Dr. David C. Thompson’s professional career has spanned the roles of classroom teacher, elementary school principal, high school principal, superintendent of schools, and the professoriate. He is a specialist in school finance litigation. His prolific publication record encompasses numerous book chapters, monographs, and refereed journal articles. A frequently invited author in respected circles, he has published chapters in four consecutive American Education Finance Association Yearbooks and has been widely published in the Journal of Education Finance, the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education’s NOLPE Handbook of School Law, West’s Education Law Reporter, books by the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), and many others. He has served on numerous boards including the Authors’ Committee of West’s Education Law Reporter, is currently legislative editor for the Journal of Education Finance, has written an invited review of school finance litigation for West’s Education Law Reporter, and is currently chair of the Board of Editors of the scholarly journal Educational Considerations. His textbooks include Fiscal Leadership for Schools: Concepts and Practices (Longman), Principles of School Business Management (ASBO), Education Finance Law: Constitutional Challenges to State Aid Plans (ELA), Money and Schools (Eye On Education), and Saving America’s School Infrastructure (IAP) with a foreword by The Honorable Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He also served as author, editor, and consultant to the Core Finance Data Task Force’s 2003 recent rewrite of the U.S. Department of Education’s authoritative handbook Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems, which significantly changed how school districts must report financial data to superior units of government. His consulting work has included advisement or expert analysis for more than 20 state departments of education, state legislatures, attorneys general, and litigants in school finance. His research has been presented to numerous major organizations, including the American Education Finance Association, Education Law Association, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and National Association of Attorneys General, and in other keynote addresses to large audiences. His scholarly work has been footnoted by the United States Supreme Court. He also served as founding director of the University Council for Educational Administration’s (UCEA) Center for Education Finance at Kansas State University and the University of Florida from 1989 to 2006. He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the UCEA Award for Sustained and Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Award for Leadership Studies. Dr. Thompson is Professor in the Graduate School and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Kansas State University.

Affiliation

Kansas State University