Paul Bruno
Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
Contact
0337 Education
337 Education Building
(mail code 708)
Champaign (UIUC Campus Mail), IL 61820
Key Professional Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership , University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Membership of board , AERA Open (External organization)
- Membership of committee , Advance Illinois (External organization)
- Membership of committee , Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Illinois (External organization)
- Membership of board , National Education Finance Academy (External organization)
- Membership of committee , Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (External organization)
- Membership of committee , Deans for Impact (External organization)
Educational History
- MA, Science and Math Education, University of California, Berkeley
- BA, Philosophy/Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- MA, Economics, University of Southern California
- PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California
Awards
- Anonymous Reviewer of the Year Education Finance and Policy (2025)
- Outstanding Reviewer AERA Open (2025)
- Teachers Ranked Excellent by Their Students University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (x12 2020-2024)
- Outstanding Reviewer ACM’s SIG on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE; 2024)
- Distinguished Research and Practice Fellow National Education Finance Academy (2023)
- Journal of Education Finance Article of the Year National Education Finance Academy (2020)
- Emerging Education Policy Scholar Thomas B. Fordham Institute (2019)
- New Scholar Grant Association for Education Finance and Policy (2018)
- David L. Clark Scholar University Council for Educational Administration (2018)
- Rossier/Graduate School Ph.D. Fellow University of Southern California (2015-2019)
- Teaching Effectiveness Award University of California, Berkeley (2009)
- Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor University of California, Berkeley (2009)
- California Flanders Fellow University of California, Berkeley (2007-2009)
- Distinction in General Scholarship University of California, Berkeley (2004)
Research & Service
I am an assistant professor of education policy, organization, and leadership in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I use quantitative methods to study school finance, school choice, resource allocation in schools, and teacher quality. In addition to writing policy briefs and reports for policymakers and practitioners, I have published my research in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including Review of Public Personnel Administration, Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Education Finance, American Educational Research Journal, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.
I completed a PhD in urban education policy and a MA in economics at the University of Southern California. Prior to enrolling at USC I earned a MA in science and math education and BAs in philosophy and molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley and taught middle school science in Oakland and Los Angeles, California.
Grants
- Illinois State Board of Education (Co-PI, $405,000, 2024-2027): Illinois principal recruiment
- National Science Foundation (PI, $499,012, 2023-2026): Collaborative research: Impacts of state policy on computer science participation and teacher preparation (Nos. 2317943 and 2317944)
- UIUC College of Education Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship (PI, $6,308, 2023-2024): The operations and effectiveness of teacher hiring committees
- Illinois State Board of Education (Co-PI, $146,740, 2022-2024): Illinois principal recruiment
- UIUC Campus Research Board Research Support Award (PI, $29,182, 2021-2024): Hiring under constraint: How school administrators perceive and respond to centralized screening by the district (No. RB22001)
- UIUC College of Education COVID-19 Seed Funding (PI, $10,000, 2020-2021): Teacher hiring before, during, and after a pandemic
- Google Computer Science Education Research (CS-ER) Program (Co-PI, $125,000, 2020-2021): Equitable expansion of high school CS: Trends and trade-offs between and within states (No. 93661913)
Publications
- Bruno, P. (Accepted/In press). Pandemic-Era School Staff Shortages: Evidence from Unfilled Position Data in Illinois. Education Finance and Policy.
- Bruno, P. (2025). Spatial explanations for deferred teacher compensation: Unions and competition for teachers. Labor Studies Journal, 50(1), 71-90.
- Bruno, P. (2025). Teacher Supply and Turnover. In D. Harris (Ed.), Live Handbook of Education Policy Research Association for Education Finance and Policy.
- Bruno, P. (2025). Who teaches high-school computer science and does it matter? Computer Science Education. Advance online publication.
- Bruno, P., & Kim, H. (2024, Feb 21). Lessons learned from 10 years of California’s Local Control Funding Formula. The Brookings Institution’s Brown Center Chalkboard.
- Bruno, P. (2024). Screening Teachers Effectively Across Roles and Classrooms. Journal of Education Human Resources. Advance online publication.
- Nguyen, T. D., Lam, C. B., & Bruno, P. (2024). What Do We Know About the Extent of Teacher Shortages Nationwide? A Systematic Examination of Reports of U.S. Teacher Shortages. AERA Open, 10.
- Polikoff, M., & Bruno, P. (2024). Computer science coursetaking and science and math course performance in Milwaukee.
- Riley, B., & Bruno, P. (2024). Education hazards of generative AI.
- Bruno, P., & Polikoff, M. (2023). The effect of computer science course-taking on science outcomes in Chicago Public Schools. The Learning Partnership.
