Aaron Garth Smith
Director of Education Reform, Reason Foundation
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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Education Funding Should Follow Students to Their Schools
There is nearly $700 billion being spent on public education each year and parents, principals and teachers are best equipped to know what students need.
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Infographic: How North Carolina School Finance Works
The state doles out staffing positions, which limits local control and causes inequities, and its funds come with strings attached.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, October 2019
In this issue: give school principals the budget authority they need, state-level education reforms, the cost-effectiveness of public charter schools in Texas, and more.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, September 2019
Reforming North Carolina's outdated funding system, better ways exist to help California's teachers save for retirement, and more.
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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.
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A Student-Centered Approach to School Finance That Benefits Every Child In North Carolina
Overhauling the state’s funding system would provide the foundation needed to unlock the potential of school leaders to maximize how and where education dollars are deployed.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, July 2019
The 2019 Weighted Student Formula Yearbook highlights best practices and shares details on how 20 districts approach weighted-student funding.
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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.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, June 2019
Not all students welcome in some Texas public school districts, fixing Title I isn't good enough, and more.
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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.
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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.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, May 2019
Texas overhauls education finance system, study concludes Wisconsin schools of choice are cost-effective, and more.
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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.
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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.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, April 2019
How to stop parents from cheating, federal education budget proposal, calls for teacher raises, and more.
