VIEWING ADMINISTRATION AS A SOCIAL PROCESS, A THREE-YEAR STUDY WAS MADE OF THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD AS AN AGENCY FOR RESOLVING CONFLICT BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY. ROLE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD WERE ASSESSED BY INTERVIEWING 1,794 CITIZENS, 240 TEACHERS, 183 PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND 90 SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS IN 12 WISCONSIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS SELECTED ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SIZE, WEALTH, NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, COMMUNITY CONTROVERSY, AND FISCAL DEPENDENCE-INDEPENDENCE. CONFLICT RESOLUTION WAS ASSESSED BY OBSERVING SCHOOL BOARDS DURING THE BUDGET ADOPTION PROCESS. ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT CONSENSUS IN ROLE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD AND RESOLUTION OF SCHOOL BOARD ROLE CONFLICT WERE NOT RELATED EITHER TO CHANGE IN FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE SCHOOLS OR TO CHANGE IN ALLOCATIONS TO SELECTED BUDGET CATEGORIES. CONSENSUS IN EXPECTATIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN CERTAIN REFERENCE GROUPS, ESPECIALLY CITIZENS AND TEACHERS, WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE LEVEL OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND THE NATURE OF BUDGET ALLOCATIONS. SCHOOL BOARDS TENDED TO ENGAGE IN ROLE AVOIDANCE, SELDOM RESOLVED CONFLICT IN OPEN MEETINGS, TENDED TO BE INTRA-ORGANIZATIONALLY ORIENTED ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUES, AND WERE EXTRA-ORGANIZATIONALLY ORIENTED ON ECONOMIC ISSUES. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES INCLUDE DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN ROLE DISSENSUS AND ROLE CONFLICT AND GIVING EQUAL ATTENTION TO BOTH ROLE AND PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR. (JK)