Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of additional revenues for safe school programs and services on the incidences of violent behaviors in the educational environment of a rural and urban school retrieving data from the fourth and final calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) for the 2001 to 2002, 2002 to 2003, 2003 to 2004, school years through the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). The data for the independent variables were abstracted from the Division of K-12 Public Schools. The dependent variable and primary unit of analysis in the study were the mean revenues per pupil for each of the two school districts under examination. The variables examined were the district crime rates for various categories of offense (personal property; harassment; alcohol; tobacco and other drugs; fighting; disorderly conduct; and weapons). This study used descriptive statistics to determine the impact of additional monies on two south Florida school districts in an urban and rural school district. Comparisons were made to determine the effectiveness of state funding to combat violent behaviors in these schools. From this analysis, it was concluded that while the report of specific violent activities decreased; others increased based on the funding received; while still, others had no appreciable difference. An additional finding was that money from the FEFP did not appear to cure the problem of school violence and more attention should be placed on creating strategies and building community support systems for support of schools, parents and students.

Key words: violent behaviors,School Safety and Security,rural and urban school district.