Examines how three school districts handled privatization of school services, such as transportation, food service, and custodial. Contracting out may promote efficiency but will probably come with political heat. (LMI)

Explains why privately-run lunch programs are providing better nutritional value at less cost than state-run programs. Several examples are provided of schools where lunch program privatization has increased participation and cafeteria discipline, improved nutritional and food quality, and has done so with financial efficiency. (GR)

Increasingly, colleges and universities are contracting with private companies to provide or manage a variety of campus support services. "Outsourcing" is most common in bookstores and food services. Encouraged by legislatures, the trend is extending to public institutions. However, privatization of services is slower in higher education…

The school system's uniformity is clearly a liability in the modern era. Today's schools need entrepreneurship, not change by rule, regulation, and statute. The central issue of entrepreneurship is not risk-taking, but innovative, implementation methods. Eventually, using private contractors to improve the management of instructional services will…

Denis Doyle's proposal in the same "Kappan" issue is part of the recent campaign to persuade the public to privatize public education. Although some view private schools as beacons of transformation, the former are considerably less creative and diverse than public schools. Private companies will do no better than (underfunded) public agencies at…

This article outlines reasons why some colleges and universities choose to hire outside firms to manage telephone fund-raising campaigns and offers considerations in selecting the appropriate firm. Issues addressed include finding firms, inviting bids, checking references and facilities, making requirements clear, sustaining the relationship, and…

The growing movement to privatize school management is a reason for comparing compensation and responsibilities in the private and public sectors. Despite the enormous salary gaps, public outrage over superintendents' salaries is common. Sensitive taxpayers might favor superintendent contracts including pay-for-performance factors resembling those…

Argues that contracting with private providers to educate students should be an option for school boards. Cites results from two surveys regarding whether school boards operated under powers enumerated in state law or under "broad powers" that gave boards more latitude in pursuit of defined goals. (MLF)

This paper reviews two approaches to solid waste stream management that encourage recycling in the beverage industry, a model categorizing public policies directed at diverting postconsumer waste from the waste system, and industry initiatives in the context of these policies. Preemptive and compelled partnerships represent innovations in…

Educational revolutions in Great Britain and the former Soviet Union were initiated by charismatic national leaders, looked back to more "authentic" conditions where teachers and students dominated formal education, encouraged parent participation, and sought to destroy bureaucratic intermediary agencies in the educational…

A snapshot of the changing Polish educational system focuses on elimination of uniform curriculum requirements, return of religious instruction, emergence of private and religious schools, removal of overtly ideological materials from history and literature curricula, and fears of a power struggle between the present postcommunists and new…

Discusses national information policy changes that are hoped to occur in the Clinton administration. Topics addressed include the Reagan/Bush legacy of privatization; public access to electronic databases; citizen involvement through information technologies such as computer networks; pricing for government information products and services;…

Effective and efficient management of school district custodial and maintenance services can be achieved by contracting out these services. A competent management company will offer a computerized management system and a complete training program. Prospective management companies should also offer management and cost controls. (MLF)

School boards considering contracting with a for-profit company should study the policy pitfalls that privatization might bring in the areas of personnel, finance, technology, program evaluation, negotiated contract waivers, program expansion, and student achievement. (MLF)

Two years into its new life as a private company, the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) is both creating a division to handle the processing and clerical duties of college financial aid offices and backing away from a short-lived move into the business of underwriting college bonds. The agency also originates government-subsidized…