The changing demands of the 21st century--and the students growing up in it--are generating fundamental challenges to historical assumptions about what education looks like. The challenge today is to provide a deeper level of personalized learning to each and every student so that all can achieve mastery of the Common Core standards and other…

The deduction of state and local taxes in computing federal tax has been a effective though hidden form of federal assistance to education since 1862.This article estimates the state-by-state impact of eliminating such support in fiscal year 1987, as suggested in recent tax reform proposals. (17 references) (MLH)

Higher education benefits from several United States tax law provisions, including deductibility of charitable contributions. Recent tax reform proposals could increase would-be donors' net cost by reducing tax incentives. This paper links lower tax rates to a significant future reduction in educational philanthropy. (18 references) (MLH)

To cope with today's tight economy, administrators can make use of their school resources through business collaboration; for example, New Jersey's Princeton Regional School District has improved its "bottom line" by developing various marketing strategies. (CJH)

This paper presents an alternative to fund accounting by colleges and universities. Global accounting is intended to present an integrated view of a college's economic activities and financial status, by tracking planned and actual college income, college expenses, and effect on the institution's real wealth. Examples are given. (DB)

A thorough review of Lane Community College's purchase order system revealed that 62% of all purchase orders processed in 1981-82 were for amounts under $100; that these orders made up only 3.5% of the dollars expended in acquiring materials and services for college operations; and that each purchase order cost the college $75 in supplies and…

Reviews provisions of the Tax Reform Act (1986) affecting schools that issue bonds, notes, or warrants. While interest on school financing will remain tax-exempt, school officials will need to master new concepts involving private agency bonds and arbitrage restrictions. Further erosion of schools' tax-exempt status is likely. (MLH)

The cost-effective "wellness" health care approach, emphasized by many corporations, will soon be emphasized by school districts. Wellness programs, beneficial for employees, can be launched by utilization of community resources and by knowing employees' health needs. (CJH)

This paper examines the effects of site-based budgeting in education. It describes and presents a school-based budgetary decision-making model that was designed originally to shift the balance of power from the central office to the building level. The model has been refined and successfully utilized in one school district for 20 years, and its…

In June 1999, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued its statement on the structure of the basic financial reporting model for state and local governments. Explains the new financial reporting model and reviews the implementation issues that school districts will need to address. (MLF)

Programs serving children and families are funded through countless federal, state, and local governmental channels, as well as through private sources. Every one of these programs contains a unique set of standard rules and requirements about how funds may be used and who is eligible to receive them. Increasingly, policymakers, educators,…

This newsletter summarizes the debate on the use of state-level initiatives as levers to effect fundamental changes in higher education. It provides several perspectives on the use of incentive/enhancement programs to achieve state higher education goals. The concept of budgetary leverage is outlined, and the growth in enhancement programs…

Summarizes some ways Massachusetts schools have trimmed their budgets in response to Proposition 2 1/2 and offers suggestions concerning how other schools or districts could go about doing the same. (JM)

Financial pressures are forcing the closure of some teaching hospitals and retrenchment using such strategies as development of ambulatory care and satellite facilities, merging with or acquiring other hospitals, and shortening patient hospital stays. A table lists revenues and profit margins for the 20 largest university-owned teaching hospitals.…

Diverse economic, social, and legal concerns have brought renewed attention to the problem of financing public schools. The primary economic concern is preparing students to compete successfully in the international marketplace. The change in demographics of the United States also is a major social concern for education. Legal concerns focus on…