Does school choice enhance the ability of school districts to raise revenue? School districts use charter and magnet schools to attract and retain students, but does choice improve the odds for school districts seeking increased taxing authority at the polls? If those parents who choose schools are attentive to district policies, then increasing…

Local school boards have the responsibility to select school superintendents to lead their districts. The process by which school boards go about searching for and selecting a superintendent varies. In Wisconsin, school boards have the option to hire a search firm or other outside assistance, or they can choose to search for and select a…

School discipline has been a subject of national attention both inside and outside the field of education for years. Efforts to improve how schools and communities work together to address student discipline have shown the potential for creative and effective solutions that provide better outcomes for all--students, families, educators, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school board hiring practices and specific leadership behaviors. The current priority of educational leaders is often spoken of in terms of accountability for student achievement. This study considered the priority of educational improvement, and examined hiring practices using five…

Many U.S. public school systems now face three large demographic shifts: rising poverty, the growing number of students from immigrant families, and increasing populations of students of color. Yet, we know little about how district policymakers react to these important changes or indeed the factors that consistently shape their policymaking.…

As a teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for the past 16 years, this author has grown used to dismal budget cut news arriving each February. Although cuts are always frustrating and their results burdensome, his school has been able to "hang on" reasonably well. This year, however, the budget cuts were extreme. The school's…

On April 7, 2009, as the nation agonized over a worsening economy, voters in western Wisconsin's Elk Mound Area School District passed a $9.3 million referendum to upgrade its three aging, overcrowded schools. On that same day, similar referendums in surrounding school districts failed. This article profiles Elk Mound Area School District and…

Widespread dissatisfaction with traditional public schools has lead to the development of charter schools. Under the terms of a charter, schools are granted increased autonomy in areas such as financial management, organizational structure, and curriculum. This study investigated the factors that lead to the success of one individual charter…

This sequential mixed-methods study determined to what extent the factors identified in the literature were present in the decision to hire an internal candidate to the superintendency in Wisconsin in the last ten years. An initial survey was sent to all 424 Wisconsin public school districts and follow-up surveys sent to school board members in…

Mayoral control of public schools is nothing new. Boston pioneered the practice in 1992, replacing elected school committee members with mayoral appointees. Since then, a dozen urban districts--including Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C.--have undergone a similar change in school governance that has shifted some or most of…

The literature on collective bargaining in public education typically argues whether such bargaining is good public policy or bad, sound or unsound, and so forth. No studies to date have measured the actual impact of differing kinds of collective bargaining legislation on local school boards' decisionmaking powers. This study examined whether two…

This booklet analyzes and summarizes responses of 12 Wisconsin school board presidents who were interviewed between April and October 1977. Each respondent was asked nine open-end questions dealing with the role of local school boards and the challenges facing them. Although the responses to the interview questions may reflect some prevailing…

This handbook is intended to provide authoritative information and guidance to school board members in meeting the responsibilities of service. Frequent reference is made to pertinent sections of the Wisconsin statutes, and in many such instances the number of the statute is given. The guide begins with an outline of the role of the school board…

This reference book on collective bargaining is specifically designed to meet the needs of Wisconsin school boards as they conduct collective bargaining with their employees. The first four chapters supply background information necessary to understand Wisconsin's Municipal Employment Relations Act. Chapter 4 explains the scope of bargaining and…