Private colleges that have prospered have done so by enhancing revenue, not by decreasing expenses. The private college president of today is becoming more a salesperson, delegating operational duties to subordinates while focusing on fund-raising and public-image concerns because of the chronic need for more money. (MLW)

Describes a Levittown (New York) elementary principal's strategy for handling a permanent school closure resulting from unfavorable demographic trends, rising taxes, and drastic cutbacks in state aid. All students were given tours of a newly created middle school or alternative elementary schools, and K-4 students participated in pen pal exchanges…

Award-winning Colorado Springs Superintendent Trevor Burnley has dedicated his energies to the "kid business"; he recently adopted his two young grandchildren and works diligently to keep schoolchildren away from the eight-ball. Faced with a slashed budget, he had to cut staff and freeze salaries, earning teachers' resentment. He…

Describes the effects of budget cuts, faculty defections, and low morale on the reputation of the African American studies department at the University of California (Berkeley). The author examines the department's emergence as an intact, resilient, and vital model. (GLR)

This year's budget cleaver has chopped away at school cafeteria budgets across the country. In some districts, this means fewer choices on the lunch line, fewer staffers, deteriorating equipment, and more sales of snack and processed foods. Some schools have dropped the School Lunch Program because of budget cuts. (MLH)

Although more demands are being placed on public schools, less money is available to meet them. A lagging economy, state aid cuts, and spiraling costs are severely straining the U.S. education system. Board members are targeting student transportation, administration, athletics, unessential programs, retiring teachers, and maintenance for budget…

Notes that child-care-center directors feel trapped by financial limitations, and encourages administrators to dream of changes to their programs and then to creatively achieve their dreams. Presents strategies for securing positive changes: assessing current situation; representing pieces of dream with blocks; reinventing idea of quilting bees;…

In New Mexico, 18 out of 89 school districts are on the four-day school week. So are many rural Colorado, Oregon, and Colorado schools. Implemented as a fiscal last resort, this schedule has had unexpected educational benefits for districts. Attendance has improved and student achievement on standardized tests remains stable. (MLH)

Literature review determined a link between personal financial problems and employee productivity. Presents results of survey that assessed financial behaviors of clerical workers and their desire for workplace financial counseling. A large percentage of employees were exhibiting poor financial behaviors and 80% were interested in workplace…

Interviews with 58 nursing students over age 25 showed that they experienced financial, child care, relationship, and family problems. Many had considered dropping out in response to pressures of their multiple roles. (SK)

Since "Serrano v. Priest" (1971), 17 federal and state supreme court decisions have discussed rural schools' unique funding dilemmas. Recent cases illustrate the escalating battle between rural and metropolitan districts over financial resources. If rural schools' fiscal situation continues to deteriorate and state lawmakers shun…

Recent public higher education spending cuts have often been matched by tuition increases, resulting in possible declines in college graduates and in personal income tax receipts. Applying a net present-value model to quantify New York State data suggests that potential revenue losses quickly dwarf short-term budgetary savings. (Contains 21…

Examines concepts and ideas behind the practice of distance education, including commercialization; the role of public institutions and private sector firms; a vision to open the process of learning to new possibilities; and barriers to distance education, including legal, administrative, and financial. (LRW)

Describes how lawmakers in cash-strapped states--including California, Wisconsin, and Tennessee--are forcing public colleges into hiring freezes, tuition increases, and even cuts in research designed to spur economic development. (EV)

Economic downturns have decreased most community college budgets as no other time in history. Public revenues are down significantly. Enrollments are up. Competition from the private sector is increasing. This environment, which developed with surprising rapidity, presents a challenge for community and technical college leaders and a paradigm…