The Umbridge School District's hot lunch program was hemorrhaging red ink. Each year, the school district poured more money down the sinkhole. At the same time, parents complained about the quality of the school lunches. The food services director always had excuses and nothing really changed. When no headway was evident, the superintendent said…

In the late 1990s, Fulton County Schools in Atlanta were looking at average enrollment growth of more than 2,500 students a year and a new source of significant revenue to drive its capital improvement program. With funding from Georgia's new special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST, for school capital needs, total revenue from the…

For decades, performance-based budgeting has been applied to evaluate the degree to which government programs and agencies are meeting their stated goals in a cost-efficient manner. The same thinking is applied to public education. In today's times of tight budgets and higher expectations, public schools are being asked to justify their budgets…

The Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, organized in 1974, consists of seven school districts legally bound in a governance structure. Although the member districts are located in Hampden County, Massachusetts, the collaborative provides educational programs and services to school districts and municipalities throughout western…

Pay for performance is not a new idea, and reformers should not ignore the dismal record of merit pay over the past century. Initially adopted with a flourish of expectations during several waves of popularity in the past, every plan eventually fell into disuse. These plans proved to be unexpectedly costly and cumbersome to run. They often…

School district consolidation is a striking phenomenon. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 117,108 school districts provided elementary and secondary education in 1939-1940. By 2006-2007, the number of districts had dropped to 13,862, a decline of 88 percent. The rate of consolidation has slowed in recent years, but at…

Even in the best of times, budget development in a school community poses an enormous challenge. However, these times are hardly normal. Global markets are shaken badly. The nation's economy is in recession. State legislatures are seeking sharp reductions in the current fiscal year. Months of financial turmoil likely will make 2009 the ugliest…

Regardless of the role technology plays in a school district, district personnel should know the costs associated with technology, understand the consequences of technology purchases, and be able to measure the benefits of technology, so they can make more informed decisions. However, determining costs and benefits of current technology or…

Describes several low-cost practices school administrators use to communicate with parents and the community, such as using school board meetings as a mini-information forum, plugging into the power structure, asking for opinions, participating in a community newsletter, conducting audits of a school climate, encouraging your employees and…

District and school administrators are challenged to provide learning environments that help students attain and surpass set levels of academic and social learning. In times of economic strife, discussions often turn to the efficient use of financial and human resources to maximize school districts' capacity to fulfill those objectives. Most…

Companies such as ARA Services provide lunch every day to more than 1 million students in over 280 school districts nationwide. An Illinois superintendent lists several reasons for school districts to consider "outsourcing" their food-service operations, including cost-saving opportunities, capacity for offering comprehensive services…

Beginning on the front page, this article explains ways of establishing a sound risk management insurance program that can improve a school district's financial position. Organizations that can help are listed. Available from the American Association of School Administrators, 1801 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA 22209. (MLF)

Professor of community pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego describes several cost-effective approaches to implementing a school health program. Includes, for example, taping underutilized community resources, carefully screening school health requests, prioritizing student health problems. (PKP)

The Cobb County (Georgia) School District, which transports 61,000 students to 88 schools on 763 buses daily, avidly studied privatization possibilities. Since the bus fleet is relatively new and drivers' wages compare favorably with metropolitan Atlanta's, the district concluded it could transport students better and more cheaply. A sidebar lists…

A California school superintendent presents clever savings tips, including boosting average daily attendance, sparing new hires, bird dogging insurance interest, disposing of surplus school property, recruiting students attending nonpublic schools, creating more classroom space, contracting for part-time help, reducing vandalism, marketing staff…