This yearbook reaffirms the connections between the field of education finance and the wider education community. Among the topics it examines are curricula reform, outcome assessment, accountability, community control, and privatization. Twelve chapters include: (1) "Education Finance in the New Millennium: Overview and Summary" (Stephen Chaikind…

The difficulties faced by Chicago's public school system have prompted two state-level investigative bodies to recommend the breaking up of the system into smaller, locally controlled units. Without exhaustively reviewing all of the factors involved in making the transition from a centralized to a decentralized school governance structure, this…

This reference guide outlines what is new for educational programs under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. It also describes how the NCLB's four guiding principles--(1) focus on what works; (2) reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility; (3) increase accountability for student performance; and (4) empower parents--are brought to bear…

Elected school boards' skeptical eyes can guard against bad management practices and ensure that different voices get heard. Problems with board governance are a product of too little democracy. A democratic reform strategy would make board elections partisan, hold them on the same day as elections for more prominent state or national offices,…

This publication examines a number of key issues and recent trends related to the general topic of school finance. Chapter 1 reviews several significant court cases challenging state school finance systems, including San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, Robinson v. Cahill, and Serrano v. Priest. Chapter 2 describes major new…

After presenting an overview of metropolitan schools, described as not successful in providing an adequate education for economically disadvantaged students, the authors examine four critical issues: compensatory education, educational accountability, decentralization and community control, and desegregation. While compensatory education has not…

This paper explores how the idea of community control came about, what the concept is, and some implications it might have for communication practices in school systems. Social and political conditions which led to the idea of community control of education are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the dissatisfaction of minority groups and…

Responds to criticisms of the community control approach to public education. Holds that community control was only unsuccessful because it was opposed by those interests who feared the consequences of participation by the poor, and that the idea should be given an opportunity to operate at the local level. (Author/GC)

Many educators react defensively to demands for student assessment, accountability, and so forth. Rather than being defensive, we must turn these challenges to our advantage. If I am responsible in my work, then I ought to also be accountable for my work. We must describe what schools are expected to accomplish and show publicly whether these…

This study finds that the New York City version of school-based decision making, School-Based Management/Shared Decision Making (SBM/SDM), fails to bring school-based management or shared decision making to the schools. This report begins by describing the seriously dysfunctional structure of the New York City public schools and explains the…

American Indian education must be viewed in the context of: environments and their effect upon education (external environments, psychological environments, etc.); the trends and movements affecting Indian education (self-determination, local control, revenue sharing, economic development, etc.); agencies and other factors determining the…

Over 800 items on citizen participation in educational decision-making, policy development, and school governance in public schools and school systems are described in this annotated bibliography. Major emphasis is on published books, pamphlets, monographs, and articles, although documents obtainable through the Educational Resources Information…

Community schools were created in Ohio to provide additional educational options for children in low-performing schools and to develop innovative teaching and management techniques that may be transferable to traditional public schools. In 1997 the Ohio General Assembly required the Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) to evaluate the…

Public control of the schools has steadily eroded in recent years. Population growth and widespread consolidation of school districts, depoliticization of school board elections, adoption of the business model of professional school management, development of a multilevel school bureaucracy, and unionization of teachers all have combined to…