Since the 2008-2009 academic year, community colleges in the state of California have faced a budget reduction of 12%. This represents a reduction of $809 million in state appropriations. Despite the reduction in funding, the California Master Plan for Higher Education includes provisions for community colleges to develop quality workforce…

In 2006, Michigan changed their traditional merit award to a credit contingent program based upon successful completion of 60 college credits. The Michigan Promise Scholarship was crafted by state policymakers without input from the financial aid community. This case study suggests that the change in policy resulted in two unintended consequences:…

This study examines the results of decremental state budgeting on Minnesota elementary and secondary education during the 1981-83 biennium, a period of sudden fiscal crisis. Using the fiscal reports of various departments of Minnesota State government and interviews with state officials, the author narrates the sequence of revenue shortfalls and…

The Los Alamos schools obtain support from a combination of local, state, and Department of Energy funds mandated by the Atomic Energy Commission Community Act. Each year the Los Alamos schools prepare three budgets, and during any week the schools may work directly with all three levels of government concerning funding. In 1974 the state of New…

The experience of the University of Maryland system in dealing with statewide cuts in higher education financing is chronicled from 1988, focusing on political influences in the decision-making process, methods used to determine which programs would be cut, and responses to the decisions made. A comparison of four theater programs is offered as an…

The University of Minnesota's response to financial cutbacks due to unexpected reductions in state revenues is discussed. The public higher education system and each state agency submitted alternative retrenchment budgets. The University of Minnesota proposed three approaches for cuts at the 12 percent level: across-the-board reduction; closing…

California's community college system has depended heavily on property taxes, which have been reduced almost 60% by the recent Jarvis-Gann amendment. A statewide study sought some indication of responses to these constraints that might occur in community colleges. Summaries of budget reductions and other actions taken were compiled in 1978 for six…

This study focuses on the political feasibility of some of the alternatives open to States for raising educational revenue and allocating funds to local school districts. Eight states -- California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Oregon -- were chosen for study, to represent a range in (1) the level of State…

This paper reviews the rationale for community services education and the effects of different methods of financing adult education programs. Two case studies of community services financing in California are reported to illustrate different approaches toward financing permissible under state statute. The College of San Mateo finances its…

This four-part report examines the management of retrenchment at six representative Southern California community colleges and two community college districts: Victor Valley College, Mount San Jacinto College, Citrus College, Chaffey College, Mount San Antonio College, Riverside City College, the San Bernardino Community College District, and the…

The author of this report believes that the subject of urban school desegregation costs presents rich opportunities for research, which has great practical and theoretical interest. This collection of case studies of five urban areas undergoing court-ordered desegregation of schools is intended as a preliminary to more extensive study of the…

State education agency (SEA) activities to coordinate programs for children and youth were the focus of this report. The incentives and disincentives to coordination and interagency cooperation at the state level were investigated by case studies in Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, and Washington. In particular, the study examined how federal…

A study of state education agency (SEA) activities investigated the incentives and disincentives to coordination and interagency cooperation at the state level as well as the effects of federal initiatives and recent fiscal strains on these activities. Research focused on how much coordination currently exists nationwide; case studies of…

This report examines alternatives to traditional methods of public school finance, analyzes differences in operating expenditures and capital costs between urban and rural school districts, and points out the special fiscal burdens of cities. Seven States -- Delaware, North Carolina, Washington, California, Michigan, New York, and New Hampshire --…