No abstract

Using a comparative analysis of two rural school districts with similar demographic profiles in Mississippi, the impact on special education programming of disparate school district wealth was studied. The study revealed that the wealthy school district had far greater local revenues supporting special education that was not offset by either state or federal dollars. This revenue difference was most obvious in differences in the quality of special education personnel, with the wealthier district employing teachers with higher academic degrees and with more teaching experience. Implications for resource equalization are also discussed.