Experience in the health care industry indicates that increased federal aid results in a regulatory morass. (IRT)

Seven knowledgeable persons discuss their views on the relationship between finance reform and local control. (IRT)

Several authors discuss block grants. The first author offers a brief overview of the history of federal grants in education and advances five arguments in favor of block grants. Others summarize the Reagan administration's proposals on block grants and note several arguments against such grants. (WD)

Asserts that career education is an ill-defined program imposed on local districts from the federal level. Further, the program threatens local autonomy. (Author/IRT)

Defends New Jersey's school takeover law as the final step of a monitoring process designed to ensure the health of local schools. Most of New Jersey's 583 school systems have achieved state accreditation, and many of the 16 that haven't will be certified within the year. An inset describes the takeover process. (MLH)

Considers some of the reasons for, and the advantages of, the movement towards school consolidation that has led to the disappearance of some 73,000 school districts in the last 25 years. (WM)

Suggests that teachers and administrators from our colleges and schools voluntarily investigate a new sequence of study--one that would focus on our common heritage, highlight the shared experiences of the present, and focus on human prospects for the future while teaching basic skills. (Author/IRT)

Examines Jersey City (New Jersey) Superintendent Franklin Williams' efforts to thwart the state's takeover of his school system, which is facing academic and managerial bankruptcy. An inset mentions other state takeovers or interventions in Texas, New Mexico, and Kentucky school districts facing financial and accreditation difficulties. (MLH)

Outlines a plan for state funding that leaves local control on educational matters. (IRT)

Outlines eight ways in which the management of schools is different from the management of private businesses. (IRT)

The "friends" are the states, the Congress, and the executive branch. (IRT)

Results of a Council for Basic Education poll of 1,000 voters argue for redefining local control of public education and for raising standards in every part of the country. School boards can ensure easy public access to national standards, demand that local standards be written in plain English, and lobby state officials to clarify statewide…

Interviews with 11 Colorado state legislators about their views on local control reveal they have no fear of pushing the constitutional envelope when it comes to legislating school policy. School board members must get involved in the legislative process, whether by lobbying legislators on behalf of important education issues or testifying as…

Two small school districts (one K-12, the other 9-12) reorganized their high school programs so they operate as a single entity and without closing either site. One site serves as an English and humanities center, the other as a mathematics and science center. Collaboration has improved the academic program and cut expenses. (MLF)

In Canada, no federal education agency exists, and local school systems traditionally rely on provincial ministries of education for most of their money and for educational direction. (Author/JM)