Michah W. Rothbart

• 2023 Summer
  • PAI 734 Public Budgeting
• 2022 Fall
  • PAI 731 Financial Management in State and Local Governments

Michah W. Rothbart is an associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and is a senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research. His research and teaching interests are in public finance and financial management, particularly in the fields of education and food policy.

His current research includes the relationships between social welfare participation, pre-kindergarten utilization, and school readiness; the consequences of COVID-19 on student health and academic outcomes; the causes, effects and measurement of student absenteeism; and the impact of universal free meals on schools and students. He received a Ph.D. in public administration from New York University and an M.P.A. and a B.S. from Cornell University.

"Equitable Access in Washington, DC - Pilot Study Proposal", Sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"COVID-19, Vaccinations and School/ Community Resources: Children's longitudinal health and education outcomes using linked administrative data.", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/DHHS.

"SNAP Uptake and School Readiness in Virginia", Sponsored by Department of Agriculture.

"Does Universal Free School Meals Reduce Childhood Obesity?", Sponsored by Department of Agriculture.

"Impact of the Food Environment on Child Body Mass Index", Sponsored by National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

• Journal Articles
  • Lindenfeld, Z., Silver, D., Mauri, A. I. and Rothbart, M. W., "Beyond social determinants: Fiscal determinants of overdose death in U.S counties, 2017–2020." Social Science & Medicine, 2025.
  • Han, J., Rothbart, M. W., "Administrative Burden in the Cafeteria: Evidence from School Meal Participation in Shared Buildings." The American Review of Public Administration, 2024.
  • Elbel, B., Heng, L., Konty, K. J., Day, S. E., Rothbart, M. W., Abrams, C., Lee, D. C., Thorpe, L. E. and Ellen Schwartz, A., "COVID-19 vaccines for children: Racial and ethnic disparities in New York City." Preventive Medicine Reports, 2023.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E. and Gutierrez, E., "Paying for Free Lunch: The Impact of CEP Universal Free Meals on Revenues, Spending, and Student Health." Education Finance and Policy, 2023.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Heflin, C., "Inequality in literacy skills at kindergarten entry at the intersections of social programs and race." Children and Youth Services Review, 2023.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwegman, D. and Shybalkina, I., "The Impact of Pork-Barrel Capital Funding in Schools." Public Budgeting & Finance, 2022.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwegman, D. J. and Shybalkina, I., "The impact of pork‐barrel capital funding in schools: Evidence from participatory budgeting in NYC." Public Budgeting & Finance, 2022.
  • Heflin, C., Rothbart, M. W. and Mackenzie-Liu, M., "Below the Tip of the Iceberg: Examining Early Childhood Participation in SNAP and TANF from Birth to Age Six." Population Research and Policy Review, 2022.
  • Horrace, W. C., Rothbart, M. W. and Yang, Y., "Technical Efficiency of Public Middle Schools in New York City." Economics of Education Review, 2022.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Yoon, N., "Do Minimum Charity Care Provision Requirements Increase Nonprofit Hospital Performance? Examining Hospitals’ Responses to Regulatory Changes." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2022.
  • Silver, D., Rothbart, M. W. and Bae, J. Y., "By the Letter of Law? The Effects of Administrative Adjudication for Resolving Disputes in NYC’s Restaurant Grading Initiative." The American Review of Public Administration, 2021.
  • Rothbart, M. W., "Does School Finance Reform Reduce the Race Gap in School Funding?." Education Finance and Policy, 2020.
  • Schwartz, A. E., Rothbart, M. W., "Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact of Universal Free Meals on School Meal Participation, Obesity and Academic Achievement." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2020.
  • Rothbart, M. W., "The Impact of School Choice on Public School Budgets: Evidence from Open Enrollment in New York City." Public Budgeting & Finance, 2020.
  • Schwartz, A. E., Rothbart, M. W., "Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact of Universal Free Meals on Student Performance." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2020.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E., Calabrese, T., Papper, Z., Mijanovich, T., Meltzer, R. and Silver, D., "What a Difference A Grade Makes: Evidence From New York City's Restaurant Grading Policy." Public Administration Review, 2019.
  • Meltzer, R., Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E., Calabrese, T., Silver, D., Mijanovich, T. and Weinstein, M., "What Are the Financial Implications of Public Quality Disclosure? Evidence from New York City’s Restaurant Food Safety Grading Policy." Public Finance Review, 2019.
• Book Chapters
  • Souders, S., Rothbart, M. W. and Schwartz , A. E., "Weighted Student Funding with Alternatives to Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility Data." In What Comes After Lunch? Alternative Measures of Economic and Social Disadvantage and their Implications. Downes, T., Killen, K. (eds.) Information Age Publishing, 2024.
  • Rothbart, M. W., "Cutting Back State Aid to School Districts in the COVID Era: Consequences for Racial Funding Equity in New York State." In Recent Advancements in Education Finance and Policy. Downes, T., Killen, K. (eds.) , 2022.
• Newspaper Article
  • Rothbart, M. W., "If we're fighting a war, then we need a new GI Bill." The Hill, 2020.
• Policy Briefs
  • Rothbart, M. W., Heflin, C. and Alphonso, G., "Children in Economically Disadvantaged Households Have Lower Early Literacy Skills than their Higher-Income Peers." In Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: Population Health Research Brief Series. , 2023.
  • Trajkovski, S., Schwartz, A. E. and Rothbart, M. W., "Exposure to Free School Meals in Kindergarten Has Lasting Positive Effects on Students’ Attendance." In Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: Population Health Research Brief Series . , 2023.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E., "Let More Schools Offer Free Lunch for All." Education Next: Forum, 2022.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Yoon, N., "Do Minimum Charity Care Provision Requirements Increase Provision of Charity Care in Nonprofit Hospitals?." Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: Population Health Research Brief Series, 2021.
  • Heflin, C., Rothbart, M. W. and Mackenzie Liu, M., "Strengthening SNAP and TANF is Essential to Support Children in Early Childhood." Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: Population Health Research Brief Series, 2021.
  • Schwartz, A. E., Rothbart, M. W., "Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact of Universal Free Meals on Student Performance." Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: Population Health Research Brief Series, 2020.
  • Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E., "Universal Free Meals (UFM) raises student test scores in New York." Ridge Program Spotlight, 2019.

