The landscape of public education in Michigan has changed dramatically over the last 13 years. Most districts receive a majority of their operating money from state government, not local taxes. Charter schools and nearby districts lure students away from local schools and capture the state money that goes with them. Districts are even subject to…

In the past two decades choice has become a major policy proposal for promoting efficiency in schooling. This paper argues that it would be both efficient and feasible to remove government from its present roles in school finance and pupil assignment. The first part examines the revenue side of school finance and identifies four types of…

This yearbook reaffirms the connections between the field of education finance and the wider education community. Among the topics it examines are curricula reform, outcome assessment, accountability, community control, and privatization. Twelve chapters include: (1) "Education Finance in the New Millennium: Overview and Summary" (Stephen Chaikind…

This paper discusses privatization of public higher education, noting that some form of it exists on almost every college campus and that it is part of the wider movement toward less government. Four models of privatization are defined: public production with public finance; public production with private finance; private production with public…

Summarizes educational reform initiatives in Michigan, highlighting legislative actions such as the 1990 Public Act 25 ("the Quality Education Package"), professional certification reforms, experiments with school choice and charter schools, the Michigan Partnership for New Education; and abolition of property taxes to fund education.…

Problems in the financing of higher education in India, particularly in the large proportion of costs borne by the government, are examined. Several policy proposals to remedy the problems, including privatization, are critically reviewed. It is concluded that there is a need for experimentation with a number of alternatives. (MSE)

A former U.S. commissioner of education wonders if privatization and vouchers represent threats, annoyances, or utopias. Private contracting could hinder community involvement and the teacher professionalization movement. Profit-making goals might resolve class size policy in favor of economic efficiency, not student learning. Vouchers will reduce…

Discusses the rise of entrepreneurialism in Australian universities as one response to globalization. Examines its positive and negative effects upon educational standards, academic morale, and structure of academic work. Highlights areas of fundamental change in the sector, including changes in university missions and culture and the uneven…

Examines Hartford, Connecticut's experiment with contracting out the entire management of its 32 schools. Data analysis involved examining relevant documents, and interviewing key school officials, the staff of the private school-management agency, and community representatives. The experiment met with considerable opposition and eventually…

As a faculty member/administrator at a community college for more than 40 years, the author has seen first hand the role that education can play in transforming lives. He also can see that low tuition, the main pillar of their policy of open access, is giving way in the face of declining state and local support. This certainly is a form of…

When the transition to market economy began, there was an unsatisfied demand for business education. A supply response has occurred, but business education is still developing. The authors argue that private schools can help mobilize resources and increase the quality and accessibility of business education. Drawing on surveys covering 15…

Outsourcing in higher education refers to the practice of contracting with private, off-campus firms to provide or manage services which have historically been provided in-house. Budget cutbacks and declining private support have led to increased use of outsourcing for non-mission-critical and non-instructional services, such as information…

In June 1995, the Idaho Joint Legislative Oversight Committee directed the Office of Performance Evaluations to conduct an evaluation of school district pupil transportation. This report, the last in a series of four, examines the apparent cost difference between district-operated transportation programs and those that are contracted to…

Identifies strategies that school districts can use when entering into privatization agreements to avoid the disruptive termination of their contract. The examination focuses on the contractual relationships between Education Alternatives Inc. and the school districts of Baltimore (Maryland) and Hartford (Connecticut). (GR)

Debunks two fantasies: the feasibility of a free-market educational system and the idea that greater choice automatically means better schools. Public education is too labor-intensive and undercapitalized to be profitable. Communities need "skunk works" schools of choice to do research and development and smaller, collaboratively managed…