Foundations of Education 11th Edition

Ornstein Solutions Manual

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CHAPTER 7
Governing and Administering Public Education

CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Local Responsibilities and Activities
A. Characteristics of Local School Boards
B. School Board Responsibilities
C. The School Superintendent and Central Office Staff
D. The Principal and the School
E. Parent and Community Involvement
1. Community Participation
2. Community Control
3. Community Schools
F. Size of Schools and School Districts
1. Consolidation
II. Intermediate Units
III. State Responsibilities and Activities
A. The Governor and State Legislature
B. The State Board of Education
C. The State Department of Education
D. The Chief State School Officer
IV. The Federal Role in Education
A. Federal Educational Agencies
1. The U.S. Department of Education
B. Returning Responsibility to the Federal Government
V. Nonpublic Schools

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter examines the various governmental and administrative layers in public education. It is
divided into five sections: (1) local responsibilities and activities, (2) intermediate units, (3) state
responsibilities and activities, (4) the federal role in education, and (5) nonpublic schools.
The first section, on the local school district, examines school boards, their members and
responsibilities, the school superintendent, central office personnel, and the principal of the school. It
presents various approaches for parent and community involvement, the research findings regarding the
potential outcomes of this involvement, as well as discusses the concept of community schools. This
section concludes with a look at the debate over ideal school district size and how this connects with
processes of school consolidation.
The second section focuses on intermediate units or regional educational service agencies, which are
agencies in a middle position between the state department of education and local school districts. The
services that these agencies provide to local school districts are explored, as well as the roles they
assume in helping districts meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act and other mandates.
The next section analyzes the state’s role and responsibilities in supporting the public schools within its
jurisdiction. Particular attention is given to describing the duties and level of responsibility of the

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-2

governor, state legislature, state board of education, state department of education, and chief state
school officer.
The fourth section looks at the federal government’s role in education, focusing on how federal
agencies promote educational policies, how educational decisions shifted between the federal and state
governments, federal financing of education, and the role of the Supreme Court. The U.S. Department
of Education is discussed in a changing historical context. The section spotlights the No Child Left
Behind Act, which gives the federal government a greater role in education than previous federal
efforts.
The final section discusses the various types of nonpublic schools that exist today and notes that
nonreligious, independent schools account for 10% of the total enrollment in schools in the United
States. It describes the differences between the organization of public and private schools, and
considers how some state laws apply to both types of institutions.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
1. Distinguish between the local, intermediate, state, and federal roles in public elementary and
secondary education
2. Contrast the powers and functions of local school boards, school superintendents, school
principals, and other district administrators
3. Analyze the differences and similarities among community participation, community control, and
community education
4. Describe the governance role of the intermediate school district
5. Contrast the powers and functions of the state governor, state legislature, state board of education,
and chief state school officer
6. Describe the role and services of the U.S. Department of Education
7. Describe the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on local public schools and the typical
classroom
8. Describe the characteristics of nonpublic schools and how these institutions are shaped by some
state laws.

DISCUSSION TOPICS, CLASS ACTIVITIES, AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Local school boards. Have one or more members from the board of education of a local school
district come to class to discuss their responsibilities and activities. Have them discuss typical
issues the board has considered and delineate the positions different constituencies have taken on
the issue.
Assign students the responsibility of attending a local school board meeting. In a follow-up report,
have students identify meeting participants, agenda items, public attendance, and key issues that
generated the most discussion. Also, have students align the board’s decisions made at the
meeting with the powers and responsibilities listed in the “School Board Responsibilities” section
of the chapter. Students can also surf the web to gain information about local school boards.
School district sites are generally listed on the respective state department of education web page.
2. School administrators. Invite one or more administrators (principals, superintendents, central
office staff) to class to discuss their responsibilities. Have them focus on procedures for

