The purpose of an unreserved fund balance is to provide funds for expenditures not included in a district's budget or to make up for revenues anticipated but not received. A model developed to determine the appropriate size of the unreserved fund balance for school districts was tested with simulations in 498 Pennsylvania school districts. (MLF)

When the 1991 Pennsylvania Legislature decentralized its special education funding process, it created a crisis for the commonwealth's 29 educational regional service agencies. The Chester County Intermediate Unit responded entrepreneurially by downsizing the department; surveying customer satisfaction levels; instituting staff training programs;…