Does the prospect of preparing your school district's budget seem daunting? Beginning school administrators, often having only one theoretical course on the subject under their belt, see the budget development process as a nightmare. New adminstratiors, teachers, and board members who have little experience with budgeting are justifiably concerned by the prospect of their involvement in budgeting. This book leads the reader through all stages of the process, from the theoretical underpinnings (history, types of budgets, etc.) and practical considerations (revenue planning, budget calendar, etc.) through to the adoption of the budget and its implementation. Includes sample budgets and tips for administration of a budget once it is in place.

This book challenges readers to consider the consequences of commercialism and business influences on and in schools. Critical essays examine the central theme of commercialism via a unique multiplicity of real-world examples. Topics include: *privatization of school food services; *oil company ads that act as educational policy statements; *a parent's view of his child's experiences in a school that encourages school-business partnerships; *commercialization and school administration; *teacher union involvement in the school-business partnership craze currently sweeping the nation; *links between education policy and the military-industrial complex; *commercialism in higher education, including marketing to high school students, intellectual property rights of professors and students, and the bind in which professional proprietary schools find themselves; and *the influence of conservative think tanks on information citizens receive, especially concerning educational issues and policy. Schools or Markets?: Commercialism, Privatization, and School-Business Partnerships is compelling reading for all researchers, faculty, students, and education professionals interested in the connections between public schools and private interests. The breadth and variety of topics addressed make it a uniquely relevant text for courses in social and cultural foundations of education, sociology of education, educational politics and policy, economics of education, philosophy of education, introduction to education, and cultural studies in education.

Bracey, a research psychologist and author, summarizes the various types of experiments being done today in the United States to try to reform public education, including charter schools, privately run schools, the voucher system, and commercializing schools with corporate contracts, He also examines certain "myths" about public education such as the correlation between money and outcomes, and the idea that more hours in school will result in higher test scores. c. Book News Inc.

This handbook is for practitioners who lead public and private elementary schools, middle schools or high schools. While most school leaders are basically adept at public relations, this book serves as a reminder of the importance of good public relations and provides ready access to tools necessary to hone and refine public relations skills. In addition to important information about public relations, this handbook is replete with examples of good public relations practices.

With contributions from Linda Darling-Hammond, Michael Fullan, Pasi Sahlberg, and Martin Carnoy, Global Education Reform is an eye-opening analysis of national educational reforms and the types of high-achieving systems needed to serve all students equitably. The collection documents the ideologically and educationally distinctive approaches countries around the world have taken to structuring their education systems. Focusing on three pairs of case studies written by internationally acclaimed experts, the book provides a powerful analysis of the different ends of an ideological spectrum----from strong state investments in public education to market-based approaches. An introductory chapter offers an overview of the theories guiding both neoliberal reforms such as those implemented in Chile, Sweden and the United States with efforts to build strong and equitable public education systems as exemplified by Cuba, Finland and Canada. The pairs of case studies that follow examine the historical evolution of education within an individual country and compare and contrast national educational outcomes. A concluding chapter dissects the educational outcomes of the differing economic and governance approaches, as well as the policy implications.

Esteemed historians of education David Tyack, Carl Kaestle, Diane Ravitch, James Anderson, and Larry Cuban journey through history and across the nation to recapture the idealism of our education pioneers, Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann. We learn how, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, massive immigration, child labor laws, and the explosive growth of cities fueled school attendance and transformed public education, and how in the 1950s public schools became a major battleground in the fight for equality for minorities and women. The debate rages on: Do today's reforms challenge our forebears' notion of a common school for all Americans? Or are they our only recourse today? This lavishly illustrated companion book to the acclaimed PBS documentary, School, is essential reading for anyone who cares about public education.

Education privatization is a global phenomenon that has crystallized in countries with very different cultural, political, and economic backgrounds. In this book, the authors examine how privatization policies are being adopted and why so many countries are engaging in this type of education reform. The authors explore the contexts, key personnel, and policy initiatives that explain the worldwide advance of the private sector in education, and identify six different paths toward education privatization—as a drastic state sector reform (e.g., Chile, the U.K.), as an incremental reform (e.g., the U.S.A.), in social-democratic welfare states, as historical public-private partnerships (e.g., Netherlands, Spain), as de facto privatization in low-income countries, and privatization via disaster. Book Features: The first comprehensive, in-depth investigation of the political economy of education privatization at a global scale.An analysis of the different strategies, discourses, and agents that have contributed to advancing (and resisting) education privatization trends. An examination of the role of private corporations, policy entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, think-tanks, and teacher unions. “Rich in examples, careful in its analysis, important in its conclusions and recommendations for further work, this book is a vital, rigorous, up-to-date resource for education policy researchers.” —Stephen J. Ball, University College London “Few issues are as significant as is education privatization across the globe; few treatments of this issue offer both the breadth and nuanced understanding that this book does.” —Christopher Lubienski, Indiana University

The system that finances Michigan's schools from kindergarten through 12th grade is a perennial topic of conversation among policymakers, parents, taxpayers and voters. A constructive discussion of this issue, however, requires a sound knowledge of the financial workings of Michigan's elementary and secondary school system. This knowledge is precisely what the authors have attempted to provide. While the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has developed numerous policy recommendations over the years, this primer is exclusively informational. This primer addresses the following: (1) how revenues are raised for Michigan's elementary and secondary public school system; (2) how money is distributed to education programs and school districts once it is collected by various taxing authorities; and (3) how districts budget monies to be spent on the various activities involved in operating schools and other educational programming. This book is arranged in four sections. The first--and the shortest--is "A Brief Overview of the Structure of Michigan's Public School System," which defines a few basic terms and sketches the main local, state and federal agencies involved in financing Michigan's public school system. This overview should help readers unfamiliar with Michigan's public school structure navigate the remainder of the book. The second, third and fourth sections are considerably longer than the first and cover the three areas: tax revenues, distribution of revenues and financial management of those revenues by school districts. Appended are: (1) U.S. Department of Education Spending in Michigan; (2) Summary of "Durant" Court Decisions; and (3) Guide to a New School Finance Electronic Module. An index is included. (Contains 29 graphs, 238 footnotes, and 410 endnotes, footnotes.) [This paper was written with the assistance of Glenda Rader, Darcy Marusich, Alison Taylor, Steve Zakem, John Schwartz, Thomas Moline, Charles Pisoni, Gary Start, Paul Soma, Tim Yeadon, Mary Ann Cleary, Douglas Newcombe, Vicki Duso, Clark Volz, Howard Heideman, Paul Brown, Phil Boone, Patrick Dillon, Jayne Klein, and Dianne Easterling.].

Issued by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A School Privatization Primer for Michigan School Officials, Media and Residents" examines the "contracting out" of public school support services--specifically food, transportation, and custodial services. The report describes the prevalence of contracting out and sets forth the practical steps in hiring a contractor and the benefits in allowing districts to focus on their core mission of instruction. This information may help districts already committed to contracting out. However, the report presupposes that the practice is beneficial. It relies primarily on testimony from district officials rather than direct data or research. And it does not consider the significant transactions costs associated with contracting out or the risks in ceding control to an outside vendor. Overall, the report is prone to overstatement and misleading contentions, resulting in a report that greatly over-simplifies how education systems operate and the purported benefits of contracting out education-related services. (Contains 9 notes and references.) [This paper reviews the following document: "A School Privatization Primer for Michigan School Officials, Media and Residents" (ED530880).].