This report presents findings from an investigation into relationships between academic achievement and the distribution of fiscal resources among rural school districts in Oregon. The investigation was prompted by earlier-reported findings suggesting the critical nature of both achievement gaps and resource gaps among rural school districts in…

The purpose of this report is to comment on practice in the use of existing data bases in program evaluation and school improvement and to explore directions of increased and improved use. The report's impetus is the role that existing data plays in current efforts in local school districts and the possibilities for the future. To a great extent,…

The major findings of nine State case studies on the effects and implementation of Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981, are summarized and synthesized in this report. The States examined (Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington) were selected to…

This paper represents a backdrop from which to consider the development of a planning and budgeting model for local education agencies. The first part of the presentation describes the demands and external pressures that affect resource allocation decisions in school districts. The ability of local school officials to link the cost consequences…

In order to determine similarities and differences in funding programs for rural United States schools, data published in the ERIC/CRESS publication entitled "Special Funding for Small and/or Isolated Rural Schools" was analyzed. Twenty-five of the 49 states for which data were collected have no special funding provisions for small…

Data from the first two years (1975-76 and 1976-77) of a three year study of Demonstration Compensatory Education Projects are presented in this report. The demonstration study was designed to produce evidence about proposed changes in the allocation of Title I funds. Of the thirteen districts chosen for the study, eleven elected to change their…

This study analyzes the process used in developing the 1977-78 operating budget of the Philadelphia school district. The purpose of the study was to determine what changes are required to assure greater efficiency and effectiveness in resource allocations in the face of increasingly scarce funds available to urban public school systems. Using a…

METRO II, a regional metropolitan computer consortium, was developed to provide for joint computer services in five school districts with a combined population of 150,000 students. To effect this consortium approach, each of the districts, already with sophisticated EDP, must analyze current systems and project its anticipated needs to fit the…

This document reports the results of a study commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers to examine the needs of the public schools during the decade ahead, and to propose a plan by which federal, state, and local resources can be marshalled to meet these needs. The essential aim of the proposed plan is "to achieve by 1977 an average…

Formal organizations or social subsystems are defined in this anthropological field study as the municipal government and the urban school district. The school district is fiscally dependent on the municipal government for the financial resources essential for its operations. Within the realm of educational finance, policy decisions of either of…

This handbook is intended to assist the School Food Authority and those responsible for recording and reporting on the various financial activities of a school food service fund. It describes in a completely detailed form uniform accounting systems suitable for use by all school food authorities. The material, oriented toward the average-to-larger…

When current fiscal data of New York State school districts are analyzed with information on pupil characteristics and staffing patterns, some policy issues are raised, including a mismatch between local district need and avaliable resources, shortchanging of New York City pupils, and a close relationship between local wealth and staff…

A six-step plan that helps manage school decline is presented. (DCS)

One of the developers of Cabrillo Unified School District's Basic Proficiency Monitoring System outlines basic principles for designing and implementing such a system: believe in the process, concentrate on the fundamentals, keep it simple and inexpensive, and always follow up. (SJL)

School districts need a strategic, comprehensive, electronic data processing resources plan that would include the following major elements: (1) systems; (2) hardware; (3) software; (4) staffing; (5) control; and (6) projected budgets. (MLF)