Christian Barnard
Assistant Director of Education Reform, Reason Foundation
Christian Barnard is assistant director of education reform at Reason Foundation.
Barnard's work includes research and analysis of state education and school district finance systems, with the goal of making them more equitable and innovative.
Barnard's writing has been featured in outlets including USA Today, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Times, and The Hill, among others.
Barnard previously worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability, where he conducted research on labor policy and criminal justice. He also worked for the Pioneer Institute.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and economics from Messiah College.
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Virginia’s K-12 funding system needs an overhaul, not tweaks
Virginia can do better by its students, but that requires ripping off the band-aid and pursuing a comprehensive school finance overhaul.
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Arkansas K-12 education finance series: How to improve the state’s school funding system
Arkansas is in a good position to build on recent K-12 reform successes and pursue comprehensive school finance reform in the coming year.
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Arkansas K-12 education finance series: Teacher pay before and after the 2023 LEARNS Act
The LEARNS Act will have a substantial impact on the state’s school finance system moving forward.
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Arkansas K-12 education finance series: Adequacy review findings and recommendations so far
A 2007 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling mandates that the legislature must regularly review the adequacy of the state’s K-12 funding system.
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Arkansas K-12 education finance series: How Arkansas schools are funded
While education funding in every state is complex, Arkansas enjoys a relatively streamlined and straightforward funding system.
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How the Louisiana GATOR Scholarship ESA bill could impact students and taxpayers
House Bill 745 would enable all Louisiana families to choose and customize their child’s education.
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Mississippi’s INSPIRE Act would upgrade the state’s school finance system
The proposal would improve funding fairness and better target education dollars to higher-need students.
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The key to improving California’s public schools isn’t more money
California’s inflation-adjusted K-12 education funding grew from $12,471 per student in 2002 to $16,934 per student in 2020, a 35.8% growth rate ranked ninth highest in the United States.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s education budget ignores fundamental problems
The governor largely ignores declining public school enrollment and California's unsustainable K-12 education spending.
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Arkansas K-12 education finance series: A short history of school finance reform and look at 2024’s adequacy review process
This column is the first in a series examining Arkansas’s K-12 funding system and the state legislature’s biennial adequacy review process.
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North Carolina needs to fix its education funding formula
North Carolina’s education funding formula is confusing for everyone and prioritizes funding for school districts that least need it.
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Florida’s education savings accounts won’t defund public schools
Florida is now giving all families the choice to withdraw from public schools and opt for an ESA of about $8,700 per child.
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Analyzing Nebraska’s proposed legislation impacting school finance and property taxes
State policymakers shouldn’t pass up this opportunity to decrease the education funding formula’s overreliance on property taxes and to make the formula more transparent and student-centered.
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California’s schools need to adapt to the state budget woes
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently-released budget projects a $22.5 billion deficit, which means school districts will likely need to rightsize operations.
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Three areas in K-12 education that need more transparency
Data and information on special education services, student transportation and school capacity is not readily available to parents or policymakers.
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Cracking down on critical race theory in public schools was not a winning issue
Rather than further politicize schools and classrooms, politicians should pursue policies that let parents choose whatever school is best for their children.
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School districts use ‘capacity’ to keep low-income transfer students out
School districts use arbitrary definitions of capacity to claim they are full and deny transfer requests from low-income students.
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Why teacher salaries are flat as school spending soars
Benefit costs, staffing trends and class sizes may explain why teacher salaries have remained flat while K-12 education spending has grown.