Thomas Timar
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Thomas Timar
Former Professor Emeritus, School of Education,
University of California, Davis
Thomas Timar was a professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. His areas of expertise included education finance, policy, and governance. In addition to his faculty responsibilities, he was director of the UC Davis Center for Applied Policy in Education (CAP-Ed) and a member of the steering committee for Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE). Before joining UC Davis, he was an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside. Timar earned his PhD in educational policy, law, and finance from the University of California, Berkeley.
updated 2025
Publications by Thomas Timar
How Rural District Networks Can Drive Continuous Improvement
Rural school districts face challenges in obtaining funds and technical assistance. Pivot Learning's Rural Professional Learning Network (RPLN) provides access to resources and collaboration for districts to improve instructional programs. The RPLN…
Rural District Implementation of Common Core State Standards
The adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in CA has demanded significant changes in teaching and learning, but has also faced challenges due to contextual factors and the simultaneous implementation of other major policy initiatives.…
How Districts Responded to Flexibility in Tier 3 Categorical Funds in 2010–2011
California's system of school finance is highly regulated and prescriptive. A large share of state funding is allocated through categorical programs, that is, programs whose funding is contingent upon districts using the money in a particular way or…
How 10 Districts Responded to Fiscal Flexibility, 2009–2010
This report explores how 10 California school districts responded to the deregulation of $4.5 billion in education funding, which became entirely flexible in 2009. The study investigates how district leaders made budget decisions and what local…