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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Infographic: How Student-Centered Funding Works and How to Get There
How policymakers can align education funding with students' needs.
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Inform: Give Stakeholders The Information They Need to Make Sound Education Funding Decisions
Financial transparency can help leaders get the most out of education dollars while shining light on their spending decisions.
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Empower: How to Put Families and School Leaders in the Driver’s Seat
Policymakers should let those who are closest to kids decide how education dollars are spent, and families should be given options outside of their residentially-assigned public schools.
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Equalize: Education Funding Policies That Put All Kids on a Level Playing Field
Education dollars should be equalized to ensure that funding is based on students, not property wealth or zip code.
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Streamline: How to Allocate Education Dollars Strategically
Education dollars should be allocated based on students’ needs using a weighted-student formula so that funding is fair, portable, and transparent.
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A Student-Centered Funding Roadmap for Policymakers
Student-centered funding models treat every child more fairly, better recognize individuality, and allow for innovation and progress.
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Planning For Potential Budget Cutbacks In Michigan: Sustainable School Finance Solutions
Even in a constrained fiscal environment, Michigan can improve education funding equity and better empower local school leaders.
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School Finance Systems Need to Fairly Accommodate Enrollment Trends, Not Ignore Them
Enrollment patterns play a big role in determining both school district operations and state education funding.
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Teachers and Families Could Benefit From School Choice Reforms
School choice reforms could raise teacher pay, provide a check on top-down curriculum requirements and standardized testing, and give power back to educators and families.
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“Nice White Parents” Podcast Series Highlights Real Public K-12 Failures—But Lets Government Off the Hook
While the podcast exposes concerning racial inequalities it fails to hold accountable the major culprits behind the unfair education system.
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Three Things Policymakers Can Do to Improve School Finance Systems Right Now
There are practical and prudent steps policymakers can take to help schools support kids in the coming school year.
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Infographic — Idaho School Finance: How It Works and How to Improve the System
Idaho should streamline its education funding system into a weighted-student formula that allocates dollars based on local students' needs.
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It Is Time to Fix Systemic Inequities in Education Funding
States and school systems must do away with the relationship between school funding and zip codes.
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Economic Pain of COVID-19 Increases Need for School Finance Reform
Lawmakers need to embrace school finance reforms that boost equity and flexibility to ensure the looming economic pain is not being shouldered disproportionately by low-income students and communities.
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How Michigan Can Avoid K-12 Budget Cuts Hurting the Highest-Need Students
Disadvantaged students — who are already the most vulnerable to economic uncertainty — shouldn’t also have to shoulder the most severe losses.
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Three Ways to Ensure Education Funding Reaches the Students Who Need It Most
Three principles to guide education and stimulus spending during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Federal K-12 Education Stimulus Spending of 2009
As the coronavirus pandemic continues and Congress considers another relief and stimulus bill, the lessons of past stimulus bills should inform spending and policy decisions.
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The Economic Downturn Increases the Need to Reform School Finance Systems
Education has rapidly changed in the past two decades and school finance systems should be reformed to reflect these new dynamics.
