Three hypothetical scenarios for the 1980's are presented as tools for exploring the future of the Des Moines, Iowa, Independent Community School District. Each is written in the past tense as a "history" and is followed by a set of implications for education. The first scenario conveys an optimistic view of current trends, suggesting that the eighties will be a prosperous decade characterized by the emergence of a new economic order based on information, with education as its foundation. Implications include increased diversity in educational needs, increased use of computers, and a retooling of educational objectives. The second, pessimistic scenario projects current economic problems into the future, positing a depression in the latter part of the decade. Educational implications include limited finances, teacher shortages, and increased special education enrollment. The third, "static view," scenario projects what is likly to occur if socioeconomic conditions remain largely as they are. The dominant likelihood for education will then be continuing budget restrictions. A working paper is included, consisting of 11 questions pertaining to educational planning, to be filled out in the context of each scenario. (TE)