Describes specific factors contributing to questionable validity and reliability of cost information used by mental health administrators. Presents a case study in which 17 different cost figures were derived for a single program using various methods currently employed. Discusses implications of nonuniform cost data. (Author/RC)

It has been argued that the answer to public and political demands for a more responsive educational system lies in the practice of accountability. The future implementation of program budgeting may offer an attractive vehicle for accountability. Currently, many California school districts use the California Educational Information System (CEIS)…

This document discusses planning for educational development by means of a Planning, Programming, Budgeting System. A PPB system is defined and its basic operation is described. Various ways in which the broader purposes of governments may be classified in terms of their objectives are presented with emphasis on how the learning objective might…

Decentralizing educational budgets allows the disbursement of funds aimed at maximizing student development. Three strategies for decentralizing budgets are program budgeting, which eliminates line-item budgeting and allows administrators to address questions regarding the relative value of educational programs; zero-based budgeting, which allows…

The paper presents a model to assist administrators of special education programs for multiply handicapped children in making budgetary decisions and in evaluating therapy programs. The model's use requires that the efficiency and effectiveness of the various therapeutic services be measured and that the service needs of the multiply handicapped…

Planning-programing-budgeting systems (PPBS) have borne few of the fruits that many claimed they would. This is partly due to the five following widely held misconceptions about PPBS: 1) that PPBS is primarily concerned with budgeting; 2) that PPBS should displace instructional goals; 3) that it is not necessary to attend to all elements of PPBS;…

Interest in the Planning, Programming, Budgeting System (PPBS) has waned over the last five years for several reasons. Early rhetoric about PPBS obscured its true character and promised more than it could deliver. Initially, few had the competencies needed to implement it. It is often wrongly believed to be solely a budgeting system. Finally,…

This report discusses Title I programs currently operating in the St. Louis, Missouri, public schools and analyzes various budgeting options that would permit administrators to maintain educational quality in the face of reduced funding. Detailed descriptions, including data on pupil achievement, cost effectiveness, and implementation problems,…