Sprinklers can protect school buildings, save lives, and actually reduce construction costs. Sprinkler-system costs can be easily offset by insurance savings, as well as by specific alternatives or design options permitted by nationally recognized building codes in view of the superior protection that sprinklers provide. (MLF)

Describes how Colorado's Pueblo School District #70 dealt with impending funding cuts. The district developed a Budget Reduction Model to educate the public about the impact of loss of funding on various school-district goods and services. Presents the timeline and tools used to examine areas for potential cuts and to arrive at a consensus about…

Considers the size of online classes in higher education. Highlights include size as a factor in course design; interactivity issues; synchronous communication; balancing budget considerations and quality concerns; and enrollment parameters. (LRW)

Explores the use of needs assessment to provide evidence of college career center effectiveness, justify costs, and make effective decisions about their services. Discusses the benefits and process of conducting a needs assessment in a career center at a small university. (JOW)

Discusses the decision making behind whether some school district services are better to be outsourced rather than done in- house. Issues examined include calculating the cost of in-house service delivery before turning to the private sector. A list of what questions to be addressed in the decision making process is included. (GR)

In this exploratory study, university students were given the choice of two forms of course participation. One involved structured instructor support using the World Wide Web, including regular feedback; the second made the same possibilities available but did not require or structure their use. Includes a cost benefit analysis. (Contains 21…

Discusses portal technology in higher education, including planning, design, technical, and financial issues. Highlights include determining the customers; marketing possibilities for the university; ownership issues; data design; effective cost structuring; security issues; adaptability; content; and customer input and feedback. (LRW)

Examines several alternative ways for school districts to reduce the construction costs of new facilities. Finds that spacing out the start of facility construction projects and building during economic downturns in the construction industry offer the best options for construction cost savings. (PKP)

Advocates further development of strategies for carrying out economic analyses of early childhood programs and identifies some emerging concepts and methodologies that might support the development of expertise for such evaluation. Draws on experience of a United Kingdom team of early childhood evaluators and their attempts to develop an economic…

A Wisconsin program aimed to amplify the achievement benefits of class-size reduction by requiring supplementary pupil services, a standards-based curriculum, and related staff development and accountability. In one urban school district implementing the program, the program's achievement gains were marginalized by high per-student costs and…

Uses qualitative methods to examine a peer-tutoring model from the perspective of the student tutor. Reports that students struggled with basic facilitation skills and had difficulty separating the role of student from that of tutor. (Author/YDS)

Provides a critique of research done by A. M. Dockery, R. Kelly, K. Norris, and T. Strombeck regarding the cost and value of hiring trainees. Discusses the perceived shortcomings in the method and looks at the implications of the research. Dockery et al. provide a rejoinder. (JOW)

Provides a brief overview of the current status of class-size reduction programs; summarizes research that has moved districts and states to seek class-size reduction; calls attention to the misapplication of the research in some contexts; discusses questions about smaller classes that remain unanswered; describes current research into the…

Assessed the effectiveness of a strategy for obtaining active written parental consent for the outcome evaluation of a drug abuse prevention program in 16 middle schools in 10 school districts. Discusses methodological and practical implications of the strategy, which was more cost effective than some previous approaches, but still involved 20% of…

Back in 1988, Emmett, Idaho, built the first monolithic dome school. Now, school boards in Arizona, Missouri, Florida, Minnesota, and New Mexico are among those that have voted to build domed school buildings. A monolithic dome is a steel- reinforced, concrete structure with a smooth, round surface that is inspired by the shape of an egg. (MLF)