Faced with the prospect of declining school enrollment, educational administrators must take stock of the situation and outline plans for improving the quality of education in a period of reduced enrollment and possibly reduced state aid to local school districts. Planning principles that can help administrators in this task include the following: (1) be pragmatic and don't do all the planning alone; (2) establish a steering committee; (3) set a time line; (4) delegate tasks in a specific way; (5) establish a basic philosophy of quality education that will present long-range and short-range goals; (6) hold preliminary evening kaffee klatches; and (7) publish your accumulated guidelines and hold briefing sessions for everyone involved. Additional hints that can help get the job done include: (1) plan budget cuts each year on a descending basis; (2) consolidate and tighten programs while you have the time; (3) commit yourself to specific high-priority programs; (4) consolidate teacher needs gradually each year; (5) evaluate the value of all tasks and programs; (6) involve staff in all aspects of planning; (7) establish a planning priority for budget cuts; (8) search out innovative and valuable organizational patterns; and (9) create an opportunity for teachers to participate in the program evaluation process. (Author/JG)