Financing Schools for High Performance: Strategies for Improving the Use of Educational Resources

This essential new resource shows how educators can use existingdollars effectively and productively. The key lies in creatingfinance systems that give schools greater control over theirbudgets?allowing more resources to flow directly to teachers andstudents. Allan Odden and Carolyn Busch look at inefficiencies in currenteducation spAnding, examine varied approaches to school-basedfinancing, and offer recommAndations for restructuring financesystems to meet ambitious reform goals. In addition, they proposeways to make funding more equitable across districts, outline thevarious elements that make school-based management work, anddescribe the key roles and responsibilities for the district, evenin a decentralized system. Financing Schools for High Performance is filled with examples ofbudgets, finance structures and formulas. It will prove to be anindispensable aid for state, district, and school-leveladministrators.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION. How the Education Dollar Is Spent. The Case for Decentralized School Management. APPROACHES TO SCHOOL-BASED FINANCING. The Case for Charter Schools. A State-to-School Model from Australia. School-Based Financing in England. RECOMMENDATIONS. A Better Financing Framework. Reallocating Education Dollars to Improve Results. New Roles and Responsibilities for the District. Summary: Putting Money Where it Matters Most.

About the Author :
ALLAN ODDEN is professor of educational administration and policy at the University of Wisconsin?Madison and codirector of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. He is the editor of Rethinking School Finance (Jossey-Bass, 1992). CAROLYN BUSCH is an education finance advisor to Governor Locke in Washington State. Previously she worked as a research associate at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Wisconsin?Madison.

Review :
"Figuring out how schools can shift their current resources intoinvestments that will build high-performing schools is a challengefor all school administrators. Financing Schools for HighPerformance provides excellent guidance for this daunting task....In an environment of standards-based learning, this book examinesthe key questions and practices that leaders must address to designand manage successful schools. This work will be valuable for everyleader seeking to link decentralization of decision-making wtihimproved student performance." (The School Administrator) "Financing Schools for High Performance is a fine fit with thecurrent political climate's emphasis on efficiency, effectiveness,and the 'bottom line' of student performance on standardizedtests." (American Secondary Education) "Allan Odden and Carolyn Busch give compelling arguments about theneed to improve the use of the education dollar. Through exhaustiveresearch about school site-based financing both here and abroad,they provide a solid and thorough case as to why school-basedfinancing is a key element in improving school performance. Thisbook is an invaulable tool and guide for educators, policymakers,and others interested in raising student achievement." (John L.Anderson, president, New American Schools)