Three school districts are working successfully with a private contractor to reduce the operating costs of lunch programs, while increasing participation and maintaining nutrition standards. The facilities department of the fourth school is producing higher quality work and greater accountability under the direction of a private contractor. (MLF)

It is hard to be a school professional these days. There seems to be an increasing number of demands, but the time, money and public support needed to bring about school improvements seem to be declining. This is especially true when considering buildings and grounds, which often get a seat at the back of the class. A number of new, affordable…

This booklet tells how to set up an Energy Conservation Program in individual school districts. It discusses: (1) appointing an energy conservation manager; (2) keeping energy consumption records; and (3) assessing the energy saving potential of each school; and it outlines (4) some of the steps that can be taken to cut down energy waste.…

The 1981 unionization of service and maintenance employees at Cornell University marked a growing trend. The university's policy and procedure throughout the process is chronicled and discussed from the perspective of maintaining good personnel relations. (MSE)

A law enacted last year created a new National Science Foundation program to modernize research facilities, but the program is expected to receive little or no money. The lack of funds has intensified debate over colleges' efforts to win direct appropriations from Congress for their campuses. (MLW)

A Michigan high school abandoned its coercive school management practices for a system actively involving students in decision making. To help students feel they could make a difference, the Reaching Success through Involvement format was used to identify six workable student-involvement areas: extracurricular activities, school governance,…

A North Carolina school district has faced severe budget constraints; however, the school food service, transportation, and facilities departments have effectively cut costs and improved efficiency. Includes a list of 40 ways to save school dollars, updated from a 1978 publication of this journal. (MLF)

In a rural school district in northern Michigan, video is used as an administrative tool to communicate with board of education members, staff, and students. The great distances between schools makes board visits to areas of interest impractical. The district superintendent uses videos to take the board on tours of facilities so that they can get…

Many options exist for improving rural school facilities, among which are questions of school closure versus modernization or replacement. This report addresses the question of the future of the community rural school and how communities, school boards, and school executives can approach school improvement problems. It defines and examines various…

This booklet is a compilation of several field-tested school maintenance and operations programs. The material in the booklet is based on brief written summaries of 20 presentations made at a special "Maintenance and Operations" session held at the Association of School Business Officials' 1980 annual meeting. The booklet is divided into…

Brigham Young University's program integrating ongoing campus capital replacement and renewal into overall physical plant administration is described, including the initial capital needs study, planning for replacement cycles and one-time expenditures, and management of the information gathered. (MSE)

The recent defeat of New York's statewide School Facilities Bond Act did not eliminate the pressing need for additional funds for school capital needs. This report discusses ways in which the state can meet these needs, shows how "backdoor" borrowing is not an acceptable method of financing school facilities needs, and describes methods…

Australian methods and formulas for funding building maintenance and management are outlined and found to be haphazard. Discussed are: ultimate costs of deferred maintenance, major plant replacements, life cycle costing, types of maintenance programs (including full preventive maintenance), use of computer programs for planning, and organization…

Preparing and negotiating the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 short form is discussed along with Section H in both general and specific areas, including supporting documentation, adjustments and reclassifications. This discussion is designed to assist all institutions to better prepare, document, and negotiate indirect costs…

College facilities management offers a wide variety of job opportunities and generally provides as lucrative benefits as are available to top college administrators and professors, usually without a need for advanced degrees. There are three primary career areas (engineering, architectural, business management) but a wide array of opportunities…