In 1992, City Academy -- the nation's first charter school -- opened in St. Paul, Minnesota. Created and led by experienced teachers, it was designed as an alternative school for students struggling in traditional settings. With just 53 students, City Academy embodied the original vision for charter schools: small, teacher-run schools within…

The U.S. Department of Education has projected enrollment declines over the next decade, leading to budget cuts for school districts, which will be particularly impactful in urban and rural areas serving vulnerable students. As federal COVID-19 funds expire, districts will face challenges in cutting costs, potentially leading to layoffs or school…

Thirty years ago, charter schools embodied possibility. They were envisioned as nimble, innovative, community-driven alternatives to traditional public schools -- laboratories of experimentation led by teachers and grounded in equity. The grand bargain was clear: more freedom from regulations and bureaucracy in exchange for heightened…

In a state where most higher education institutions are working to address financial and enrollment challenges, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) faces some of the greatest difficulties of all. UWM's steep enrollment drop has exacerbated the effects of an eight-year tuition freeze and lagging state funding, forcing cuts to faculty,…

As the largest university in the state's biggest city, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) plays a crucial role in providing higher education to disadvantaged students. It also serves as the third-largest research institution in the state, behind only UW-Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin. In 2013, an estimated $1.5 billion in…

The three parts of this paper present a review of how the states provide state aid formula adjustments for enrollment decline, findings of a survey of New Mexico superintendents regarding revision of the state's formula, and the implications of formula revision for the goals of school finance reform. First, it is noted that there is a trend toward…

A survey by the Los Angeles Times indicated that only 18% of the 64% of the Californians who voted for Proposition 13 did so with the hope that expenditures for education would be reduced. However, because financial support for both kindergarten through twelfth grades and community colleges have come largely from local sources, these two segments…

Several criticisms of a "Journal of Education Finance" article by Guilbert Hentschke and John Yagielski (v8, n1) are elaborated, the most fundamental of which is its failure to consider the revenue side of fiscal strain. (MJL)

Authors of "School District Fiscal Strain: Implications for State and Federal Financial Assistance" respond to a critique by F. Howard Nelson in this issue. Among other points, they counter that their article did consider the revenue side of fiscal strain by assuming a constant budget constraint. (MJL)

New Jersey's removal of $22 million from its 1979-80 state school aid payments requires that school administrators immediately establish priorities and explore options for dealing with enrollment decline. From 1969 to 1978 New Jersey K-6 enrollment has dropped 19.4 percent. The time for selecting reasonable approaches to declining enrollment is…

This anthology of articles investigates and analyzes problems related to declining enrollment with emphasis on the state of New Jersey. It is intended to provide assistance to local New Jersey school districts in managing and preparing for enrollment decline. The first chapter provides an overview of declining enrollments in New Jersey and touches…

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…

Legislative concerns in funding higher education in California are considered. Information is presented on the state's overall fiscal status and the impact of declining enrollment. Funding appropriations in 1979-80 to the University of California (UC) and the California State Colleges and University (CSUC) are specified. For the 1979-80 budget,…

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.…

Uses a model portraying school district decision makers as "consumers" to analyze fiscal strain's causes (enrollment decline, input price increases, and changes in input mix) as variants of the general consumer model. Measures the impact of each cause of fiscal strain and discusses implications for state and federal aid. (Author/RW)