The key to making smart decisions for school district facilities lies in comprehensive planning--a team effort that crosses lines of responsibility and expertise. A sidebar offers examples of questions that need to be asked and answered. (MLF)

Provides advice for school systems on developing asbestos abatement plans to comply with EPA regulations. Topics discussed include inspection, management plans, appropriate responses, training, and surveillance. (TE)

Discusses the value of using committees to assume responsibility for various areas of school board business. Provides five tips for being a good committee member and five guidelines for heading a committee. Includes discussion on dealing with problem committee members. (MD)

When your board must close schools, do as the Minneapolis School Board did: research, analyze, and develop alternatives; involve the community (including the local government); and when you make your decision to dispose of a site, act decisively. Case histories illustrate creative uses for surplus schools. (TE)

Presents seven bits of general advice on how to go about reduction in force. (Author/IRT)

The Frontier board of education took a dilapidated World War I-vintage school and turned it into a stellar example of open space planning coupled with similarly updated teaching techniques. (Author)

Smart growth schools are small in size, encourage broad community involvement, and make good use of existing resources. Promoting small, community-based schools requires innovation, new partnerships, and a commitment to working to overcome the barriers presented by traditional rules and regulations. (Author/MLF)

High-growth school districts can learn from Park City, Utah, about the adoption of school facility impact fees. These fees are levied against new residential units to offset the additional costs to a school district. A sidebar summarizes variation in state laws pertaining to impact fees and cites some legal challenges to their imposition. (MLF)

Charitable remainder trust (CRT) is formal, legal arrangement whereby individual irrevocably transfers assets to trust. Income produced by trust is paid out to grantor and spouse for remainder of their lives. Pooled income for smaller deferred gifts is similar to CRT. Explains how those trusts can benefit both school district foundations and…

The New York City Prototype Schools Program was initiated in 1987 as one of the strategies to design and build new facilities more quickly and at a reasonable cost. The prototype school building features five different blocks that can be configured in a variety of ways to meet individual site requirements. (MLF)

A good technology plan for a school district recognizes that implementing technology is an ongoing process, not a one-time matter. A number of experts answer questions concerning technology planning and purchasing. Technology in a solid long-term plan is described as adaptable, compatible, reliable, flexible, upgradable, nonproprietary, open, and…

Describes school board decisionmaking as a cooperative process that involves all local citizens. Recommends that the following six steps should be adapted to local needs: (1) brainstorm with the public; (2) publicize the results; (3) get reactions; (4) make your decisions; (5) make a commitment to the goals; and (6) publicize the goals. (CJH)

Four bits of precautionary advice are offered for boards in the process of closing schools: work with, not against, the local government; research property deeds carefully; choose judiciously whether to lease or sell; and avoid conflicts of interest. (TE)

Outlines a 13-step process to develop a tailor-made administrator evaluation system for schools which emphasizes process and anticipates resistance to change. (MD)

The author describes his own school closure procedures in the Paramus, New Jersey, school district of which he is superintendent, advocating long-range planning and an emphasis on the educational benefits of such closures. Also included is advice on when and how to lay off administrators. (JBM)