This article investigates budget monitoring and control in township schools in South Africa. The enactment of the Schools Act 1996 revolutionized school financial management in South Africa, making it part of the drive for democratic school governance. School governing bodies had to be established, whose responsibility it became to manage finances…

As states look for ways to hold school districts accountable for how they use big increases in K-12 funding, New York's experience may offer a test case in directing the flow of that new money. Under the state's ambitious "Contracts for Excellence" program, 55 of New York's 705 districts will share $430 million in extra aid this school…

This report summarizes 2008-2009 data from several Austin Independent School District efforts to promote parent and community involvement.

A principal typically controls less than 3 percent of the actual dollars spent to operate his school. The most significant of the principal's resources is the master schedule. The schedule, not money, is the coin of the school realm and is the primary indicator of the distribution of inschool resources. (Author/IRT)

One of the principal issues facing educators is whether school management can manage its resources efficiently to achieve results through broad-based accountability procedures such as performance or incentive contracts, in light of possible constraints such as teacher tenure. In this speech, the author suggests some propositions related to…

This article examines the interaction between school accountability and local control over revenue raising and resource allocation. In particular, it asks whether accountability policies are more or less effective at improving student outcomes in states with stronger local control. Local control is operationalized with multiple measures, including…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District services and activities funded by the federal Title I Part A grant for the 2007-2008 school year.

The education system in California today is unable to meet the needs of the state's economy or the expectations of its citizens. From school finance to ensuring the quality of teaching, from assessment and accountability to preparing students for college and careers, education policy today in California often works against the best interests of…

This paper argues that the rule-making function of institutions introduces an information distortion into markets--economic, political, and cultural--that changes the rational pattern of resource allocation. As markets expand, this distortion raises the price of individual talent and skill development in production. It leads to a public-private…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. This edition contains the following features: (1) Obama Signs "Largest Investment in Education in the Nation's History": Economic Recovery Legislation Includes Nearly $100 Billion…

In the fall of 2007, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) was invited by Philadelphia's School Reform Commission to conduct a Resource Use Analysis for the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) that would in part inform a possible transition to weighted student funding. In April 2008, ERS began the first set of interviews and data gathering…

The goals and procedures of front-end analysis are described and a number of examples are cited. (Author)

The paper offers some basic information for making decisions about allocating and accounting for resources provided to young handicapped children. Sections address the following topics: reasons for costing, audiences for cost accounting and accountability information, and a process for cost accounting and accountability (defining cost categories,…

The Title II-D grant program, "Enhancing Education Through Technology," (EETT) provides financial assistance to higher poverty school districts that have the greatest need for technology support or have been identified as being in need of improvement. In 2009, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) provided an additional $650…

A study was designed to explore what cost-effectiveness methods are being used, determine what differences exist between the methods, and recommend the most appropriate cost-effectiveness analysis method for instructional design. Analysis of questionnaires sent to appropriate institutions led to the finding that cost-effectiveness analyses differ…