- Bruno, P. (2023). Unions, Monitoring, and Deferred Compensation: Evidence From California School Districts: Evidence From California School Districts. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 44(3), 472-492. Advance online publication.
- Isenegger, K., George, K. L., Bruno, P., & Lewis, C. M. (2023). Goal-Congruity Theory Predicts Students' Sense of Belonging in Computing Across Racial/Ethnic Groups. In SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 1069–1075)
- Saffar Perez, M., & Bruno, P. (2023). Analyzing the Effects of CTE Grant Funding on CS Course Offerings and Enrollment in California. In SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 46-52). (SIGCSE 2023 - Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Vol. 1).
- Bruno, P., & Lewis, C. M. (2022). Computer Science Trends and Trade-offs in California High Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 58(3), 386-418.
- Bruno, P. (2022, Aug 8). Figuring Out When to Panic About “Teacher Shortages”: How journalism could clarify stories about teacher hiring problems. The Education Next Blog.
- Bruno, P., Saffar Perez, M., & Lewis, C. M. (2022). Four Practical Challenges for High School Computer Science. Policy Analysis for California Education.
- Bruno, P. (2022). Weighted Student Funding and the Incentives of Charter Schools. In T. Downes, & K. M. Killeen (Eds.), Recent Advancements in Education Finance and Policy (pp. 209-238). (Research in Education Fiscal Policy and Practice). Information Age Publishing Inc..
- Bruno, P. (2022). What We Know About the Impacts of Charter Schools on District School Finances. In C. Kiracofe, M. Hirth, & T. Hutton (Eds.), Charter School Funding Considerations (pp. 115-145). (Conducting Research in Education Finance: Methods, Measurement, and Policy Perspectives). Information Age Publishing Inc..
- Mann, B. A., & Bruno, P. (2022). The effects of charter school enrollment losses and tuition reimbursements on school districts: Lifting boats or sinking them? Educational Policy, 36(5), 1078-1107.
- Nguyen, T., Lam, C., & Bruno, P. (2022). Is there a national teacher shortage? A systematic examination of reports of teacher shortages in the United States. (EdWorkingPaper; No. 22-631). Annenberg Institute at Brown University.
- Bruno, P., & Lewis, C. M. (2021). Equity in high school computer science: Beyond access. Policy Futures in Education. Advance online publication.
- Bruno, P. (2021). OPEB Accounting and Teacher Diversity. Journal of Education Human Resources, 39(2), 214-237.
- Bruno, P., & Goldhaber, D. (2021). Reflections on What Pandemic-Related State Test Waiver Requests Suggest About the Priorities for the Use of Tests. (CALDER Policy Brief; No. 26-0721). National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.
- Bruno, P., & Goldhaber, D. (2021). What pandemic-related test waiver requests suggest about states’ testing priorities. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(3), 48-53.
- Dhaliwal, T. K., & Bruno, P. (2021). The Rural/Nonrural Divide? K–12 District Spending and Implications of Equity-Based School Funding. AERA Open, 7(1), 1-21.
- Marianno, B. D., Bruno, P., & Strunk, K. O. (2021). The Effect of Teachers’ Union Contracts on School District Efficiency: Longitudinal Evidence From California. SAGE Open, 11(1).
- Bruno, P., Rabovsky, S. J., & Strunk, K. O. (2020). Taking Their First Steps: The Distribution of New Teachers in School and Classroom Contexts and Implications for Teacher Effectiveness. American Educational Research Journal, 57(4), 1688-1729.
- Bruno, P. (2020). Teacher Screening and Hiring: Lessons from the Los Angeles Unified School District. Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, Michigan State University.
- Bruno, P. (2019). A Tough Assignment. Educational Leadership, 77(1), 72-76.
- Bruno, P. (2019). Charter competition and district finances: Evidence from California. Journal of Education Finance, 44(4), 361-384.
- Bruno, P., & Strunk, K. O. (2019). Making the Cut: The Effectiveness of Teacher Screening and Hiring in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(4), 426-460.
- Bruno, P. (2019, May 6). School districts must do more to manage costs of health benefits. EdSource.
- Bruno, P. (2019). The Challenges of Health and Welfare Benefit Costs for California Districts. Policy Analysis for California Education.
- Lewis, C., Bruno, P., Raygoza, J., & Wang, J. (2019). Alignment of goals and perceptions of computing predicts students’ sense of belonging in computing. In ICER 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (pp. 11-19). (ICER 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research). Association for Computing Machinery.
- Bruno, P. (2018). District Dollars 2: California School District Finances, 2004-5 through 2016-17. Getting Down to Facts II.
- Imazeki, J., Bruno, P., Levin, J., Brodziak de los Reyes, I., & Atchison, D. (2018). Working Toward K-12 Funding Adequacy: California's Current Policies and Funding Levels. Getting Down to Facts II.
