In the wake of COVID-19, school systems face a daunting set of challenges as they plan for the 2020-2021 school year -- including meeting students' increased academic and social-emotional needs, implementing physical distancing requirements, and grappling with significant revenue loss. School systems must prepare for the 2020-2021 school year with…

This brief examines the series of events that led to the Highland Park school district being converted to a system of charter public schools in 2012. Used as a strategy to help the district eliminate its large fiscal debt while still providing resident students with a local public school option, Highland Park's charter conversion is one of the…

What Financial future awaits the current generation of children and teenagers in the United States? Our children and teenagers did not cause the financial problems that confront the nation and impacts their families, but they will pay part of the price for these financial problems. What should children and teenagers know about personal finance?…

Outlines techniques for eliminating risk exposures to help schools curtail extra financial expenses resulting from theft and vandalism losses through a well developed risk management policy. (MD)

This report provides a fiscal analysis of the Department of Education's 1999 financial audit results. It focuses on the relationship between the audit findings and the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse, and examines the status of an ongoing study of the Department's grantback account. It describes the ongoing accounting problems that have…

An Arizona district funded staff salary raises by developing some workable budget-reduction strategies. The process emphasized garnering board and community support and collaborating with employee groups. A list of 67 ideas for generating revenues or reallocating program dollars represented $9 million in savings. A condensed list saving $3 million…

This testimony summarizes a report generated by the U.S. General Accounting Office concerned with internal control problems found in the U.S. Department of Education. Significant internal control weaknesses in the U.S. Department of Education's payment processes and poor physical control over its computer assets made the department vulnerable to…

This report to Congressional Requesters is concerned with internal control problems found in the U.S. Department of Education. Significant internal control weaknesses in the U.S. Department of Education's payment processes and poor physical control over its computer assets made the department vulnerable to (and in some cases resulted in) fraud,…

The Waycross (Georgia) school system retired its debt and reduced its tax rates, without reducing educational quality, by budgeting for an operating reserve, carefully reviewing programs, reducing its fiscal responsibilities for special programs, and tightening its budget management techniques. (RW)

Public education in Virginia during fiscal year 2002 is characterized by fiscal crisis, reductions in funds, and no new salary increases for state employees including teachers and university faculty. The current context of recession and budget deficits, together with tax reductions imposed by the previous gubernatorial administration and current…

Based on three western school districts' financial failure, this article discusses signs of trouble (overspending patterns, overoptimism about district resources, inadequate financial controls, a breakdown in business operations, inattention to audits, out-of-control personnel practices, and insufficient planning) and discusses ameliorative…

Some of the strategies that states have used to manage budget shortfalls are presented in this report. It provides information, evaluations, and case studies that policymakers can refer to when considering their options, and it emphasizes strategies to manage budget shortfalls, which tend to need a quick resolution. The report also examines some…

Explains the proposed revisions to Internal Revenue Service regulations that would require school districts to calculate the earnings on investments and deduct these earnings from bond obligations. Demonstrates how the revisions would restrict use of the proceeds of short-term investment of borrowed funds and limit cash on hand. (MLF)

Ten years ago the new superintendent of District 11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, learned the proposed budget was $12 million out of balance. Now the district has sound financial backing thanks to improving business practices. (MLF)

Rethinks the use of teachers, a school's most expensive and important resource. Four categories could benefit from restructuring: teacher and aide allocation/assignment, teacher compensation, student support services, and general and special program administration. Middletown, New York, actually improved its student:teacher ratio by using its…