The purpose of an unreserved fund balance is to provide funds for expenditures not included in a district's budget or to make up for revenues anticipated but not received. A model developed to determine the appropriate size of the unreserved fund balance for school districts was tested with simulations in 498 Pennsylvania school districts. (MLF)

An approach used at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts) to explain the complexity of budget balancing to the institutional community is described. The model used facilitates the determination of necessary conditions for achieving budget equilibrium and suggests some approaches to restructuring expenses to ensure equilibrium. Four…

This publication presents a system of gathering overhead data and describes several methods for assigning overhead costs to specific contract prices. It is intended to provide facility production supervisors with a means of ensuring adequate cost recovery in bid prices and gaining a measure of overhead cost control. The seven steps in the overhead…

This paper represents a backdrop from which to consider the development of a planning and budgeting model for local education agencies. The first part of the presentation describes the demands and external pressures that affect resource allocation decisions in school districts. The ability of local school officials to link the cost consequences…

This book presents ways in which school administrators can identify and redirect school funds to improve student performance. It quantifies the degree of overall financial inequality in the country using figures for all districts and shows how education dollars are currently spent, why these dollars are ineffectual, and how different and more…

A resource components cost model was used to establish accurate benchmark cost and resource use estimates from two special schools for youth with moderate and severe mental retardation located within metropolitan area school districts. An accounting framework is presented that can be replicated for assessing service costs and for decision making.…

This handbook is intended for school decision-makers who need to evaluate the validity of financial data before making management judgments. The book is an analysis of what is contained in various kinds of school accounts in relation to what could be or should be contained. The book is for self-directed study, estimated to require not more than…

This assessment guide, developed by the Model Accounting Project at Aloha High School in the Beaverton, Oregon, school district, contains criteria statements that reflect factors deemed essential for quality instruction and overall effectiveness of the accounting program. The guide can be used by an instructor as a self-assessment instrument or by…

Based on a recent task inventory of key occupations in the accounting cluster taken in the Portland, Oregon, area, this curriculum guide is intended to assist administrators and teachers in the design and implementation of high school accounting cluster programs. The guide is divided into four major sections: program organization and…

The accounting cluster demonstration project conducted at Aloha High School in the Beaverton, Oregon, school district developed a model curriculum for high school accounting. The curriculum is based on interviews with professionals in the accounting field and emphasizes the use of computers. It is suitable for use with special needs students as…

Each year, the Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education develops statements regarding business education. The following are among the commission's guidelines regarding planning the business education curriculum for the new century: (1) making business education an integral and equal partner within schools' educational communities…