Despite growing concerns about the harmful effects of "hardening" schools through increased police and surveillance on school campuses, little research has examined trends in financial resources allocated to these programs, practices, and personnel. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing trends and patterns in school…

This article describes the benefits one gets when big schools roll out highly effective eProcurement systems--strategic improvements and savings. eProcurement systems are hot again in higher education, driven by unrelenting cost containment demands, along with industry shifts that have consolidated choices and brought top products to the…

Proper cash flow planning allows a school business administrator to determine the availability of cash for operating expenses, the need for bank loans to cover these expenses, and the availability of idle cash for investment. (Author)

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of zero base budgeting and its implications for application to educational institutions. (Author)

Discusses a new set of indirect cost accounting procedures which must be followed by school districts wishing to recover any indirect costs of administering federal grants and contracts. Also discusses the amount of indirect costs that may be recovered, computing indirect costs, classifying project costs, and restricted grants. (Author/DN)

A Texas school district initiated a budget development process using peer review committees representing each of the seven major units of the district. The process aims to rank budget requests based on district goals and to improve communication among district units. (MLF)

Outlines a procedure that accomplishes the major goals of an accounting system in a manner a small school district can handle. (Author/MLF)

Life cycle costing establishes a realistic comparison of the cost of owning and operating products. The formula of initial cost plus maintenance plus operation divided by useful life identifies the best price over the lifetime of the product purchased. (MLF)

The transmittal letter, part of a school district's comprehensive annual financial report, provides a creative opportunity to communicate the financial picture of a district to readers. After the introduction, the letter should include sections on (1) mission, services, and environment; (2) financial highlights; (3) systems and controls; and (4)…

To increase the success rate and promote more participation in the Association of School Business Officials' Certificate of Excellence Program, last year's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) submitted by every third successful submitter (N=28) and all unsuccessful submitters (N=23) were examined for deficiencies. (MLF)

A school district audit committee has the capacity to unearth pertinent information about the operating efficiency and effectiveness of a school district, as well as providing a more professional audit. (Author/WM)

The new Uniform School Accounting System has all the advantages of standardized accounting procedures and also enables standardized cost comparisons of schools. (MLF)

California's 50% law requires that at least half of a community college district's expenditures per fiscal year be spent on instructional costs. These costs include the salaries of certificated instructors, salaries of such classified instructional personnel as aides and assistants, and employee benefits. A district's general expenditures include…

The references included were drawn from the documents received and processed to date by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities, and are organized into the following sections--(1) school business, (2) maintenance and operations, (3) insurance programs, (4) property accounting, (5) purchasing, and (6) food service. (FS)

This paper offers a look into the future of educational program auditing and presents a detailed discussion of the notion of a districtwide educational audit. To date, virtually all program audit activities have occurred as a result of specially funded State or federal education programs. Once the program ends, or changes its requirements, the…