This summary provides an overview of three reports comprising a study of resource allocation policies through various organizational structures at both the education system and school levels. An introduction briefly reviews related research and outlines the overall structure of the study, citing some issues of special concern: the balance between primary and secondary staffing allocations; the determination of staffing formulae; alternative staffing methods using aides, specialists, ancillary staff, and part time teachers; teacher workload and noncontact time; flexibility in school staff deployment; implications for staffing policy of various teaching methodologies; effects of alternative staffing practices; system responsiveness to school needs; and the problem of regionalism and staff allocation. The remaining three chapters condense the findings of the individual reports--a comparative study of education systems allocation, a school-level study based on survey data on patterns of staff allocation, and a more detailed school-level study using case studies of selected schools with especially effective staffing policies. The conclusion projects that resource allocation will be influenced in the future by such issues as the balancing of concerns for equity and diversity, the tension between traditional centralized responsibility and the emerging devolution of authority to schools, and weighing priorities among the many purposes of education. (MJL)