The Institute for Research on Educational Finance and Governance (IFG) has designed and implemented a major survey of public and private schools in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area which focuses on organizational dimensions in elementary and secondary schools. In this study, the first of three, the characteristics of schools included within the IFG sample are compared with those reported in various published national surveys, and the differences are discussed. Next, the sampling frame used for the Bay Area study is described and the differences between respondents and nonrespondents noted. Then differences and similarities between sampled private and public schools are reported with respect to school type (elementary, middle, and secondary), number of grades offered, enrollments, ethnic composition of students, inclusion within a larger administrative system, principal's decision making influence, accreditation, participation in selected public programs (such as compensatory education and nutrition programs), adminstrator-student and teacher-student ratios, and emphasis on various educational goals. Data are presented in tables throughout the report, and notes and references are included. (Author/TE)