Between the 1966-76 and 1976-77 school years, expenditures per pupil for the maintenance and operation of Georgia public schools rose 146 percent. Even after adjustments for inflation, this is a substantial increase. Faced with taxpayer resistance to increasing taxes, educational leaders can choose from three options. They can adopt an aggressive public relations program to gain financial support; they can voluntarily reduce requests for revenue; or they can merely keep asking for more funds until taxpayers refuse to pay. If the first option is chosen, educational leaders must convince the public that if schools are to meet the expectations of society, public education must have a significant portion of our financial resources. If the second option is chosen, educational leaders must be sure not to overreact and ask for less than the public is willing to pay. The third option fails to take advantage of the duty of educational leaders to influence public opinion. Public confidence in the management of public education can be influenced greatly by the success school business officials have in applying sound management practices and keeping the public informed of their progress. (Author/JM)