A profile of R. Kirk Hamilton, superintendent of South-Western City Schools in Columbus, Ohio, is presented. Hamilton runs the Ohio school district featuring a full gamut of geography--from expansive cow pastures to high-density, urban housing complexes--yet he carries the same message to all corners that's grounded on a simple belief: All…

Superintendent of Antigo Unified School District, Antigo, Wisconsin, explains the use of school-level and community-level data to build support for bond and budget referenda. Describes the benefits of data-driven decision-making. (PKP)

Thanks to previous bond issues, the Walled Lake (Michigan) Schools had a well-defined technology plan featuring staff development, student performance benchmarks, and rooms of outdated computers. After three bond issues failed, the district adopted leasing as an alternative. Their present three-year contract supplies 154 used computers and a…

Instead of selling the idea of a new middle school building, an Ohio school district engaged people in an 18-month conversation about community financial and educational needs. The plan succeeded, due to unconventional leveraging strategies, full staff participation, elimination of diversions, involvement of community leaders, personalized…

The House-approved version of the tax bill H.R. 3838 will increase borrowing costs to local and state governments. Educational costs will either increase or educational services will decrease. The House legislation also would treat all nontuition student aid as income and place a cap on pension funds. (MLF)

A Colorado school district approved a mill levy that tied additional future funding to improved student performance on the Colorado Student Assessment Program. In a single year the district met more than half of their 3-year goal and credits success to a focused, data-driven approach, a bipartisan citizens committee, a strategic plan, a plan for…