The new class of governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers elected last week will face formidable challenges in dealing with the squeeze the nation's sagging economy--and ballooning state budget deficits--is putting on K-12 education. In the November 4 elections, Democrats added one more governor's office--in Missouri--to their…

Auditing school districts on a regular basis hasn't been part of the comptroller's job description in New York for 20 years. That began to change 18 months ago, when accusations arose about expenses made by a former administrator in Roslyn, a 3,300-student system in an affluent Long Island community. Questionable spending has come to light in more…

This article reports a new debate on mayoral control over New York City schools. Mayoral control of the N.Y.C. schools was at the center of renewed debate, after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg replaced two members of the city's education policymaking board to ensure enough votes for a controversial plan he backed to end social promotion. The shakeup…

Describes how community members from Newburgh, New York, successfully battled against a school board proposal that called for expanding the town's high school to an enrollment of over 3,000 students. Rejects the notion that "bigger is better" and criticizes state funding formulas that create large schools by offering higher reimbursement…