District and school administrators are challenged to provide learning environments that help students attain and surpass set levels of academic and social learning. In times of economic strife, discussions often turn to the efficient use of financial and human resources to maximize school districts' capacity to fulfill those objectives. Most efficiency theories assume that public school administrators act similarly to managers of private businesses and thus pursue strategies aimed at minimizing costs. However, school administrators know their organizations are structured to support management strategies characterized by budget maximization. Therefore, the cost-minimizing assumptions associated with traditional efficiency analyses are not well-suited for evaluating the efficiency of public schools and districts. In this article, the authors present a hypothetical case study set in Tennessee, which illustrates that measuring educational efficiency in public districts and schools requires alternative methods of analysis.