The charter-school movement is a transition to a total system change that began sometime after World War II and the Korean War. When 1960s educators started the alternative schools movement, they were really creating charter schools. Resistance to charter schools is based not on philosophy, but on scarce financial resources. However, educators…

Describes how state budget cuts may pose a greater threat to minority access to higher education than would a Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in the Michigan cases. (EV)

Considers how the closure and consolidation of schools are seen by cash-strapped boards of education as means to save money. Addresses the same "seven red herrings" or arguments that are repeated loudly and angrily to officials as they go through the process of public consultation. (SG)

Summarizes results of an inquiry into the amount of difficulty that school principals in British Columbia (Canada) were experiencing with specific external, internal, and staff-related matters. The most difficult external managerial problems included dealing with a shrinking education budget and handling a wide variety of tasks and decision-making…

Using a methodology previously applied to municipalities, this paper examines the fiscal condition of Nebraska's school districts. Nebraska contains over 900 districts, ranging from very small to large full-service districts in Lincoln and Omaha. The largest and smallest districts are in best fiscal condition. State aid inequities could be…

As costs rise and companies discontinue coverage of college students under parents' policies, students are choosing to forego insurance rather than pay for it themselves, so suggest speakers at the American College Health Association's annual meeting. Colleges offering group-insurance policies to students are also having problems renewing them.…

Some advice is offered to trustees who find themselves in the position of having to close an institution in the face of seemingly conflicting legal standards. (Author/MLW)

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York face giant deficits in their state budgets. The financial impact of the 1986 federal tax reform law was underestimated by colleges and income estimates were overly optimistic for 1988 and 1989. Unpopular, new taxes are seen as the way to solve the budget crunch. (MLW)

Uses Blau and Scott concept of "cui bono" to describe who has benefited from 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. In eyes of legislators, everyone would benefit, and the economically depressed state would prosper. As implementation of KERA progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that mandated changes may be structural and may…

Discusses incremental SBM budgeting and answers questions regarding resource equity, bookkeeping requirements, accountability, decision-making processes, and purchasing. Approaching site-based management as an incremental process recognizes that every school system engages in some level of site-based decisions. Implementation can be gradual and…

Generally, amount of stress generated by difficult situations is inversely proportional to one's perceived control over them. Stressed-out principals are advised to work on their attitude, create new personal focus (a hobby or exercise program), initiate new professional focus, be good to themselves, rely on well-established support systems, and…

School districts are caught in a financial squeeze with reduced federal funding, recessionary reductions at the state level, and political pressures against raising taxes. School districts are searching for alternative sources of funds including school impact fees and business partnerships. One method, tax abatement, often costs districts because…

Data from two-parent families in midwestern rural county revealed that adverse economic change increased economic pressures and hardship adaptations in ways that matched effect of income level and exceeded influence of unstable work. Pressures and adaptations mediated negative effects of economic adversity on emotional health and family…

The expected 7.7 percent increase in state student financial aid has been revised down because of midyear state budget reductions, to possibly the lowest rate in 23 years. Few states will make big increases. About 52 percent of all need-based aid will go to private college students. Dollar amounts of aid in each state for 1991-92 are charted. (MSE)

If students can direct visitors to their school library/media center, it probably is central to their learning. A 1992 study found the size of school library staff and collections to be the best school predictor of student achievement. Budget cuts have resulted in too many understaffed, understocked, and closed-down facilities. Cooperation with…