How much were school business officials being paid during the 2009-2010 school year? How do their salaries compare with those of other administrators, with those of classroom teachers, and with increases in the cost of living? In this article, the authors provide school business officials with information to address these and related questions.…

The use of the management team approach by school business officials will result in increased operational efficiency, greater accountability, better decisions, less crisis management, reduced stress, and increased job satisfaction. (MLF)

In this interview, John Forte, Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools' assistant superintendent for general services, explains how he uses his training and professional experience to oversee a smoothly running operation in one of the nation's largest school districts. His real challenge is providing extra support to students in low-income areas.…

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…

A survey of nearly 400 members at an annual meeting of the Association of School Business Officials revealed that 228 (60 percent) used microcomputers for central office administrative purposes. Word processing, spreadsheet, and data management programs led the list of major applications. (MLF)

Summarizes the perceptions of Virginia school officials regarding media coverage and analyzes newspaper coverage of school district budgeting processes. Questionnaire responses from 72 (54%) school board chairmen and 80 (60%) board of supervisors chairmen reveal that newspapers are the most important method of transmitting information from school…

For the 2000-01 school year, $94,137 was reported as the mean of assistant superintendents' average salaries and $77,768 as the mean of directors' of finance and business average salaries. Salaries are affected by geographic region, enrollment size, and per-pupil spending. Increases have kept up with CPI cost of living increases. (MLH)

A small school system can plan and install an effective computer system by developing a comprehensive plan; involving the personnel who will use the system; relying on vendors with proven records; and recognizing that training is an ongoing process. (MLF)

Continues the discussion of the Association of School Business Officials' 1987 member survey on automation, citing computer applications in use by enrollment size. Only the number of applications in wide use increases with enrollment size. A rough measure of satisfaction with software vendors highlights two companies. (MLF)

Summarizes responses from 263 districts from 37 states drawn from a sample of districts with student enrollment of less than 800. The study found there is an overwhelming inability of local districts to fund capital outlay at levels needed to keep their buildings adequate, safe, and accessible. (MLF)