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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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, March 2017
"The state's neediest students should actually receive the tax dollars that voters and the Legislature intended to spend on them."
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An Education Savings Account Program for Texas
Public testimony before the Texas Senate Education Committee on Senate Bill 3
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, February 2017
"How have we managed to make efficient choices and simultaneously invest in our classrooms?"
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The Building Blocks for School Finance Reform in Texas
Moving away from a reliance on local property tax revenue, a comprehensive student-based budgeting program and choice can be the foundation of fundamental change in Texas.
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Seven Key Problems With Texas School Finance System That Should Be Fixed
As Texas attempts to revamp its school funding system, fixing these problems is vital.
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Center for Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, January 2017
"We believe in allowing families to choose the school that's the best fit for their children."
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California Chooses Feel Good Metrics Over Meaningful Education Measures
Parents and taxpayers deserve to know how education dollars are spent at the classroom level across grade levels and subject areas in per-pupil terms.
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Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, November 2016
"Many superintendents don’t have access to the financial data they need to make critical budgetary decisions.”
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How Student-Based Budgeting Can Help El Paso’s Schools
Clint Independent School District’s budgeting practices and the funding disparities between the district’s schools have become a key issue.
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The Fight Over English-Only Education Highlights the Need For School Choice
With a robust system of school choice, voters wouldn’t be forced to choose between educator autonomy and parental empowerment.
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Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, September 2016
“When districts pay for teachers using average salaries, it creates a loophole that allows for vast differences in dollars spent per student at the school level."
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Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, August 2016
“Education finance is one of the big civil rights issues of our time."
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School Choice, Funding Portability, and Trends In Educational Privatization
Education Chapter of Annual Privatization Report 2016
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Student-Based Budgeting Newsletter, July 2016
“If you expect us to do something different you have to give us the opportunity to craft something.”
