Given that education quality has long lagged behind in China's rural schools, one-way "partner assistance" no longer conforms to the new situation of integrated urban-rural governance and the equalization of public services. Only two-way "exchange and rotation" with full participation can truly support schools and teachers in…

The purpose of this article is to describe and compare individual state funding systems for public elementary and secondary education in the United States. States' major education funding systems are described as well as funding mechanisms for students with disabilities; English language learners (ELL); gifted and talented students; and low income…

During the 2008-2009 academic school year, nearly a million (956,914) students were reported by school districts as being homeless, a 41% increase over just a 2-year period year. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of national legislative efforts to address the education of children who are homeless, with a particular…

This case represents a multitude of leadership dilemmas created by financial exigencies and the difficult decisions that must be made during times of economic austerity. Under the best of circumstances, deciding between programmatic elimination and/or employee termination is agonizing, onerous, and filled with political and social ramifications.…

This research investigates state finance policies for public education using survey methodology. The purpose is to update previous work and the existing knowledge base in the field as well as to provide a compendium of finance and policy options that are used across the states to finance public elementary and secondary schools. Chief state school…

There are still 10 English local educational authorities (LEAs) that are wholly selective and a further 10 with some grammar and secondary modern schools. This article examines the academic performance of pupils in secondary modern schools and the funding of these schools using national data sets matching pupils' performance at Key Stage 2 and…

At each of Baltimore's 46 junior and senior high schools, a microcomputer system distributes tickets for subsidized lunches and transportation for over half of the students. (MLF)

Busing is not effective in promoting school integration. The only way to achieve school integration is through equal funding to all schools. (Author/MC)

Increasing numbers of school systems are reducing their transportation services. Citing the recession, reduction in state aid, and defeat of tax levies as the cause, the school transportation issue is seen by some as evidence of inequality. (MLF)

A purely geographic classification is not the best way to measure rural disadvantage in Australia. A service access model is described that incorporates the following elements: population center size; distance, time, and cost of travel to the service center; and a measure of the economic capacity of residents to overcome the cost of travel.…

Campus planning is affected by changing facility needs, transportation issues, emergence of satellite campuses, piecemeal development and funding, and shrinking budgets. A tool for reshaping college image is the campus assessment, which evaluates the campus character, condition, and maintenance and helps bring them in line with institutional…

Explores the influences state departments of education have on the cost and quality of pupil transportation. Evaluates the following state funding methodologies: (1) actual costs incurred; (2) a flat rate per unit; or (3) a multivariate calculation in providing service efficiently and equitably between districts. (MLF)

Most school systems can cut the costs of many of their programs and operations and thereby save an imperiled program or uncover funding for new or expanded programs. Presents examples of creative cost-cutting in plant operations and maintenance, administration, employee benefits, transportation, and teacher employment. (MLF)

Addresses issues raised at the All-Union Congress of Workers in Public Education concerning improvement of the USSR's rural schools. Cites statistics depicting the inferior status of school buildings, instructional materials, student transportation, and teacher-pupil ratio. Connects rural school improvement to increased agricultural production.…