District consolidation is a highly emotional process. One key to success is sticking to the facts. In Iowa, school districts facing financial difficulties or enrollment concerns do not have to move directly to consolidation. In many cases, districts begin by developing sharing agreements. These sharing agreements may start with simple sharing of…

Some of the most complicated issues facing school districts across the country revolve around resource allocation and student assignment planning. Determining school attendance boundaries, selecting sites for new schools, closing existing ones, balancing seat utilization while minimizing travel costs, and achieving socioeconomic diversity are all…

The national trend toward consolidating schools has been driven by numerous factors, including fascination with economies of scale. Although small schools can claim advantages arising from a more intimate, caring atmosphere, large schools can boast specialized faculty teaching more sophisticated curricula. There is no optimal school size.…

A systematic approach to school redistricting that was developed over the past half-dozen years utilizes a computer. Crucial to achieving successful results are accuracy of data, enrollment forecasting, and citizen participation. Outlines the major steps of a typical redistricting study. One figure illustrates the redistricting process. (MLF)

Summarizes the status of teacher pension plans in Canada's 10 provinces and considers their current role in renewing and downsizing educational systems in some provinces. Discusses pensions' use as economic instruments for provincial and national development and questions assumptions underlying the rhetoric celebrating their contribution to the…

The long-standing sentiment driving consolidation into larger school districts has shifted, though research shows no consensus on right size. Larger districts appear to benefit students from more affluent backgrounds, while penalizing those from poorer backgrounds. Different sets of organizational dilemmas arise from increasing or decreasing…

The CFO (chief financial officer) performs the budgeting, accounting, and financial functions for a local education agency (LEA). The CFO of 1998 works in a very different environment from 25 years ago, due to changes in school funding sources (from local to state systems), information technology, and school district organization and…