The report summarizes evidence from five studies of student achievement in oversubscribed charter schools and two studies on charter school revenues and outlines a number of recommendations relevant to the federal role in charter schools. While many recommendations are reasonable, those related to charter school facilities and charter school…

The development of quality educational programs, designed to meet the needs of all students, is a pivotal responsibility of educators and yet a considerable challenge due to the diverse needs in each school. Many consider the Response to Intervention (RtI) model to be one initiative with the greatest potential to improve education for all students…

Our elected officials have some big math problems to solve this year, from an unsustainable $3.7 billion deficit to zero job growth. Education is the most important investment we make in our state's future, but it's where we're getting the worst return on our money. Low-income students are further behind in Connecticut than in every other state,…

The headlines report that college tuition is rising rapidly and students are struggling to pay for college. Financial-aid issues have also been in the news lately, with questions about student debt particularly prominent. Non-tuition revenues are weak because of declining state appropriations, depleted endowments, and anemic annual giving. At the…

This paper offers three constructive recommendations that apply specifically to public school teachers, the largest group of state and local government employees, and one of special importance to the long-term economic competitiveness of the country. The recommendations embrace and protect existing defined-benefit pension plans, which are under…

Conventional wisdom holds that colleges and universities heavily subsidize their students. This assertion seems correct, given that total spending per student is almost always in excess of per student tuition payments. However, as the authors show in this report, the conventional wisdom is wrong because it inappropriately compares only one revenue…

This study examined financial aspects of the consolidation or annexation of 12 pairs of school districts in Texas during the period 1996-2006. Nine of the twelve districts consolidated by mutual agreement of the two school boards and three annexations were by order of the Commissioner of Education of Texas. Financial criteria studied were: (a) per…

The principal priorities for the Group of Eight (Go8) with regard to higher education policy are coherence and sustainability. Good public policy is based on principle and backed by evidence. This paper offers an interlinked set of principles for the development of higher education policy in Australia.

Construction on community college campuses is often paid for out of general capital or operations budgets or by way of taxpayer-approved bonds. But, as state and local money becomes increasingly scarce, many colleges, while still pursuing traditional funding sources, are also considering alternative strategies to support facilities upgrades on…

Facilities and services are a huge drain on community college budgets. They are also vital to the student experience. As funding dries up across the country, many institutions are taking a team approach, working with partner colleges and private service providers to offset costs and generate revenue without sacrificing the services and amenities…

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to investigate the perceptions of successful small-school superintendents in regard to maintaining or improving district efficiency and financial status. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with seven purposefully selected small-school superintendents. Findings suggest that in their efforts…

In January 2007, the author wrote an article titled "Prevent a Disaster in Your Library: Advertise." In 2011, with the ongoing economic crisis that has caused so many school budget cuts, it is clear that advertising is no longer enough to save school librarians' positions. Librarians need to become even more aggressive as they market their…

Diversity in educational settings is generally understood as the body of services and programs offered to students, faculty, and staff that seek to ensure compliance with non-discrimination and related policy and law, and to affirm social membership group differences (broadly considered) in curricular, co-curricular, and workplace contexts. Given…

The promulgation of the South African Schools Act in 1996 was a critical moment in the process of making a compromise between a centralized and a decentralized system. The act describes the establishment, membership, and responsibilities of school governing bodies as the vehicle for parental engagement and decision making. The article touches on…

The Southington Board of Education in Connecticut has committed itself to asking school administrators to look for funding alternatives so the board does not have to continuously say no. The Southington School District serves 6,900 students with an operating budget of $79.5 million, but that amount simply does not fund all its needs. The district…