Fourteen options are presented for consideration when having to make budget cuts in educational programs. To spread the burden of budget cutting evenly across the programs, break the budget into percentages and then reduce each area by the same percentage. It is important, though, to cut the excess and not the core of the program. (MD)

Specific numbers on layoffs are difficult to secure. A survey of the American Federation of Teachers' 51 largest affiliates indicates that only a small percentage of teachers were laid off last year. However, 50 percent reported reductions in programs or increases in class size; 25 percent reported wage freezes; and 10 percent reported higher…

Award-winning Colorado Springs Superintendent Trevor Burnley has dedicated his energies to the "kid business"; he recently adopted his two young grandchildren and works diligently to keep schoolchildren away from the eight-ball. Faced with a slashed budget, he had to cut staff and freeze salaries, earning teachers' resentment. He…

This year's budget cleaver has chopped away at school cafeteria budgets across the country. In some districts, this means fewer choices on the lunch line, fewer staffers, deteriorating equipment, and more sales of snack and processed foods. Some schools have dropped the School Lunch Program because of budget cuts. (MLH)

Dade County (Florida) Public School Superintendent Octavio Visiedo demonstrated his four-star leadership capabilities in the wake of Hurricane Andrew's devastation. For weeks, Visiedo tirelessly directed military personnel and school workers in massive clean-up and repair efforts. When all but 10 of the district's 287 schools opened in…

Scarcely two weeks after Joan Kowal became superintendent of Volusia County (Florida) County Schools, the state legislature sliced $6 million off a $220 million operating budget, effective immediately. Kowal responded by convening a broad-based stakeholder's conference and asking participants to decide where cuts could be made. Other decisions…

If students can direct visitors to their school library/media center, it probably is central to their learning. A 1992 study found the size of school library staff and collections to be the best school predictor of student achievement. Budget cuts have resulted in too many understaffed, understocked, and closed-down facilities. Cooperation with…

In many states, school nurses are responsible for too many children; their numbers are dwindling when disabled and chronically ill students desperately need their services. Tennessee has the highest student/nurse ratio (10,000 to 1). Only 6 states meet the recommended 750 to 1 ratio. School-based clinics could ameliorate this problem. (MLH)

Selected to replace a dismissed superintendent in Loudoun County (Virginia), Ed Hatrick has won support from teachers and the school board by open communication. Faced with budget cuts, Hatrick is stretching school funds by sharing some resources with the county and combining some jobs in small elementary schools. (MLF)

U.S. Roman Catholic schools, noted for their history of academic success and worried about rising costs and declining enrollment, have launched a nationwide marketing campaign called "Discover Catholic Schools 1992." Expenses are up because religious order membership is down. The campaign coincides with President Bush's promotion of privatization…

When not asking whether he will be fired, local reporters often cast Baltimore's school superintendent as a "miracle worker." The press might be overlooking the developing cooperation between schools and community organizations. Hunter is trying to unite a city with 156 proudly independent neighborhoods and a severely underfunded…

Six years ago, the Emery Unified School District (Emeryville, CA) teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Hard work and frugal management by teachers, administrators, and the community saved the school district from financial ruin. (SI)

Recent "Executive Educator" survey of 900 out of 6,200 randomly selected school executives found high school principals had the longest work week; 95.3% reported working over 50 hours weekly. Fully 78% of school executives are devoting more time to educational improvement changes. Despite stressors and salary complaints, most are content with…

At the American Association of School Administrators' 124th annual meeting in February 1992, participating superintendents pursued improving public schooling design to achieve the results that communities are increasingly demanding. After detailing obstacles to success, speakers laid out workable solutions involving total quality management,…

Although David Hornbeck became Philadelphia Schools' new superintendent in September 1994, critics are already saying the honeymoon is over. In a school system characterized by student absenteeism, high dropout rates, minimal community support, and declining resources, Hornbeck's reform agenda (Children Achieving) may receive inadequate support.…