In this essay, the author calls attention to a little-studied but critical aspect of school system reform: the nontransparent and sometimes illogical ways school districts allocate funds and personnel, especially teachers. Drawing on a series of studies produced by his Center for Reinventing Public Education, the author asserts that mayors who…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and the efficacy of regional special education programs. Focus groups were conducted in an independent school district and two special education cooperatives. Focus groups were conducted with general education teachers, special education teachers, principals, paraprofessionals,…

A 1993-94 update on special education program activities and funding in Idaho is presented. After an overview of accomplishments in special education as a whole during 1993-94, activities supporting gifted and talented programs are identified, including a state guide for gifted education, regional planning meetings, curriculum workshops, and…

Contemporary reforms lobby for deep changes in mathematics teaching and learning, yet classroom practice continues, in many places, to be as conventional as ever. This study examines how one mid-sized urban school district marshaled resources for change in mathematics instruction. The study involved a 3-year observation of a small group of…

The revisions in this document address how state education agencies (SEAs) allocate Title I, Part A funds to local education agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-98. The changes reflect requirements in the Title I statute and regulations published in the "Federal Register" on July 3, 1995, that take effect for the first time in 1997-98.…

This publication provides facts in table form about the Wisconsin public schools in 1997-98. Following maps of the state's Cooperative Educational Service Agencies and a chart of the number of public school districts by kind, the publication contains tables and charts in the following sections: (1) "District Associations"…

A school district's governing board, superintendent, and business manager should work as an effective fiscal policy team with good communication. This self-assessment guide is designed to assist in the overall evaluation of fiscal policy team communication. Four sections (budget development, budget monitoring, financial reporting, and…

The effects of state educational consolidation policies and decentralizing curriculum reform initiatives on small school districts in New York are examined in this paper, with a focus on identifying patterns of environmental "embeddedness" that may include or exclude small districts from state equalization aid. Methodology involved…

Ways of measuring the fiscal capacity of school systems are examined in this paper, which presents a representative tax system model. Fiscal capacity is influenced by factors other than tax base size; the "ideal" model should address adjustments for variations in cost across communities and school systems. The first section examines the…

This report profiles the utilization of funding by sites implementing Chapter 1/ Pupils with Compensatory Education Needs (PCEN) programs in English as a Second Language (ESL) in New York City schools, based on funding data and a district survey. Data for 83 high schools show that 23% of total allocations for ESL teachers were Chapter 1, 32% were…

The 50 Percent Law (Section 84362 of the California Education Code) requires each California community college district to annually spend half of its "current expense of education" for "salaries of classroom instructors." District compliance with the provisions of this law is determined by the chancellor, based on information…

The responsibilities and prerogatives of state departments of education regarding the allocation of federal funds authorized under provisions of the draft version of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 are clarified in this report, and the resulting policy options available to state education agencies are examined. The law…

An allocation model for compensatory education was implemented in the Mesa, Arizona Public Schools based on educational need rather than on the current method of allocation which is based on economic need. Five models were developed and presented. The models incorporated, in addition to strict educational need, demographic characteristics of the…

This paper examines several types of school referenda with a view to examining how such referenda have served to limit or reinforce educational resource inequalities. Drawing on the results of previous studies and the author's research on California referenda, the paper seeks to provide answers to four crucial questions. First, to what extent are…

The purpose of this study was to determine the cost relationships among the educational programs in Tennessee prior to the implementation of Tennessee's weighted pupil formula (1976-77) and to examine expenditure patterns for the first year of the actual operation of the formula (1977-78). All mandated programs were examined as well as additional…