This annotated bibliography reflects an attempt to indicate the range and quality of published responses to the complex phenomenon of declining enrollments in elementary and secondary schools. It is intended to suggest sources of practical information and advice and to provide a larger context for administrators coping with the effects of decline…

The Facilities Committee of the Birmingham School District developed procedures for a thorough assessment of the buildings in the district. By March 1974, all buildings had been visited by an assessment team. A subsequent report submitted by the building principals contained the consensus judgment of the assessment team for each item assessed. At…

The use of many public school facilities now closed due to declining enrollment could generate substantial savings for new federal construction projects. Responses to a questionnaire sent to all 50 states by the General Accounting Office (GAO) show that there were 2,493 vacant schools in 19 of the 23 responding states at the beginning of the…

A step-by-step procedure, defined to help the Hamden Public Schools (Connecticut) board of education with the task of choosing one or more elementary schools to close, develops a list of criteria used for comparing and ranking elementary schools into a working system intended to give a precise, objective structure to the board's decision-making…

Population growth in the United States has declined since the early 1970s. As a result of the lower birth rate and changing migration patterns, approximately one-third of the school districts in the country have experienced some drop in enrollment. Smaller districts are the hardest hit by enrollment decline, since they are less able to absorb the…

The North Carolina Division of School Planning conducted an educational survey of Cleveland County Schools. An architect and an engineer evaluated and rated each facility and site. The report of findings recommends reorganizing the merged school system into a K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 configuration, to improve instructional offerings for particular…

Effective long-range planning by school districts is an imperative in dealing with declining enrollments. School districts should (1) evaluate present programs in light of current statutory regulations and educational trends and innovations; (2) appraise the structural qualities of existing school facilities; (3) conduct communitywide surveys to…

This report identifies problems in planning for school construction by the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and discusses how the Board of Education can better administer its building modernization and renovation program. The aim of the study was to find out if DCPS' capital improvement planning system was providing essential data to the…

Four documents and seven journal articles on the management of enrollment decline, selected from those recently made available through the ERIC system, are described briefly in this report. Topics covered in the items listed include what can be done at the state level, suggestions for projecting enrollment, how instructional space is being…

Declines in student population are a fact of life in most of the nation's school districts. With the declines come unprecedented challenges and opportunities; sensitive community relations problems involved with school closings; costs that continue to rise despite the decline in student numbers; the need for staff reductions; the need for…

In an effort to alleviate or minimize the more serious effects of declining enrollment in Ontario, this report provides relevant data, case studies, and guidelines regarding the use of school facilities. Many school boards in the province have already established practices relevant to the issue of redundant school facilities and consolidation, and…

By researching this project, a group of graduate students gained practical knowledge of administrative problems linked to declining enrollment while providing consultation for a Long Island, New York, school district. The two professors coordinating the project identified 13 component issues, each of which was assigned to a team of students; each…

The current decline in enrollment has had a significant impact on teachers, curriculum, community relations, administrators, and facilities of the public education system. The current cutback procedures of teacher reduction-in-force have fostered a predominantly white, largely middle-class, and definitely middle-aged teaching profession. With…

This publication attempts to simplify the complex issue of declining enrollment and surplus school space. Part 1 is devoted to a thorough discussion of enrollment decline. Text and tables are used to explain enrollment projections, large city public school enrollment decline, birthrates, population mobility, expenditures for education, and the…