management organization serving over 12,000 students in Houston.
Smith has worked in numerous states on school finance reforms and his writing has appeared in various publications, including Education Week, Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News and Los Angeles Business Journal.
Aaron graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor's degree in business administration and earned a Master of Business Administration from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Aaron is based in Houston, Texas.
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Here’s What Texas Should Do, And Avoid, To Reform School Finance
Texas' school finance system is riddled with complexities that diminish fairness and productivity.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, February 2019
Personalizing education funding, North Carolina's school finance system in need of an overhaul, and more.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, January 2019
LAUSD strike, what millennial parents are getting right about their kids' educations, and more.
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LAUSD Must Resist Mandates That Restrict Flexibility And Increase Inequality
LAUSD is facing a fiscal cliff.
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How Some Local Funding Quirks Are Blocking School Choice
Sweeping changes to the school finance system are receiving high marks. But there's still work to be done.
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Unfair Local Education Funding Keeps Schools From Accepting Students Across District Lines. Here Are Some Ways to Fix That
For state policymakers, the lesson is clear: Funding equity is a key component of educational choice.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, December 2018
Empowering Atlanta's schools, updating Nevada's school finance system, claims about charter schools and more.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, October 2018
A constitutional right to education would be a win for school choice, Texas' system of great schools promotes school-level autonomy, and more.
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Why Local Education Funding Favors Politics Over Parents—And How To Fix It
Why policymakers should eliminate local operating revenues and move to a full-state funding model.