Richard King, Ph.D.

education, school, finance, policy, accountability, equity, adequacy, class size

Professor
College of Education
Phone: 941-359-4487
Fax: 941-359-4778
Office: USFSM B309

Richard King is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Associate Dean and Dean of the USFSM College of Education, overseeing undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare educators. He previously held professorships at the University of Northern Colorado (1989-2006), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984-89), University of New Mexico (1977-84), and State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia (1976-77). He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration at the SUNY at Buffalo.

Dick began his career as a high school mathematics teacher and became co-director of an urban teaching center. At the University of Northern Colorado he was Director of the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and during 1998-1999 he was the Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School. In 2001 Dick was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, and he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C, during 2004-05.

Dick's teaching and scholarly pursuits relate to school finance policy and educational law. The third edition of his co-authored textbook, School Finance: Achieving High Standards with Equity and Efficiency, was published in 2003. He has published research on state school finance structures and financial rewards for school improvement in professional journals. Spencer Foundation and Educational Testing Service grants have provided external research support. Peer recognition of contributions to the literature includes awards from professional associations, College scholar awards, and service on editorial boards of two refereed journals.

Dick chaired the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Council, and was on steering committees for accreditation reviews, at UNC. He has served on the governing board of the American Education Finance Association and as a Plenary Representative for the University Council for Educational Administration. He served on a Governor's task force, made presentations to legislative committees in several states, and assisted the Colorado Legislative Council design the school finance system. Professional activities have culminated in leadership awards from professional organizations and College service awards.

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Education

Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo
M.A.,  State University of New York, Oswego
B.A., State University of New York, Oswego

Research Interests

School finance policy and educational law.

Selected Publications and Research

Dr. Richard King's scholarly pursuits relate to school finance policy. He has co-authored three editions of a textbook, including the following which was recently translated for use in China:


King, R., Swanson, A., & Sweetland, S. (2010). Education classic series, education: School finance: Achieving high standards with equity and efficiency (3rd edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (translation in Chinese)

King, R., Swanson, A., & Sweetland, S. (2003). School finance: Achieving high standards with equity and efficiency (3rd edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

 

Reports of research on state school finance structures and financial rewards for school improvement appear in professional journals.

Recent articles include:

Sutton, L. C., & King, R. (2011). School vouchers in a climate of change. Journal of Education Finance, accepted for publication in Spring 2011 issue.

McClain, E. G., & King, R. (2009). SBOs share their thoughts: Essential technical and leadership skills. School Business Affairs, 75, 8-12.

Sutton, L. C., & King, R. (2008). Progeny of A Nation at Risk: The resurrection and cyclical nature of teacher compensation reform in the state of Florida. Florida Educational Leadership Journal, 8, 10-16.

King, R. (2007). Taiwan principals’ perspectives on finance and accountability. Educational Policy Forum, 10, 229-260.

King, R., Swanson, A., & Sweetland, S. (2005). Designing finance structures to satisfy equity and adequacy goals. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13, 1- 26. Retrieved from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v13n15/.

 

Recent presentations of papers at professional conferences include the following:

Sutton, L. C., & King, R. (2010). School vouchers in a climate of change. To be presented at University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). New Orleans, LA.

Hunsader, P., Byrd-Blake, M., Graves, S., King, R., Rushton, S., Wallace, T., & Wilson, G. P. (2010). Shared vision, shared voice: Community input for the vision and mission of a College of Education. To be presented at Florida Association of Teacher Educators (FATE). St. Petersburg.

King, R., & Sutton, L. (2010). Financing costly reforms: The case of Florida’s class size amendment. National Conference of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). Washington, D.C.

King, R. (2010). State of the States: Florida. American Educational Research Association (AERA). Denver.

Sutton, L. C., & King, R. (2009). Voucher advocate strategies for legitimizing public school funding for private school use. American Education Finance Association (AEFA). Nashville, TN.

McClain, E. G., & King, R. (2008). School business officials’ views of essential technical and leadership skills. AEFA. Denver, CO.


 

Teaching

Dr. King teaches courses related to school finance, law and policy in five universities in the United States. He has also taught in England and Taiwan. Since coming to USF Sarasota-Manatee, he has taught the following graduate courses:

  • Administrative Practicum (Internship in Educational Leadership)
  • School Finance
  • School Law
  • Technology for School Management
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