This report, a clear statement of how one district developed a planning system, offers both a theoretical and a practical approach to providing the superintendent, his staff, and the board of education with a comprehensive planning system instrument for making policy decisions and allocating resources. Also provided are guidelines for involving the community, its agencies, the students, their parents, and the instructional staff in decisionmaking and implementation regarding educational priorities. Additional guidelines are included for reorganizing the planning and data collection services of the system under a director of planning. (Author)