Schools face the dual challenge of tighter education budgets and demands to raise achievement levels. Can this be done? The author argues that it can and has been achieved. The successful districts in some cases have transformed their strategic approach by focusing on costs; developing a new, more powerful school vision; identifying and allocating resources to align with that vision; and rethinking teacher compensation. Singularly, each of these proposals have been considered, but the author integrates them in a new comprehensive and flexible model that can be used by any school district facing today's tough challenges. (Contains 1 figure.)