Syracuse Law Review Symposium on Education Access and Equity, Syracuse Law Review, "Towards Inclusive K-12 Education: Rights, Restrictions, and Reforms" (October 14, 2023 - October 14, 2023)

University of Delaware Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, "Beyond the Classroom: The Broader Effects of Public Preschool Expansion on Children’s Early Educational Experiences and Early Literacy Skills" (2023)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, "Do Peers Influence Covid-19 Vaccination Take-up? Evidence from New York City public schools" (2023)

Association for Budgeting and Financial Management Conference, "Hold Harmless or Hidden Benefits: Consequences for Resources and Student Outcomes" (2023)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Racial Disparities in COVID Risk at Schools" (2023)

COVID-19 and Policy: Looking Backward and Looking Forward Conference, The Maxwell School, "Racial Disparities in COVID Risk at Schools" (2023)

NYU Food Studies Program, "The Impact of the Universal Free Meals and Other Policy Levers to Improve Food Security" (2023)

NYU/Federal Reserve Bank of New York Fiscal Policy Breakfast Series, "Cutting Back State Aid to School Districts in the COVID Era: Consequences for Racial Funding Equity in New York State" (2022)

NYU Food Studies Program, "Inequality in Kindergarten Literacy Skills at the Intersections of Social Programs and Race" (2022)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Low Income Children’s Participation Across Public Programs: Public Pre-K, Child Care Subsidies, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" (2022)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, "Low Income Children’s Participation Across Public Programs: Public Pre-K, Child Care Subsidies, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" (2022)

What’s at Stake Panel, The Maxwell School Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School Center for Policy Research, "What’s at Stake for U.S. Food Security?: Implications of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health" (2022)

Recent Advancements in Education Finance and Policy Convening, "Cutting Back State Aid to School Districts in the COVID Era: Consequences for Racial Funding Equity in New York State" (2021)

NYU Food Studies Program, "Implications of Food Safety Inspections for Public Policy and Finance" (2021)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Public Pre-Kindergarten Availability and School Readiness: Which Students Benefit?" (2021)

NYU Food Studies Program, "Implications of Food Safety Inspections for Public Policy and Finance" (2020)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Inequality in Kindergarten Literacy Skills at the Intersections of Social Programs and Race" (2020)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, "Inequality in Kindergarten Literacy Skills at the Intersections of Social Programs and Race" (2020)

University at Albany Department of Public Administration and Policy, "Paying for Free Lunch: The Impact of the Universal Free Meals on Revenues, Spending, and Student Health" (2020)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "The Impact of Pork-Barrel Capital Funding in Schools" (2020)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Beyond the Classroom: The Broader Effects of Public Preschool Expansion on Children’s Early Educational Experiences and Early Literacy Skills" (2019)

The Maxwell School of Syracuse University Critical Issues for Food Policy Research Conference, "Inequality in Kindergarten Literacy Skills at the Intersections of Social Programs and Race" (2019)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Paying for Free Lunch: The Impact of the Universal Free Meals on Revenues, Spending, and Student Health" (2019)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Paying for Free Lunch: The Impact of the Universal Free Meals on Revenues, Spending, and Student Health" (2019)

NYU/Federal Reserve Bank of New York Fiscal Policy Breakfast Series, "Paying for Free Lunch: The Impact of the Universal Free Meals on Revenues, Spending, and Student Health" (2019)

Association for Budgeting and Financial Management Conference, "Stretched to the limit? Overcrowded schools, shared buildings, and underserved students" (2019)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, "The Impact of Pork-Barrel Capital Funding in Schools" (2019)

Association for Budgeting and Financial Management Conference, "What Schools Buy When They Don’t Buy Instruction: Evidence on Noninstructional Expenditures in Schools" (2019)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, "Impact of Means-Tested Pre-K on SNAP Participation: Evidence from Virginia" (2024)

Birkhead-Burkhead Teaching Excellence Award and Professorship, Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University (2019)