- Johnson, RC., Bruno, P., & Tanner, S. (2018). Effects of the Local Control Funding Formula on Revenues, Expenditures, and Student Outcomes. Getting Down to Facts II.
- Strunk, K. O., Marsh, J., & Bruno, P. (2017). An Effective Teacher for Every Student: Developing a Research Agenda to Further Policy Change. Policy Analysis for California Education.
- Bruno, P. (2016, Feb 29). Overregulation Theory isn’t enough to explain negative voucher effects. The Brookings Institution’s Brown Center Chalkboard.
- Bruno, P. (2015, Jul 20). The importance of the teacher supply to education reform. The Brookings Institution’s Brown Center Chalkboard.
Presentations
- Invited talk, Teacher supply and turnover, 2025
- Invited talk, Charter school funding models and considerations, 2024
- Invited talk, Building a knowledge base for computing education, 2024
- Invited talk, Computer science education and school finance issues, 2024
- Invited talk, Who Teaches High School Computer Science and Does It Matter?, 2024
- Invited talk, Current school staffing challenges in Illinois: Evidence and solutions, 2023
- Invited talk, Staffing challenges and diversity in the educator workforce, 2023
- Invited talk, The state of education in Illinois, 2023
- Invited talk, Navigating the academic job market, 2023
- Invited talk, Who Teaches High School Computer Science and Does It Matter?, 2023
- Invited talk, Trends, Trade-offs, and Equity in Computer Science in California High Schools, 2022
- Invited talk, Weighted Student Funding and the Incentives of Charter Schools, 2021
- Invited talk, Secondary CS Equity, Policy and Administration Issues: Lessons from California, 2020
- Invited talk, Current School Finance Issues in California, 2019
- Invited talk, Research Perspectives on School District Fiscal Pressures, 2019
- Invited talk, The Challenges of Health and Welfare Benefit Costs for California Districts, 2019
- Invited talk, District Dollars 2: California School District Finances, 2004-5 through 2016-17, 2018
Teaching
EPOL 542: Public School Finance (EdM)
EPOL 548: Human Resource Management at the School District Level (EdD)
EPOL 549: School District Financial Management (EdD)
ERAM 556: Program Evaluation
ERAM 560: Quantitative Policy Analysis (PhD)
ERAM 566: Quantitative Methods for Education Policy 2 (PhD)
Courses
- EOL 546: Public School Finance: Study of financing public education systems in the United States; focuses on the social, economic, political, legal, and technical dimensions of developing school finance policy for federal, state, and local governments; relates theory and research in public school finance to administrative practice in budgeting and financial administration. Same as EPOL 542. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.
- EPOL 542: Public School Finance: Study of financing public education systems in the United States; focuses on the social, economic, political, legal, and technical dimensions of developing school finance policy for federal, state, and local governments; relates theory and research in public school finance to administrative practice in budgeting and financial administration. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.
- EPOL 548: Human Resource Management at the School District Level: Principles, problems, and trends in the administration of professional public school personnel; organization of personnel; the legal framework of the personnel function; selection, evaluation and development of staff; collective bargaining, contract administration and personnel policy; and the personnel administrator's role as a catalyst for school improvement. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.
- EPOL 549: School District Financial Management: Analysis of how public schools are managed, including the theory and managerial practices necessary to oversee the functioning of a school district; study of the integration of managerial issues with attendant conditions of school board functioning, priority and educational goal-setting, taxation, capital outlay, debt management, and contractual implementation. Emphasis placed on principles and practices relating to public school financial management, including budgeting and accounting systems. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.
- EPOL 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar: Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. May be repeated in the same and separate semesters to a maximum of 12 hours, if topics vary.
- EPS 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar: Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education. Same as EPOL 590. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. May be repeated in the same and separate semesters to a maximum of 8 hours.
- ERAM 556: Program Evaluation: Examines models and methods of evaluating programs, processes, and products in broadly-defined organizations situated in various operational contexts (eg., education, business, government, NGO). Particular emphasis is given to topics of formative and summative evaluation, frameworks for program evaluation, quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, communicating and reporting evaluation findings, and the ethics and standards of evaluation practice. The underlying philosophy of the course is that evaluation can be the catalyst for organizational learning to facilitate intended changes, especially when initiated by those in training and organization development positions. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.
- ERAM 560: Quantitative Policy Analysis: Provides a graduate-level introduction to education policy analysis using quantitative methods. Roughly equal amounts of class time will be devoted to 1) understanding conceptual frameworks for conducting policy analysis; 2) understanding on a conceptual level the basics of quantitative methods commonly used in policy analysis; and 3) applying those frameworks and methods to the analysis of actual policies. Students will conduct an analysis of a policy issue of their choosing. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Prerequisite: EPSY 580.