Due to economic factors, many institutions of higher education may be forced to reduce faculty positions. The procedures used by Emporia State University (Kansas) can be used as a model for colleges needing to pursue various methods of retrenchment. (JN)

This paper reviews the legal aspects of declining enrollments in school districts and the resultant problems of reducing the teaching staff. It suggests that school administrators and boards of education become familiar with their state tenure statutes or have access to competent legal counsel who specializes in that area of law, make decisions to…

This report from the Chancellor to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges highlights the consequences of 1983-84 budget cuts for the state's community colleges. First, the projected effects of the Governor's veto of $232 million in community college funding are outlined, i.e., a 12% decline in real buying power for the…

An overview is provided of the problems facing the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the current situation and immediate program of action, and the District's objectives for the short- and long-term future. The first section addresses the nature and scope of the problems brought about in the LACCD and California community colleges by…

This research study examined 25 economic, demographic and social, financial, governance, and geographic variables in 39 large urban school districts in order to measure the variables' ability to (1) distinguish between school districts that were fiscally stressed and those which were not and (2) predict bond ratings of large urban school…

A study examined the methods used by several California school districts to respond to educational retrenchment. Results showed that, while respondents had difficulty separating recent educational legislaton from other aspects of retrenchment, they agreed that there was no way to produce better results in education with a reduction in resources.…

Tenured faculty can be dismissed for reasons of financial exigency. If the employment contract provides a specific definition of fiscal exigency and the processes to be used in effecting retrenchment, then those terms govern in lieu of constitutional due process. In the absence of such guidance, courts are willing to allow dismissal for reasons of…

No clear links were revealed when figures on enrollment declines in 10 urban school ditricts were compared with data about service reductions. Districts reduced their services primarily in response to citywide fiscal crises. Costs of compensatory education for disadvantaged and handicapped pupils offset staff reductions in other areas. (PP)

Since employee salaries and fringe benefits make up the major part of school budgets, any reduction in budgets must be accomplished by reducing personnel. Concentrating on Oklahoma, but citing legal decisions in other states as well, a legal summary is presented for reduction in force when funds are unavailable to complete a school budget. As in…

Starting from a survey of research literature and court cases, researchers conducted a study of South Carolina school districts' policies and procedures concerning reductions in force (RIFs). The literature review indicated some of the conditions necessitating RIFs (such as state financial problems), methods of avoiding RIFs, and criteria for RIF…

The first half of this paper reviews the school enrollment trend in the state of Wisconsin and discusses the implications of school closings. It offers planning suggestions to local districts in light of statewide declining enrollments. The second half of the paper--a review of recent literature related to "cutback management"--is…

In this paper a review of the Wisconsin declining enrollment trend is presented and implications are noted for Wisconsin districts involved in school closing efforts. The author suggests that districts can best meet the challenge of declining enrollment by considering local enrollment projections, taking a facilities and program inventory,…

Student enrollment in Pennsylvania public schools continues to decline, but school costs continue to rise. In the next 5 years, the Northern Area of Allegheny County will lose the equivalent of one of the larger school districts. Substantial cuts in teaching and administrative positions have already taken effect. Over the last 25 years, Northern…

The course of enrollments, events, and decision-making leading up to the 1980 dismissal of five faculty at Goucher College is outlined in terms of: financial exigency, termination of tenured appointments, ruptures in due process and faculty participation, and absence of a decision for program discontinuance. (MSE)

A bibliography on decline and retrenchment in higher education is presented that includes publications from the fields of higher education, the organization sciences, and public administration. The objective is to make available the reference tools that have been useful in conducting the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems'…