SABIS International Charter School was among 24 Commonwealth charter schools included in a study undertaken by the Office of the Inspector General in March 1998. The Office identified weaknesses in the contracting practices, procurement procedures, and financial management. Findings include: (1) the Board of Trustees did not employ sound business…

Although numerous theories have been proffered, to date activist boards are an empirically unexamined force in public higher education governance. Using the concept of institutional entrepreneurship, this case study examines the reciprocal role that board members and staff played in the organizational development of board activism. In the case of…

This Massachusetts Senate committee study examined public endowment fund development at public institutions of higher education in the state in comparison with institutional development at institutions in other states. The study used data from the Massachusetts Attorney General's Division of Public Charities, from colleges and universities, from…

This study of the needs and possibilities of the industrial training of girls and women by the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, was made in the spring and summer of 1911. Three cities, Worcester, Cambridge, and Somerville, through their respective school committees, expressed a willingness to establish trade schools for girls and asked the State…

Experiences of five states that have created incentives for the effective management of higher education or that have eliminated disincentives are examined. After considering the effect of state budgetary controls and regulations on college operations, methods used to determine levels of state support and to allocate state funds are addressed. In…

A questionnaire survey of 1,506 teachers in 89 elementary and secondary schools in eastern Massachusetts examined teachers' reactions to declining enrollments and school district retrenchment policies. The hypotheses tested suggest that, in districts whose reduction-in-force (RIF) policies include performance evaluations as well as seniority as…

This book focuses on the question of how citizen participation affects the making of the school budget, the crucial controlling instrument of modern bureaucratic organizations. The four communities studied differed in size, social and economic characteristics, and form of government. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and begins the discussion of the…

Increasingly, states are restricting tuition growth through political pressure and statewide governing and coordinating boards. During the 1990s, California, Virginia, and New York all cut or restrained tuition, and recently Michigan, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey have restricted tuition growth either through legislation or intense…

Statewide planning for higher education, with specific reference to Massachusetts, is discussed in a 1982 Alden Seminar position paper, comments regarding the position paper, and an overview of the overall seminar. In "One Half Revolution, One Half Status Quo: Remarks on A Long Range Plan for Public Higher Education in Massachusetts,"…

Highlighting Massachusetts initiatives, examines the recent state movement toward adoption of curriculum frameworks and state assessments as vehicles for improving accountability and student achievement. Absence of standards guarantees stratified educational opportunities. Reform initiatives should include practitioners; avoid prescriptive,…

As faculty and other public sector unions become more sophisticated in collective bargaining, they tend to lay a greater variety of demands on the table. This, in turn, forces the employer to ask, Do I really have to bargain about these subjects? As more employers refuse to bargain, more unions charge them with failing to bargain in good faith,…

The complex interactions which led to the implementation of the court-ordered desegregation plans for two cities in Massachusetts involve not only the courts but many levels of government. The school departments, the school committees, the mayors, the State Board of Education, the legislature, the governor, and the citizens of Massachusetts, all…

This volume of policies related to children with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) describes appropriate ways to guarantee students' rights while maintaining public health, and answers questions for parents, educators, and caregivers. Section 1 presents policy guidelines for infants, toddlers, and…

Higher education in Massachusetts is considered in relation to governance and student financial aid. Growth since 1960, enrollment projections, and changing financial realities are considered. Attention is directed to reorganization of public higher education, including the struggle to strike a reasonable balance between institutional needs for…

This volume attempts to document ways in which several communities have dealt with the problems of declining school enrollments. Each case study outlines some type of public participation in the task of adjusting to population changes and fiscal pressures. The first chapter supplies an introductory overview of issues related to declining…