Almost two years into the federal Race to the Top program, states are spending their shares of the $4 billion prize at a snail's pace--a reflection of the challenges the 12 winners face as they try to get ambitious education improvement plans off the ground. Through the end of March, the 11 states and the District of Columbia had spent just 14…

School business officials are best equipped to lead in funding operating and capital needs because they understand the need for a methodical means of funding ongoing costs over time and the benefits of planning for future financial needs rather than letting emergencies dictate spending priorities. A capital-financing plan makes it possible to…

Now in its 29th year, The Industry Report is recognized as the training industry's most trusted source of data on budgets, staffing, and programs. This year, the study was conducted by an outside research firm in June-August 2010, when members from the "Training" magazine database were e-mailed an invitation to participate in an online…

Econometric cost functions have begun to appear in education adequacy cases with greater frequency. Cost functions are superficially attractive because they give the impression of objectivity, holding out the promise of scientifically estimating the cost of achieving specified levels of performance from actual data on spending. By contrast, the…

The Idaho Rural Education Task Force was formed in July 2007 with the goal of proposing and examining solutions to challenges facing rural schools. The task force's work this year has focused on three areas: recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers, funding shortages related to insurance costs and staff allowances, and the technology…

This report analyzes the New York City Board of Education's planned expenditures for the 1977-1978 fiscal year. The report is designed to give the public a brief yet understandable overview of the Board of Education's annual budget. Allocations for eight functional areas (direct instructional programs, indirect instructional programs, ancillary…

The Chancellor of the New York (New York) public schools proposes a 1989/90 budget of $6.405 billion, including a base budget of $5.734 billion and an increase of $671.3 million (11.7 percent) for discretionary programs, school facilities improvement, and mandatory increases. These funds are needed to continue initiatives begun in prior years and…

This document presents fiscal year 2003 budget recommendations for Illinois higher education operations, grants, and capital improvements. For operations and grants, general funds of $2,789.2 million are recommended, an increase of $100 million, or 3.7%. New funds are targeted to address the six goals of "The Illinois Commitment:…

Every year the Education Commission of the States (ECS) Center for Community College Policy holds a policy forum to which state community college directors and association presidents are invited. The goal of these forums is to provide an opportunity for community college state directors and association presidents to discuss critical policy issues…

In order to assess the effects of changes in funding processes in Florida, this report describes and compares financing under: the Minimum Foundation Programs (MFP), which for 25 years served as the funding model for elementary, secondary, and community college education; the Community College Program Fund, a multi-level program cost formula,…

In this report, the Canadian Community College Association (CCCA) offers its rationale for urging the government of Canada to increase transfer payments to the provinces in support of postsecondary education by $2 billion per annum, as well as making an additional increase in transfer payments that would contribute to the future expansion of…

This unit cost study of the Illinois Community College Board is an annual project involving the direct participation of all community colleges in Illinois. Each college submits data based on course offerings, enrollments, and costs to the Board staff, who in turn check the data for consistency with credit hour claims and financial reports, and…

Maintains that music educators need to become familiar with the budget process in order to act as advocates for their program. Offers several suggestions designed to increase the probability of program requests appropriation. Recommends creating a business plan and encouraging partnerships. (MJP)