In this autoethnography, I examine the challenges I faced as a private-to-public-sector novice CFO entering a resource-constrained 41-thousand-student K-12 urban school district in Colorado. This study chronicles how I deliberately slowed down my interactions within a complex adaptive system (CAS) through ethnographic interviewing to identify the…

This research brief details some of the prominent ways that individuals, companies, and organizations secure financial gain and generate profit by controlling and running charter schools. To illustrate how charter school policy functions to promote privatization and profiteering, the authors explore differences between charter schools and…

This case, inspired by a real school district scenario, was developed for use in a graduate-level course in school finance. James Spencer had just been selected as the new superintendent of a low-income, 400-student, rural school district in need of many capital improvements. The previous superintendent had refused to hold a bond election because…

States and localities issue debt to finance projects undertaken by government and, in some cases, by the private sector (bonds issued by states and localities to finance either government operations or certain private-sector activities are known as municipal bonds). The federal government subsidizes the issuance of municipal bonds by offering tax…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. Inaugurated in April 1998, this is the 125th PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that has generated a…

Since the State of Maryland does not provide funds for the construction of dormitories, dining halls, student activities, buildings, and similar ancillary services, an outline of cost responsibilities for such facilities in the state college system is presented. Based on a discussion of the financing methods for ancillary projects, the role of the…

Assesses the impact of inflation on school district lunch programs, construction, and borrowing. (DN)

The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) is a non-profit foundation whose mission is to support the California Community College (CCC) system and to save the CCC money. FCCC is the official auxiliary to the Board of Governors, the Chancellor's office, and the system of 108 colleges of the CCC. This document provides details on the…

Faced with shrinking state and local tax support and an increased demand for K-12 educational reform, school leaders must use creative means to find money to improve and deliver instruction and services to their schools. This handbook describes innovative strategies that school leaders have used to find scarce dollars for purchasing educational…

This handbook is intended for school decision-makers who need to evaluate the validity of financial data before making management judgments. The book is an analysis of what is contained in various kinds of school accounts in relation to what could be or should be contained. The book is for self-directed study, estimated to require not more than…

This textbook of 24 chapters provides administrators and students with information on the role, activities, and responsibilities of the school business administrator. The independently authored chapters are titled as follows: (1) "Introduction to School Business Management" (F. Mike Miles); (2) "Legal Context of the Public School District" (Paul…