Aaron Garth Smith is the director of education reform at Reason Foundation.
Smith works extensively on education finance policy and his writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including National Review, The Hill, and Education Week.
Smith graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor's degree in business administration and earned a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University. He is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Making Tennessee’s school finance system more transparent, flexible and fair
Only three percent of Tennessee's education funding was allocated based on student characteristics like being in a low income family, being in foster care, or needing special education services.
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Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut on New Hampshire’s Learn Everywhere program
Aaron Garth Smith and New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut sit down to discuss Learn Everywhere.
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K-12 funding in Tennessee: A student-centered approach
By adopting a student-centered funding model, Tennessee would replace the state's outdated education finance system that lacks transparency and local control.
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Public education needs the private sector
A significant portion of the $751.7 billion spent annually on K–12 education is used to purchase non-public goods and services.
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New York school spending hits record high
New York spends $30,772 per student each year.
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Benefit costs, not school choice programs, are the real drain on public education spending
Benefit costs, not school choice programs, are draining new funding from K-12 public schools.
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K-12 Education Spending Spotlight 2021: An in-depth look at school finance data and trends
Reason Foundation’s 2019 K-12 Education Spending Spotlight provides critical insight into key school finance trends across the country by providing policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders easy access to K-12 education spending data in every state.
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School choice programs aren’t draining public education funds
Spending on school choice programs pales in comparison to recent increases in employee and retiree benefit costs for education systems across the country.