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-3

establishing school or district policies, for working with school-based management teams, for
changing the curriculum, and for hiring new personnel.
Before the discussion with school administrators, have students develop a list of questions and
prepare the room for an Oprah-type discussion format. After the discussion, students should write
a brief reflective paper.
3. School district consolidation. Ask the students in the class to indicate who attended school in a
regional school district. Ask students to reflect on the positive and challenging aspects of the
experience.
Have students analyze the advantages and disadvantages of a plan to merge two local school
districts into one new district. Students should focus on the economic, curricular, academic,
interpersonal, and bureaucratic consequences of the merger. Ask students to survey local school
district personnel to determine their attitudes toward district consolidation.
4. Intermediate school districts. Identify the typical services provided by intermediate school
districts. Then ask students to analyze the relative value of those services as compared with the
services of either the local district or the state department of education.
5. Local and state control. Organize a debate in which students examine the question “Should the
state board of education mandate a state-wide curriculum for local school districts?” One team
could support this position, and the other team could oppose it.
Ask students to research the members of their state board of education. Ask them to read the
profiles (biographical sketches) of their members. These profiles often are found on-line under
specific state departments of education. Tell students to consider the various backgrounds of these
members, their professional positions, and the roles that they potentially could assume on these
boards. Encourage the students to consider who they would add to the board, if they could add one
additional member. Reflect on the background and experiences that they would like the additional
member to hold.
For two weeks, have students clip articles on educational issues from local newspapers. For each
article, students should indicate whether control for the issues comes from the local, state, or
federal level. Have students evaluate whether control for each issue should reside at a different
level from what is specified in the article.
Assign students the following task: Access your state department of education web page and
examine current information (press releases or bulletins) released by the department. Develop a
list of ways state proclamations will impact local districts.
6. The federal role in education. Describe the responsibilities and activities of the U.S. Department
of Education. If possible, obtain a summary of the budget to indicate the types of programs
supported (the DOE web page or Education Week web site [URLs below] generally have this
information). Have students evaluate the value of federal government support for educational
programs relative to local and state support.
Have students monitor education periodicals (Education Week, The Kappan, etc.,) for articles on
federal education policy. Once relevant topics have been identified, students should create posters
for or against the policy under consideration.
Suggest to students that they introduce the topic of No Child Left Behind in their discussions with
educators at their field placement sites. In class, discuss the responses they receive and categorize
them as negative or positive. Investigate to determine if these responses are typical of educators as
reported in the media.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-4

7. Nonpublic schools. Identify the types of services that public education agencies provide for
nonpublic schools. Have students evaluate the reasons for and against providing these services at
taxpayer expense.
Students should interview teachers or administrators from nonpublic schools and generate a report
that incorporates the pros and cons of these schools from the perspective of the interviewee.
Ask students to consider how federal mandates, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, shape
nonpublic schools. Students should discuss if they believe the influence, or lack of influence, that
federal mandates yield on these schools is equitable.

VIDEO CASES
Parental Involvement in School Culture: A Literacy Project
Watch “Parental Involvement in School Culture: A Literacy Project.” Does this video show effective
examples of parental involvement? As you watch the parents working on this school project, think
about other ways parents can be involved and answer the following questions.
1. Based on viewing this video case and reading the chapter, do you think parental involvement in
schools is important? Why or why not?
2. What is the motivation of Patricia and Monica, parents of students, to become involved in the
literacy project?
3. From the perspective of the classroom teacher, describe both the benefits and challenges of
having parents involved in school culture.
Bonus Questions:
4. Consider possible barriers that parents and guardians might encounter when forging family-
school connections. What are some of these barriers and how might they vary according to
geographical context? What actions should schools undertake to overcome potential barriers?
5. This video examined parental involvement for children in a kindergarten classroom. How does
family-school connections change as children grow older and enter middle and high school?
How should family-school connections change as children progress in their schooling
experiences?
Foundations: Aligning Instruction with Federal Legislation
Watch “Foundations: Aligning Instruction with Federal Legislation.” As the teachers and principals talk
about how the federal legislation, IDEA and NCLB, affects them and their students, think about your
present and future classroom experiences. How will IDEA and NCLB affect you?
1. As the chapter states, the NCLB Act has principals and teachers strategizing to increase test
scores of all students. According to the educational professionals in this video case, why are
higher test scores sometimes difficult for students (and teachers) to produce?
2. Do some research on your own by visiting a variety of websites that cover the NCLB Act. Do
you think the NCLB Act is an effective and accurate way to measure school and student
performance? Explain your answer.
Bonus Questions:
3. In the video case, the role that team support may yield in meeting the requirements of the
IDEA and the NCLB Act is discussed. Discuss if you believe that team support is adequate

