1. How are Schools Governed, Influenced and Financed? Chapter 11
Dr. Paul A. Rodriguez

2. Legal responsibility for school governance belongs to the state and local school boards.
Many other groups exercise some measure of influence on educational decisions, either through legal authority or through less forma means
Court rulings in some states have shifted the responsibility for public school financing from dependence on local property taxes to greater reliance on state support
The federal government’s role in education has increased with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act
State versus local control—legal responsibility for school governance belongs to the states, policy decisions and administration have traditionally been delegated to local school boards
Governors play leadership role—the governor’s office has the power to affect educational policy but often chooses to do so only on limited issues.
Golden Rule—governors propose and legislatures act on budgets that contain funding for school districts. This is, the “Golden Rule: Whoever has the Gold makes the rules.”

3. Policymaking function—the state’s responsibility for public education requires it to establish an organizational framework within which the local school districts can function. The result is the establishment of a state board of education to exercise general control and supervision of schools within the state. The state board of education is the state’s educational policymaking body for elementary and secondary schools
Selection of members—varies from state to state. In most states, members are appointed by the governor, in about one-third of the states, however, members are elected by popular vote
Duties of chief state school officer—the executive officer of the state board of education, the chief state school officer, usually is responsible for the administration of public education and reports to the state board of education
State department of education, also called the state department of pubic education, usually operates under the direction of the state board of education and is administered by the chief state school officer
The policymaking body of the school district is the local school board, which represents the citizens

4. --Mark Twain, 19th century American Author and Humorist
In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.
--Mark Twain, 19th century American Author and Humorist
School boards lack diversity—most are male, between forty-one and sixty, at least 83% have annual family incomes exceeding $50,000. two-thirds of them have at least bachelor’s degrees. Most are professionals, managers or business owners; have children in the public schools; and consider themselves to be conservative. They are not typical of the public they serve
Superintendent of Schools—is typically a professional educator selected by the local school board to act as its executive officer and as the educational leader and administrator of the school district.
Superintendents versus Local School Boards—the way they operate with the school board is usually characterized by conflict
High turnover rate often indicative of conflict—although school boards hire and fire superintendents, superintendents are expected to lead the board. If they fail to do so, board members are likely to act independently, often with disastrous consequences

5. --Paul Woodring, 20th century American Education Author and Professor
In building support for their initiatives and protecting their programs from attach, superintendents must discover their political allies and adversaries---no superintendent could hope to lead without acting politically
--Susan Moore Johnson, Professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education
Responsibilities of principal—are expected to function as instructional leaders for their schools. Effective principals serve as instructional leaders by promoting a productive working and learning environment
Shortage of principals predicted—researchers are predicting a shortage of principals in U. S. schools in the coming years
Teacher organizations are powerful
Just as was is too important to be left to the generals, education is too important to be left to the educators
--Paul Woodring, 20th century American Education Author and Professor

6. A parent is the most important teacher a child ever has
Site-based decision making, has tended to increase teachers’ power. The key idea behind site-based decision making is that most changes need to occur at the school level
Parental influence—parents are their children’s first and primary teachers and the only ones who follow a child’s progress from year to year
A parent is the most important teacher a child ever has
--Joan Beck, American Author on Child Raising
Parent-teacher organization (PTO)—may or may not be affiliated with the national PTA
Business plays leading role in reform—business has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to improve elementary and secondary schools
Education/economy link—many business leaders are convinced that education reform is essential to the health of the U. S. economy
Business intrusion—some people cynically view business’s push for the expanded use of technology in schools as an attempt to create a new market for computers and other educational technology

7. --Neil Postman, American Professor, Media Theorist and Cultural Critic
Channel One controversy—a commercial service that delivers ten minutes of news programming directly to public school classrooms free of cost in exchange for two minutes of advertising
The classroom is…a place in which the claims of various political, social and economic interest are negotiated. The classroom is both a symbol and a product of deadly serious cultural bargaining
--Neil Postman, American Professor, Media Theorist and Cultural Critic
Privatization efforts—some believe that private corporations can operate schools more effectively and less expensively than can public entities
Cooperation or exploitation—the challenge for educators will be to walk the fine line between partnerships and cooperation on the one hand and exploitation for commercial purposes on the other hand
Strong court influence—the Supreme Court has issued key rulings affecting such important educational policies as desegregation, public aid to private schools, rights of people with disabilities, gender equity, voucher plans and sexual harassment
Enforcement necessary—the courts cannot do everything by themselves. Often judicial rulings need to be supported by federal administrative and legislative action before they can alter educational practice

8. Fluctuating federal involvement—level of involvement in education often fluctuates depending on whether Republicans or Democrats control the White House and Congress and on the particular ideology professed by the party in power
Funding percentages vary—the percentages of educational expenditures funded by federal, state and local sources vary considerably from state to state
Rising expenditures per pupil—varies from state to state
Sources of state revenue—state government use a combination of sales, personal income, corporate income and excise taxes to generate revenues
Local governments use property tax—rely primarily on property taxes for income
Michigan reform—voted to eliminate local property taxes as a source of revenue for the public schools. They increased sales tax by 50% and raised taxes on cigarettes to replace the greatly reduced property tax, thereby permitting the state to reallocate state resources to poorer school districts

9. Serrano v. Priest—held that California system of financing schools on the basis of local property taxes violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which provides equal protection of the law for all citizens
Equality as a state concern—many states contain equal protection clauses that can be interpreted to include education as a protected right
Pressures for equality—educators, parents and public officials are greatly concerned that the quality of a child’s education should not depend on whether the child lives in a school district with high property values
Categorical aid—money that must be spent for designated purposes stated generally in the legislation and more precisely by the federal agency administering the funds
Block grants—sums of money that come with only minimal federal restrictions and are transferred from the federal government to the state governments as a block of money rather than by categories
Compensatory education—is an approach to creating more equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged children

10. Title I requirements—Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged because of money reaches almost every school district and thus provides jobs and services in every congressional district. Under the 2001 reauthorization of ESEA—called the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)—Title I has come to account for the largest portion of federal spending on public schools.
Title I provided more than $210 billion for educational services.
Head Start—varieties of compensatory education to help parents learn how to interact more effectively with their babies and young children in the areas of cognitive and psychosocial development
Compensatory education beyond preschool—target older children and focus on basic skill instruction, tutoring, or remediation in a variety of academic areas
Evaluations mixed—there is mixed results. However, long-range studies provide indicators of program success.
Early intervention a key—may provide the key to success in compensatory education programs
Title I—points to recent gains in achievement. This will continue to receive funding increases in the years to come.

11. Key Terms Block grants parent-teacher organization (PTO)
Categorical grants privatization
Chief state school officer site-based decision making
Compensatory education state board of education
Head Start state department of education
Local school board superintendent of schools
No Child Left Behind Title I
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)