Examines distinctive organizational and decision-making characteristics of models of school-based management found in Spain, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dade County (Florida). Models differ in original source of change and position on a decentralization continuum, ranging from deconcentration of workload to permanent devolution of authority.…

"Stevens v. Tillman" illustrates the limited reach of federal law in controversies where community activists use extreme, even illegal, methods to exert their will over objecting school officials. Defamation charges against activists for verbal abuses will apparently be very difficult to sustain, given court views that being called a…

If appropriate planning occurs, business officials can support site-based management. Districts need to develop new working relationships that appropriately balance the responsibility of the business office for district finances and support services with more site-based management at the school level. (MLF)

Drawing on NAEP assessment data and economic and educational arguments for restructuring, this article discusses the Holweide Comprehensive School experiment in Cologne, West Germany, and presents an Incentive Schools plan stressing team management, cooperative learning, and revamped assessment methods. Includes 16 references. (MLH)

Administrators can help teachers avoid burnout by recognizing teaching efforts, advising without prescribing solutions, and treating all faculty in a collegial manner. Career ladders and testing have negatively affected teacher morale, whereas teacher empowerment through participative decision-making produces better results. (MLH)

Communication between the schools and the central administration is imperative for a successful school-based management program. Once shared decision making is in place, accountability must follow. Principals must establish ways to monitor the instructional process and should know which teachers are obtaining the best results. (MLH)

Examines how some East Midland (England) schools have developed interschool collaboration to facilitate implementation of local school management. The study is based on structured interviews with secondary headteachers and primary headteachers whose pupils eventually attend area secondary schools. Assesses the time and effort expended on…

Since December 1992, the Capac (Michigan) Community School District has adopted zero-based budgeting for 40% of its budget. Instead of building on the previous year's budget, the superintendent requires every staff member and school to justify projected expenditures based on contributions to future educational goals. Academic programs benefit.…

Indicates the advantages under school-based management of transferring funds to the individual schools in a lump sum with minimal encumbrances, along with the freedom to transfer funds within the school budget. Transferring money to the schools, along with corresponding decision-making powers, enhances responsibility and accountability. (MLF)

An SBM team chairman of a middle school-college collaboration explains ongoing problems, including teachers' discomfort with student and parent participation, teacher-administrator power struggles, the push for immediate results, and communication issues. Despite setbacks, the group has some tangible outcomes: improved safety procedures, a…

Explores the 1988 Education Reform Act's effects on providing physical education and sports in British schools, and specifically, implementation of the National Curriculum for Physical Education. The ERA and local school management have not only changed interschool and school-government agency relationships, but have fostered potentially damaging…

Describes a small-scale comparative study of management development in various public- and private-sector organizations in the West Midlands, England. Interview data were gathered from 15 managers in 5 organizations. Findings showed disparity between organizational intent and workplace reality. Effective management development requires a strong…

Examines how control and administrative responsibility is divided, in practice, between the headteacher and the governors, and whether such responsibilities are agreed upon or disputed. Discusses a study of 21 British schools that examines this issue. When there is agreement about roles, a stable situation exists. Where there is no agreement,…

Almost 90 percent of principals (n=149) who responded to a survey of 12 Midwestern suburban school districts indicated support for the concept of site-based management (SBM). These principals were not particularly threatened by SBM, supported initiatives likely to empower teachers, and did not regard unionism as a specific barrier to SBM. (IAH)

Decision making in large urban school districts is being decentralized, but delivery of mental health services within the restructured organization demands specialized knowledge of childhood pathology, interventions, and legal mandates. The most efficient service delivery model combines centralized coordination of school psychological services…