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 paper discusses how the inevitable upheavals caused by economic difficulties surrounding declining enrollments can be lessened by dealing with the subject in the collective bargaining arena. Through joint participation in the negotiations process, school administrators and teachers can reduce tensions associated with the right of an employer…

The economic situation has resulted in funding cuts for education from both federal and state sources. The state of Michigan's budget for education has been reduced in all areas. The effects of retrenchment are discussed in relation to local schools, higher education, teacher education, and state agencies. (JN)

Declining enrollment is emerging as a positive stimulus in motivating school personnel to discover innovative coping strategies. Two Illinois school districts have developed ways to adjust. (Author/MLF)

Chapter 2 in a book on school law discusses the reasons for reduction in force (RIF) and presents a set of model regulations for school districts as the best means of minimizing legal problems resulting from RIF. The reasons for RIF include declining student enrollments; reduced turnover among teachers; changes in programs; and more constrained…

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.…

School districts faced with declining enrollments can utilize several strategies for dealing with reductions in force while saving money, minimizing terminations, and creating new opportunities. Schools should be staffed on the basis of midyear projections to avoid too great a degree of overstaffing by year's end. An early retirement plan should…

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…

To help ameliorate the adverse effects of reduction in force (RIF), school districts facing declining enrollments should develop and adopt RIF policies before they are needed. School district officials should compile up-to-date enrollment projections and anticipated staff needs. The board of education should take care to inform the public and to…

With the basic assumption that reduction in force is inevitable, this paper discusses the legal ramifications as well as an orderly procedure for implementing reduction in force. Recent litigation with regard to reduction in force action falls in the broad categories of constitutional questions, statutory law, and contract provisions.…

At present, there are no viable models of organizations in decline; all sociological and economic theories deal with growing, expanding organizations. However, as the statistical data from Illinois school districts indicate, declining enrollment and reduction in force are pressing problems. This statistical analysis contains data on population,…

Declining enrollment forces school districts to cope with many new problems, but also opens the door to new opportunities. A review of the implications of enrollment decline provides deeper understanding of both the problems and the opportunities. Among the major concerns are the disruptions caused by school closures, the new emphases required in…

This study focuses on the benefits of early retirement as a policy to ease the adjustment process as public school districts and state universities encounter the problem of declining enrollments. Early retirement as one means of reduction in force, and as a means of saving money, has been adopted by 36 Illinois school districts. This paper…