"Advice from the Principal's Desk: 5 Pillars of School Leadership" is a fresh, new take on school leadership from award-winning former school administrator and professor of education Dr. David Franklin. In the book, you'll find the tools and strategies that veteran school administrators need to succeed in their roles. You'll learn how to…

Benchmarking against similar districts, ideally higher-performing ones, can be a valuable tool for determining the appropriate level of central-office investment. Unfortunately, reliable benchmarks on district spending in teaching and learning support are not readily available. This should not preclude districts from using this valuable method to…

Joy does not come easily to superintendents. The path is often strewn with conflict, adversity and crises. In their own experience supporting superintendents across the country, the authors have learned that joy in the face of adversity accrues primarily to superintendents who demonstrate the elements of resilience. Resilient superintendents…

Economic news today is filled with discussion about whether the United States has entered a recession. For the author and other presidents of public colleges and universities, whether the downturn can be labeled a recession is far less important than dealing with the effects of economic conditions on institutions. During hard times, both public…

Colleges and universities, like corporations and other nonprofit organizations, are subject to periodic fluctuations in the economy and public support. Thus, the question is not whether they will confront financial problems but rather when and how. This article describes how institutions and boards can detect budgets in crisis, provides principles…

The impact on nine British universities' of substantial financial reductions in 1980-81 and the policy implications for national funding agencies are examined. Implementation of institutional retrenchment plans and the role of high-level administrators are discussed. (MSE)

Offers colleges and universities some strategies when reallocation of funds is necessary. Discussion focuses on the use of facilitating teams to help department chairpersons, active promotion of reallocation in funding proposals, use of analytical databases in decision making, use of program audits, taxation policies, decentralization of decision…

It is proposed that the primary method for college budget reduction should be horizontal, across-the-board cuts by percentage applied to all programs and departments. It is argued further that vertical budget cuts embody imperfect procedural justice and should be considered only in extreme situations. (MSE)

Demonstrates local government's use of alternative forecasting techniques in school planning and retrenchment. Argues that forecasting is an art blending academic and political concerns. While statistical techniques and historical data are useful forecasting tools, the most significant influence should be school officials' plans and preferences.…

Service contracts with the private sector can help school districts remain flexible in responding to change. However, a comprehensive analysis is required for each particular situation. (MLF)

University of California (Stanford) administrators have used lessons learned from the restructuring and downsizing of the Union Pacific railroad in their strategic planning. Action teams to make recommendations on particular university problem areas were developed. University restructuring and downsizing activities of the past year have…

Examples are given of how United States universities are being affected by and coping with the declining revenues accompanying the current recession. The role of business officers in providing the facts, information, and guidance needed by an administration making retrenchment decisions is discussed. (DB)

Six college advancement professionals respond to a hypothetical case of across-the-board cuts in nonacademic departments by telling how they would make budgeting choices. The strategies used include involving senior advancement managers as a team, cultivating consensus, preserving priority projects, sharing responsibility among departments,…

Discusses the new information possibilities available to educational administrators, pointing out that the most useful role of computers is to provide meaningful data to improve decision making. Outlines a three-phase approach to computerizing school districts. (MD)

Outlines Northeast Missouri State University's Value-Added Student Assessment Program, which determines the value added to students as they progress through the educational system. The program has been functioning for over a decade and affects nearly every aspect of the university. (MD)