An overview of school-based management (SBM) and the issues involved are provided in this document. Information is offered on the following topics: the advantages and liabilities of SBM; its effect on the roles of the school board, superintendent, and district office; decision-making processes; elements of SBM implementation; examples of three…

Changes geared toward enhancing student success occurring in certain Miami, Minneapolis, and New York City schools capture the essence of educational restructuring. A complete overhaul of curriculum and instruction, authority and decision-making practices, staff roles, and accountability systems is necessary--especially in inner-city schools.…

Findings from a study to determine the knowledge base among Kentucky superintendents about site-based management (SBM) are presented in this paper. Questionnaires mailed to all of the state's 177 public school superintendents yielded a 73 percent response rate. Findings indicate that while there was considerable interest in SBM, there was…

A decentralized administrative environment can help ensure the effective allocation of resources through particpative decision making. The decentralized structure at Washburn University is described along with how it helps integrate the planning and budgeting process and the effectiveness of the resulting resource allocations. (MLW)

Moving toward site-based management, Greece (New York) Central School District administrators and the teachers' organization established a representative steering committee to coordinate and facilitate the decentralization process and develop a master plan. Benefits include increased faculty understanding, improved school climate, and increased…

Recently, the Petersburg (Virginia) Public Schools have moved away from a highly centralized organizational structure to a Total Quality Management system featuring shared decision making and school-based management practices. The district was guided by Deming's philosophy that all stakeholders should be involved in defining the level of products…

In communities as diverse as those in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the state of Kentucky, school staffs have shown reluctance to opt into shared decision-making programs. Teachers have often declined, and, in Montgomery County, the principals' bargaining unit went on record in opposition to a proposed policy of participatory decision making.…

A principal describes her experience under the changes implemented recently in England and Wales. She describes leadership challenges and some strategies that use micropolitics to effect positive outcomes. She successfully employed tension and confrontation as steps toward change and encouraged participation in decision making. (MLH)

Discusses the history of community control of public education, examining: sub-regional communities (New York City's community school boards and Detroit's regional decentralization); school-based decentralization (preserving professional privilege in Salt Lake City and local school councils in Chicago); balancing bottom-up and top-down; whether…

This paper describes the process undertaken by the Meneley Elementary School in Douglas County, Nevada, to develop a plan for shared governance. In 1989, the school became a participant in the Nevada School Improvement Project (SIP). The new governance plan established a Decision Making Council (DMC), composed of representatives from each grade…

The Dade County (Florida) Public School system has had various types of school-based management (SBM) procedures in operation since 1974. During the 1985-86 school year, a committee of principals and other administrators reviewed the concepts of SBM from a different viewpoint, using various materials that addressed the professionalization of…

Explores the concept of decentralization within South Africa. Examines the policy impact of participation and democratization in relation to the powers and functions of school governing bodies. Concludes by considering the gap between rhetoric and practice in relation to attempts to entrench democracy and participation at the school level. (CAJ)

To implement shared decision-making, a Colorado school district needed three years to venture through the cage door, scare the cat away, and experience an increase in involvement from district constituents. Blocking can occur because of outdated policies reflecting centralized control, perceptions of the principal as prime manipulator, master…

Survey based on personal/interpersonal and institutional barriers to site-based management identified by Mutchler and Duttweiler (1989) was sent to school board presidents and public school administrators in 54 centrally organized South Dakota districts. Majority of responding board presidents did not view these barriers as implementation…

School/Community-Based Management (SCBM) improves the quality of education by providing schools with administrative flexibility and by empowering each school's community to make and implement decisions that will directly affect its members and students. To help individual school communities that are considering adopting SCBM understand how shared…