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.
-
Who’s Deciding How Education Funding Is Spent at North Carolina’s Schools?
Education dollars are largely spent using one-size-fits-all formulas, leaving principals with little say over how money is spent at their schools.
-
Public School Districts Should, But Don’t, Accept All Students
Some public school districts reject transfer students altogether; others erect substantial hurdles that are difficult, if not impossible, for families to clear.
-
Give Principals Authority They Need to Align School Spending With Student Priorities
Empowering school leaders to decide how resources are prioritized at their schools can help bring parents into the process, better support teachers and, most importantly, deliver the high-quality education that all of Providence’s students deserve.
-
How the Focus on Ferguson, Missouri, Could Now Help Reform Public Education Funding
District boundaries that systemically shortchange black communities such as Ferguson have no place in public education and it’s time to make them irrelevant.
-
School Principals Should Have More Say In How Education Funding Is Spent
It’s time for state legislators and school district officials to recognize that principals know what’s best for students.
-
California Can Improve the Effectiveness of its Education Spending
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget plan now calls for $101.8 billion in education spending.
-
Weighted-Student Formula Pilot Program In Federal Education Budget Could Have a Big Impact
The weighted-student funding pilot proposal has the potential to make education spending more fair for students, especially in low-income areas.
-
Awarding Education Dollars for Student Outcomes May Sound Good, but There’s a Better Type of Performance-Based Funding: School Choice
The last thing public education needs is yet another technocratic attempt to engineer better outcomes.
-
School Funding Disparities Should Alarm All, Not Just Those Who Lean Left
Not only are they manifestly unfair, but they also prevent educational freedom from flourishing.