Public school districts use private contractors to provide support services in an effort to save money, improve services and better prioritize district resources. The Mackinac Center has surveyed school districts about their use of contractors since 2001. This year's survey revealed that 69.7% of schools contract out for food, custodial or…

Michigan's public school districts are government entities that occasionally use private contractors to provide them with support services. The 2018 privatization survey found that 70.5 percent of Michigan's school districts -- 380 of the 539 districts in the state -- contract out for food, custodial or transportation services. This is a slight…

Public school districts are government entities, but they rely on the private sector to support their function of delivering educational services to students. Private contractors, for example, construct district buildings, write textbooks and manufacture the supplies necessary to keep the district operational, among other things. And over the past…

In 2001, contracting out for school support services by Michigan school districts was a rare practice. Less than one in three districts used private providers for food, custodial or transportation services. Today, 16 years later, the tables have completely turned: it is more unusual to find a district that does not outsource at least one of these…

This is the 18th edition of the Mackinac Center's annual school privatization survey. The Center asks every school district in the state if they outsource one of the three main noninstructional services -- custodial, transportation and food services. Responses from officials in all 539 public school districts between June 2 and September 24 were…

In 2003, when it came to contracting out for common public school services, only outsourcing food provision could be considered a rather common occurrence in Michigan. There was good reason for this: school districts are prohibited from making a profit from their cafeteria, but any deficits created in providing food for students must be covered by…

Many of Michigan's public school districts are under substantial fiscal pressures from a combination of declining enrollment and increasing costs, particularly related to employee benefits, but most districts are responding to these challenges. One of the ways that districts can stretch their resources further is through competitive contracting…

As increasing numbers of schools implement Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), schools are looking for and implementing evidence-based practices for students whose needs are not fully met by Tier 1 supports. Although there is relative consistency and clarity in what constitutes Tier 1 behavior support within MTSS, Tier 2 supports may be more…

Public school districts are facing twin challenges: maintaining a labor supply of qualified teachers while shoring up the deteriorating system that compensates them. Keeping public-school teachers' pensions plans flush is expensive, and it accounts for a growing share of education spending. In some states, public charter schools provide an…

Admission policies are one of the mechanisms that university public administrators utilize to increase student access and diversity. In some cases, socioeconomic inequalities and barriers to affirmative action limit the ability of universities to increase access to higher education for underrepresented minorities. This research examined the…

Community colleges act as the gateway for students to higher education. Many of these colleges realize this mission through open-door policies where students lacking in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills can enroll. But, this open-access policy often creates challenges when meeting academic standards. Based on data collected from…

Over the past decade internships have become an essential talent management strategy for organizations big and small. The Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI) has tracked the role of internships, finding that internships have eclipsed on-­campus interviewing in bringing organizations to college campuses…

Charter schools have been one of the most important dimensions of recent school reform measures in the United States. Currently, there are more than 5,000 charter schools spread across forty U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Though there have been numerous studies on the effects of charter schools, these have mostly been confined to…

With Michigan's public school districts facing a decline in per-pupil funding, more districts are contracting out for at least one of the three major school support services--food, custodial and transportation--than ever before. This year's survey of school districts found that 44.6 percent of all Michigan school districts contract out for at…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…