Education resources matter when they are allocated and used effectively. Yet, the upstream decisions school boards make about district budgets and resource allocation are understudied. In this descriptive study, we analyze data from 400 publicly available video recordings of financial deliberations in school board budget meetings between spring…

For decades safety has been an integral component of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and CTE (career and technical education) instruction. Given today's litigious society, safety in P-12 STEM education and CTE has received greater attention. This in part is the result of the rise in popularity of collaborative learning…

The expectation for strong superintendent leadership has increased due to a demand for greater student achievement and accountability. This study examined public school board presidents' and superintendents' perceptions of the characteristics superintendents must possess to effectively lead in today's complex educational system. A…

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…

Charter schools have been studied from numerous perspectives. One topic that remains under-researched, however, is charter school leadership. Therefore, we examine how charter administrators define their leadership roles and their ability to lead. Results indicate that charter principals see three primary functions in their leadership--building…

A new report by the Centre for Civic Governance of the Columbia Institute sheds light on why districts are struggling to balance their budgets while the Minister of Education claims they received the "highest funding ever." The $122 million increase in the current 2008-09 operating grant fell $15 million short of the $137 million…

Survey forms sent to a random sample of 5,271 school board members elicited responses from 1,096 (21 percent) board members. Lists the demographics of school board service, the specific budget cuts board members made last year, and choices they would make if further cuts were needed in the current budget. (MLF)

The Board of Regents, at its September 4, 1975 meeting, approved the State Appropriation Formula (revised 1976). The public institutions of higher education in Louisiana are to use this document in preparing requests for operating funds for fiscal 1976-77. The 11 sections of the formula are presented, dealing with: authority, introduction, basic…

Cross-sectional analysis of 1971-1972 budget elections and expenditure data in 111 large K-12 school districts in Oregon indicates that the "agenda control" and "fiscal illusion" models predict expenditure levels better than the standard "median voter" model. The median voter model assumes that district expenditures…

A case-cluster study of trends in elementary level educational expenditures in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton during 1980-88 is presented in this report. The following issues are addressed: (1) the amount spent by school boards, with a focus on per pupil expenditures in "real" dollars; (2) what these funds are spent on; and…

This study examines the circumstances under which a large urban school system opens the budget development process to the input of citizens groups and the difficulties involved in this effort. The scope of the study is limited to the analysis of the 1977 Budget Task Force (BTF) of the Philadelphia School District and observations of the…

This factbook was created to assist decisionmakers within the Department of Postsecondary Education, and on each two-year campus, to make institutional comparisons within system-wide profiles, and to assist in statewide trend analyses. The aims involve preparing Alabamians for the 21st century, based on previous research that found eighty percent…

Reports results of a study to determine status of education in Iowa seven years after the onset of collective bargaining. Compares opinions of boards of education, administrators, and teachers regarding job satisfaction, public opinion, working conditions, teacher/superintendent/board relations, board power, salaries, instruction, teacher input,…

College community services, traditionally funded by the levy of special purpose taxes, have been threatened by the passage of Proposition 13 and the resultant abolishment of permissive taxes. Survey data show that the average budget cut for community services was at least 50%. These cuts resulted in: (1) a 76% increase in "fee" courses…

In its annual report for the 1977-78 fiscal year, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education summarizes the activities of the Commission and discusses the status of higher education in the State of Alabama. Major trends noted in this report include: an overall increase in state funding for higher education, an increase in funds appropriated for…