Discussion of how three major trends in American education today -- growing politicization; increasing erosion of lay control in local school districts, and the growing lieklihood of more centralized systems of school finance -- are combining to escalate States' involvement in educational policy decisions. (Author)

There is no basis for the belief that making a school or district bigger is likely to make it better. Educational improvement and economic efficiency are the real challenges. (Author/MLF)

School district reorganization will continue because there are still districts with enrollments below 1,200 pupils, and because of court-ordered measures to achieve desegregation or prevent segregation of schools. (Author/MLF)