School districts face enormous challenges with recent reductions in fiscal resources due to cuts in California's state budget and an average tenure for a school superintendent of only 3 years. School boards are challenged to find a leader who can address the needs of the school district during these difficult times. As numerous school…

Many layers of education governance press upon U.S. schools, so we separated state actors into those internal to and those external to the system. In the process, we unpacked the traditional state-local dichotomy. Using interview data (n = 45) from six case-study states, we analyzed local leaders', state-internal actors', and state-external…

In 2009-2010, California made substantial education budget cuts at the same time that it removed its spending requirements from $4.5 billion of state money. This gave districts the flexibility to use the funds in any manner approved by the local school board. Researchers found that most of the formerly earmarked money was moved into general funds…

Virtually every school district in the country is dealing with the need to reduce their budget. The process used to make those decisions varies from state to state but almost always includes a combination of short and long-term approaches. In many school districts the emphasis is on reducing individual budget line items and not filling vacant…

Primarily because of underutilized schools (caused by declining enrollments) and the need to address budgetary deficits brought on by dramatic reductions in average daily attendance, many public school districts, in decades past and the present, have been forced to close numerous schools across the nation. The school boards of these economically…

In 1984, to avoid significant budget cuts, the Santa Barbara (California) Board of Education decided to charge students to participate in certain "extracurricular" activities. The proposed fee--$25 for each activity--generated controversy and was eventually struck down by the California Supreme Court as a violation of the California…

The authors of this article discuss wellness policies in relation to nutrition education. The article describes some of the most interesting national initiatives for engaging students in nutrition education and encouraging healthy eating. For example, programs such as the Vermont FEED program and the Burlington School Food Project involve students…

Based on three western school districts' financial failure, this article discusses signs of trouble (overspending patterns, overoptimism about district resources, inadequate financial controls, a breakdown in business operations, inattention to audits, out-of-control personnel practices, and insufficient planning) and discusses ameliorative…

The 50 Percent Law (Section 84362 of the California Education Code) requires each California community college district to annually spend half of its "current expense of education" for "salaries of classroom instructors." District compliance with the provisions of this law is determined by the chancellor, based on information…

This report is designed to serve as the basis for the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges' proposed budget to be submitted to the state Department of Finance. It makes recommendations for Budget Change Proposals (BCP's) for the 1991-92 fiscal year. The BCP's are organized into five broad categories, corresponding to the Board…

In 1976 the California state legislature adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution 201, which called for the preparation of a plan to address and overcome, by 1980, the underrepresentation of handicapped students in public higher education institutions in the state. The plan presented here is the result of consultation between the state postsecondary…

The long economic boom enabled school districts nationwide to fund expensive reforms and hefty pay raises. Now, however, they are finding it nearly impossible to cut costs and balance their budgets. The specific path to financial distress is unique in each case. Any number of factors, from excessively generous concessions at the bargaining table…

A background paper on long-range enrollment and facilities planning in California's public segments of higher education is designed to: (1) establish a policy framework within which the Postsecondary Education Commission can examine and assess the planning processes of the segments; and (2) describe the processes, identifying major differences…