This paper describes a state-sponsored management assistance project for improving the cost-effectiveness of school food services. First, the history, rationale, and present function of the Division of Management Assistance in the Pennsylvania Department of Education is described. Its primary purpose is to assist schools with fiscal problems in…

The booklet outlines Michigan's procedures for providing educational programs in juvenile detention facilities, with emphasis on special education programing. The following topics are addressed: education responsibility, interagency agreements and relationships (cooperation among juvenile courts, detention facilities, and operating school…

The literature on funding formulas for higher education is reviewed, and the historical roots of state higher education funding relationships is traced, including three 20th century budget reform movements that were the antecedents of formulas. Attention is directed to conditions that will affect funding of higher education and formula responses…

Perceptions of the political behavior of superintendents in New Mexico vary widely throughout the state. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather information from superintendents, school board chairmen, and state legislators concerning the frequency, extent, and kinds of political activity in which superintendents were involved. Four…

The purpose of this monograph is to explore the concept of educational adequacy, defined by Cubberley as "a generous system of free public schools," and to apply those measures in an analysis of educational adequacy in the state of Illinois. The difficulty in defining what constitutes a generous education is that there is no clear…

The British tradition of institutional self-steering in higher education is considered along with possible applications to the West German higher education system. The objective is to identify an ideal self-steering system and an effective organizational decision-making structure for West Germany. Financial retrenchment in German higher education…

To determine adequate, fair, and efficient methods of public school finance for the state of Illinois, this study collected and synthesized data on state revenues collected in 1980-81 and distributed to school districts in 1981-82. Researchers examined current alternative methods of distributing state and federal funds to Illinois public schools…

A review of the University of Alaska's operating and capital budget submission for fiscal year 1986 is presented, directed at the educational and programmatic impact of the budget request. Five recommendations endorsed by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education are analyzed. Additional contents include: summary information for the…

A new formula proposed for categorically funding local education programs in Illinois can channel more money into programs for excellence than can general purpose grants. The formula, which would provide venture capital to stimulate local initiatives, would depend on district plans for using the money to improve instruction and on distribution of…

Partly because of the rise of block grants, federal distribution mechanisms raise the issues of federal control and distributional equity in elementary-secondary grant programs. Data--drawn from such major programs as aid for education of the disadvantaged, aid for education of the handicapped, vocational education, and bilingual education--were…

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between the per pupil cost of new school construction in West Virginia and independent variables categorized as either financial, school district characteristics, or individual building characteristics. The study group consisted of 128 elementary, secondary, and vocational-technical school…

Drawing from the literature on the financing of community colleges, this paper discusses problems associated with state community college funding and examines the relationships that arise between the state, local community college districts, and students when each is an important source of revenue to the community college. In the first section,…

A brief summary is presented of the 1988 surveys of states regarding the legislative implementation of savings plans (mostly state and local tax-free bonds) and guaranteed tuition plans as methods of advance payment for college. The 10 states that have passed savings bills are listed, three of which (Illinois, North Carolina and North Dakota) have…

Activities of the Alabama State Commission on Higher Education are described. Three sections discuss the following: (1) planning and coordination activities (unified budget recommendation, statewide planning process, research and service program inventory, new program approval, off-campus instruction, non-resident institutional review, conference…

The question of whether the quality improvement rhetoric has led to changes in state funding levels and funding strategies in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states is considered. The information reported here is based on an extensive review of education finance officers, and on-site visits to about half of education finance officers,…