Dramatic reductions in the dollars available for public education require a new and systemic approach to balancing school district budgets. This manual provides numerous examples of successful budget reduction strategies based on a six-step process that has demonstrated its effectiveness in small, medium, and large school districts. Supported by bargaining units and community leaders, the process described in this manual can enable the leadership of a district to plan its way through a financial crisis. The table of contents is as follows: Part 1 Foreword; Part 2 Introduction; Chapter 3 Budgeting in Times of Fiscal Crisis; Chapter 4 The Budget Reduction Process: An Overview; Chapter 5 Who Should Use This Process; Part 6 Leadership in a Fiscal Crisis; Chapter 7 Leadership in Times of Financial Crisis; Chapter 8 Communication during Times of Financial Crisis; Chapter 9 Basic Axioms of the Budget Reduction Process; Chapter 10 Guiding Principles for Budget Reduction Recommendations; Part 11 The Details: Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan; Chapter 12 Step 1: Situation Analysis; Chapter 13 Step 2: Establishing Strategic Direction; Chapter 14 Step 3: Idea Generation; Chapter 15 Step 4: Internal Idea Analysis; Chapter 16 Step 5: Staff/Community Evaluation; Chapter 17 Step 6: School Board Involvement; Part 18 The Future; Chapter 19 Leadership after the Financial Crisis.