Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight

Allan Odden is Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; he also is Co-Director of the Strategic Management of Human Capital (SMHC) in public education and Co-Director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). CPRE is a consortium of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Teachers College-Columbia University, and Stanford Universities. He is an international expert on education finance, effective resource allocation and use, resource reallocation, the strategic management of human capital in education, teacher compensation, school-based management, and educational policy development and implementation. He consults regularly with states and districts on these issues.His most recent books include School Finance: A Policy Perspective (McGraw Hill, 2008, 4th edition), with Lawrence O. Picus and How to Create World Class Teacher Compensation (Freeload Press, 2007) with Marc Wallace. Other books include Paying Teachers for What They Know and Do: New and Smarter Compensation Strategies to Improve Schools (Corwin Press, 1997, 2nd Edition, 2002) with Carolyn Kelley; Reallocating Resources: How to Boost Student Achievement Without Spending More (Corwin, 2001) with Sarah Archibald; School Finance: A Policy Perspective (McGraw Hill, 1992, 2nd Edition, 2000, 3rd Edition 2004) co-authored with Lawrence Picus; School-Based Finance (Corwin Press, 1999), edited with Margaret Goertz; Financing Schools for High Performance: Strategies for Improving the Use of Educational Resources (Jossey Bass, 1998) with Carolyn Busch; Educational Leadership for America’s Schools (McGraw Hill, 1995); Rethinking School Finance: An Agenda for the 1990s (Jossey-Bass, 1992); Education Policy Implementation (State University of New York Press, 1991); and School Finance and School Improvement: Linkages for the 1980s (Ballinger, 1983).He was a mathematics teacher and curriculum developer in New York City’s East Harlem for five years. He received his PhD and MA degrees from Columbia University, a Masters of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary and his BS in aerospace engineering from Brown University.

• List of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author1. A Plan of Action: Turning Around Low-Performing and Enhancing High-Performing SchoolsA Strategic Approach to Using the Education DollarA Plan of Action for Dramatically Improving Student PerformanceSummary2. The Resource Needs of the Plan of ActionDetails of the Resource Needs of the Plan of ActionExample of a High-Spending District That Could Cut SpendingLinking Table 2.1 to School Finance AdequacySummary3. Targeting Resources to Student Learning When Budgets Are TightUnderstand and Resist the Cost Increase Pressures on SchoolsAn Example of Strategic Resource Reallocation for a Midwestern Middle SchoolMore Detail on Strategic BudgetingSummary4. Recruiting, Developing, and Compensating Top Educator Talent: Local Practices and Supporting State PoliciesAcquiring, Developing, and Retaining Teacher TalentTeacher Salary StructuresEducator PensionsSummary5. Computers and Technology in Education: Costs and Online OptionsCosts of Technology Software and HardwareUsing Information Technologies for InstructionSummary6. When Budget Cuts Are NecessaryCost Pressures, Goals, and Principles to Guide Strategic BudgetingEnsuring a Solid Talent Foundation in Tight Fiscal TimesEngaging in Strategic BudgetingSummaryReferencesIndex

“This book offers a comprehensive framework to enhance student achievement in good times and in bad. It presents opportunities for schools and government to work together to strategically confront the budgetary challenges facing public education today.”