In 1973 Florida embarked on an ambitious adventure to improve the quality of public education by decentralizing many aspects of educational decision-making to the school site. The strategy incorporated a comprehensive reform of the state's school finance system, the development of a management information and accounting system, requirements for greater parent and citizen involvement in education, and a relaxation of many state education requirements. The general strategy, labeled school-based management, promotes equal educational opportunity by enabling educators to tailor school programs to the particular educational requirements of individual students. It fosters a more efficient use of funds by ensuring that resources are allocated to activities closely related to the pursuit of local educational objectives. Finally, school-based management is a practical way of administering school programs, given the difficulties of managing classroom activities from district or state offices. Implementation of school-based management has been slowed by the lack of direction from the legislature and the department of education, the absence of a strong political base among Florida educators, confusion about its meaning at all levels of education in Florida, and the lack of a vehicle for encouraging school personnel to make the changes envisioned by the reform strategy. (Author/MLF)