This study examines formerly incarcerated student programming from practitioner perspectives at California community colleges. The following research questions guide the study: 1) How has the pandemic and concurrent sociopolitical contexts influence the way staff, faculty, and administrators approach their work? 2) How do practitioners describe…

California community colleges are experiencing unprecedented levels of sanctions from their accrediting agency. A survey of planners in these colleges reveals a wide gap between current practice and perceived importance of integrated planning practices, as well as misalignment in budgeting methods. Statistically significant gaps were identified…

As state governors grapple with their budgets for 2012, public universities and colleges are facing some of the deepest funding cuts in memory. To make matters worse, most of the federal stimulus funds, which have helped dull the pain so far, will have been spent by June. It seems almost inevitable that IT departments are going to be asked to…

Proposition 49, which voters passed in 2002, guaranteed more than a three-fold increase in state funding for after school programs, although rollout was dependent on the state budget meeting specific conditions. In 2006-07, the budget met those conditions and the legislation implementing the proposition was passed. Subsequently, an additional $550…

Many more community college students than students at California's four-year colleges would lose financial aid under Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for 2009. This issue brief finds that the budget-cutting plan would eliminate new Cal Grant awards for 45 percent of community college students who would have received them, compared to five…

A school budget is a planning document that links financial decisions to educational policy. This booklet is a brief overview of how such budgets are derived in California. It is intended for new administrators, school board members, and interested teachers, parents, and community members who wish to learn about school budgeting and become more…

California's official school accounting procedures, amended in 1984 to clarify definitions and improve program cost accounting, are presented. Following an introduction that discusses general characteristics of school accounting, the manual explains the following areas of accounting practice: (1) financial reporting; (2) income; (3) expenditures;…

THE ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM BUDGETING, WHICH IS CURRENTLY APPLIED TO ALL THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES AND AGENCIES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, IS TRACED. IT WAS RECOGNIZED AND APPLIED AS EARLY AS 1924 BY INDUSTRY, UTILIZED AS PART OF THE WARTIME CONTROL SYSTEM IN 1942, AND IS USED TODAY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. THIS IS A…

California's many school districts vary widely in makeup but all of them share certain characteristics. This booklet gives a synopsis of how these districts manage their educational dollars. An overview of California's schools, looks at enrollment figures, profiles of students, the distribution of district revenue, and categorical aid. The booklet…

This is the summary report of a study conducted to measure the impact of the cutbacks necessitated by Proposition 13 on the availability and quality of vocational education in California, recommend reforms in the priority-setting process for vocational education given reduced levels of support, and recommend changes in regulations and/or…

How early childhood funds are channeled to communities significantly affects what supports and services are available, how they are provided, how well they are linked to other resources in the community, and who benefits from them. As pressure mounts for states and communities to strengthen their commitment to families with young children and meet…

Representing the work of a Task Force on Community College Finance established by the California State Legislature, this report recommends criteria and standards for the implementation of a new program-based funding mechanism for the state's community colleges. After reviewing the legislative mandate for the implementation of program-based…

A school district plan of functional organization is designed to integrate the functional and the organizational aspects of performance. The plan can be used to seek solutions to three basic management problems: (1) The functions which must be performed in a school district, (2) the plan of organization which should be implemented to facilitate…

This report documents the efforts of four school districts to bring their communities into the decisionmaking process at the levels of basic educational philosophy and immediate local needs and goals. The document (1) identifies the procedures each district used to engage and involve the community in the decisionmaking process, (2) charts the…

This is the technical report of a study conducted to measure the impact of the cutbacks necessitated by Proposition 13 on the availability and quality of vocational education in California, recommend reforms in the priority-setting process for vocational education given reduced levels of support, and recommend changes in regulations and/or…