In Africa, the processes of democratic consolidation are endangered in spite of various administrative and financial reforms having been implemented to reinforce fiscal consolidation and strengthen governance in the public sector. This then requires investigating the efficacy of these ingenuities in situations where the policy-makers wield…

This paper examines the forces behind political integration through the lens of school district consolidations, which reduced the number of school districts in the United States from around 130,000 in 1930 to under 15,000 at present. Despite this large observed decline, many districts resisted consolidation before ultimately merging and others…

This report presents the results of a review of all state student financial aid programs in Florida and presents recommendations concerning program consolidation. The review was designed to address a variety of aid-related issues, including unexpended financial aid resources, program consolidation, budget request and aid distribution procedures,…

The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 defines major management challenges as programs or management functions that are vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, and where a failure to perform well could seriously affect the ability of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to achieve its mission or…

The year 2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the global economic crisis of 2008. In Europe, austerity has been a constant ever since the crisis. This article critically engages with recent institutional and ideological developments in the small Baltic state of Estonia. The article investigates the structural reforms and prevailing ideology in…

Open education emerged when the state had an active role in shaping and financing post-secondary education. In the twenty-first century, two pressures influence the way openness is conceived. The first is the compounding of neo-liberal economics with austerity following the financial crash of 2008. The second is the consolidation of networked and…

The characteristics of California's Student Aid Commission grant program applicants and recipients were examined to assess the extent to which aid programs meet state goals. Attention is directed to major problems confronting the three Cal Grant programs and a range of possible policy and program options. The three programs are: Cal Grant A State…

Based on investigations in six midwestern provinces/autonomous regions, Hubei, Henan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia, this article analyzes the reasons for problems in the process of consolidating rural schools and their solutions.

Money's ability to enhance memory has received increased attention in recent research. However, previous studies have not directly addressed the time-dependent nature of monetary effects on memory, which are suggested to exist by research in cognitive neuroscience, and the possible detrimental effects of monetary rewards on learning interesting…

This case study examines a small school district (called Hamlet) in New York State which appears to be a perfect candidate for school reorganization because of low (and decreasing) enrollment (187 pupils in grades K-12), very high per pupil expenditures, two larger (520-610 pupils) neighboring districts to which pupils could be transported with…

Over the last 20 years, states and provinces have become increasingly involved in the financing and administration of elementary and secondary education. Local school boards, however, still retain control over key aspects of the provision of education. Historically, these boards were organized at the community level so as to meet the wants of the…

Primarily because of underutilized schools (caused by declining enrollments) and the need to address budgetary deficits brought on by dramatic reductions in average daily attendance, many public school districts, in decades past and the present, have been forced to close numerous schools across the nation. The school boards of these economically…

An alternative to school district protection during the current insurance crisis is self-insurance consolidation, which can eventually reduce premiums and enable needed tort reform. (CJH)

The CFO (chief financial officer) performs the budgeting, accounting, and financial functions for a local education agency (LEA). The CFO of 1998 works in a very different environment from 25 years ago, due to changes in school funding sources (from local to state systems), information technology, and school district organization and…

The relatively high number of school districts in New Jersey, with a legacy of a strong local home rule heritage, has been of interest to policymakers for many years. In the past few years, concerns for cost, educational equity, and program quality have brought new interest in consolidating these districts. Of the state's 603 local school…