Theodore Arapis, PhD
Associate Professor of Public Administration | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Villanova University
Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES
Theodore Arapis, Ph.D. focuses on financing, fiscal savings, fiscal transparency and the practice of budgeting at state level.
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Areas of Expertise (6)
Public Administration
Fiscal Transparency & Accountability
School District Financing
Budgeting
Public Finance
Government & Financial Management
Biography
Professor Arapis focuses on school district financing, local government fiscal savings, international fiscal transparency and the practice of budgeting for the state-level bureaucracy. He has written recently on the need for charter school funding reform, particularly in Pennsylvania. Arapis has been featured in POLITICO, WalletHub, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The WorldPost.
Education (3)
Auburn University: PhD
Kennesaw State University: MPA
University of Macedonia: BS
Select Media Appearances (5)
Amend state school code to reflect realities of charter funding
The Philadelphia Inquirer online
2017-06-26
On June 19, Pennsylvania celebrated the 20-year anniversary of Gov. Tom Ridge signing into law Act 22, which charged charter schools with the responsibility to improve, among others things, pupil learning and teaching pedagogy. In the fall of 1997, the first four charters - Harambee Institute of Science and Technology, Community Academy of Philadelphia, World Communications, and Youth Build Philadelphia - opened their doors in Philadelphia. Two decades later, close to 135,000 students attend one of the commonwealth's 177 charter schools (163 bricks/mortar and 14 cyber charters) operating within 27 counties.
2017’s Tax Rates by State
WalletHub online
2017-03-14
Tax season can be stressful for many Americans, especially those who owe money to Uncle Sam. For more insight into the impact state and local taxes have on migration and public policy, we turned to a panel of leading tax and policy experts from colleges and universities across the U.S. Theodore Arapis, Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Villanova University: Do people consider taxes when deciding where to live? Should they? Arapis: Not sure that everyone does, but they should. Taxes have a great impact on our day-to-day life and wellbeing.
Commentary: Pa. has more to do on school funding fairness
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2016-08-25
Pennsylvania needs to take a crash course in school funding fairness. That's one conclusion drawn from the 2016 National Report Card (NRC), which gave the Keystone State a D for its inequitable funding system. Although ranked among states that generally provide high fiscal support to their school districts, Pennsylvania is in the unenviable company of 13 other states deemed regressive in their school-funding levels.
D.C. schools have high hopes for their study abroad program
Politico online
2016-08-16
More than three quarters of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Theodore Arapis, an assistant professor in Villanova University’s Department of Public Administration, said study abroad programs “are typically offered through national level programs or philanthropic organizations, and mostly attract students from affluent families.” D.C.’s program is “remarkable,” Arapis said, in that it provides this opportunity to large numbers of low-income students.
Commentary: Greek residents put up 'Walls of Kindness' to feed needy
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2016-04-10
Not all walls divide. Consider what's happening in response to the Greek financial crisis. Since the advent of the crisis, poverty and inequality have spread like a viral infection. According to Eurostat, a provider of statistical information to the European Union, one out of three Greeks risks living in poverty. This statistic is higher than in most EU countries, with the exception of Bulgaria and Romania, where the risk of falling under the poverty line reaches 40 percent.
Select Academic Articles (3)
Examining the Evolution of Cross-National Fiscal Transparency
The American Review of Public AdministrationTheodore Arapis, Vincent Reitano
2017
The Fiscal Savings Behavior of Pennsylvania School Districts Through the Great Recession
Public Budgeting & FinanceTheodore Arapis, Vincent Reitano, Earl Bruck
2017
A Glimmer of Optimism in Government Savings Accumulation? An Empirical Examination of Municipal Unassigned Fund Balance in Florida
Public Finance ReviewTheodore Arapis, Vincent Reitano
2016-04-21
2016