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-5

enough to help teachers meet these requirements. Discuss other factors that shape teachers’
abilities to meet the requirements of IDEA and the NCLB Act.
4. Compare and contrast the requirements of IDEA and the NCLB Act. Ask students to consider if
they believe if it will be more challenging to meet the requirements of IDEA or the NCLB Act.

SELECTED REFERENCES
Bellamy, G. Thomas. Principal Accomplishments: How School Leaders Succeed. New York: Teachers
College Press, 2007.
Bonstingl, John Jay. Schools of Quality, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2001.
Bryk, Anthony, Lee, Valerie, and Peter Holland. Catholic Schools and the Common Good. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Callison, William L. Charter and Community Schools: A Director's Handbook. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Conley, David T. Who Governs our Schools?: Changing Roles and Responsibilities. New York:
Teachers College Press, 2003.
Donaldson, Gordon A. Cultivating Leadership in Schools: Connecting People, Purpose, & Practice (2nd
Edition). New York: Teachers College Press, 2006.
Duffy, Francis M. Moving Upward Together: Creating Strategic Alignment to Sustain Systemic School
Improvement. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education, 2004.
Glass, Thomas E., Lars Björk, and C. Cryss Brunner. The Study of the American School
Superintendency 2000: A Look at the Superintendent of Education in the New Millennium.
Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators, 2000.
Good, Howard. Inside the Board Room: Reflections of a Former School Board Member. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006.
Hess, Frederick and Michael J. Petrilli. No Child Left Behind (Peter Lang Primer).New York: Peter
Lang Publishing, 2006.
Lambert, Linda. The Constructivist Leader, 2nd ed. New York: Teachers College Press, 2002.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara. The Essential Conversation: How Parents and Teachers Can Learn from
Each Other. New York: Ballantine Books, 2004.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara. The Good High School: Portraits of Character and Culture. New York:
Basic Books, 1985.
Lortie, Dan. School Principal: Managing in Public. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.
Meier, Deborah, Sizer, Theordore, and Nancy Faust Sizer. Keeping School: Letters to Families from
Principals of Two Small Schools. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005.
Meier, Deborah and George Wood. Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is
Damaging Our Children and Schools. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.
Nehring, James. Upstart Startup: Creating and Sustaining a Public Charter School. New York:
Teachers College Press, 2002.
Rudy, Willis. Building America's Schools and Colleges: The Federal Contribution. Cranbury, NJ:
Cornwall Books, 2004.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-6

Sergiovanni, Thomas J. Rethinking Leadership: A Collection of Articles, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Corwin Press, 2007.
Sergiovanni, Thomas J. Leadership for the Schoolhouse: How Is It Different? Why Is It Important? San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000.
Spring, Joel. Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education, 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill,
2002.

INTERNET RESOURCES
American Association of School Administrators http://www.aasa.org/
The Education Commission of the States http://www.ecs.org/
Education Week http://www.edweek.org/
Council of Chief State School Officers http://www.ccsso.org/
Council for American Private Education http://www.capenet.org/
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence http://www.free.ed.gov/
National Association of Elementary School Principals http://www.naesp.org/
National Association of Independent Schools http://www.nais.org/
National Association of Secondary School Principals http://www.nassp.org/
National Association of State Boards of Education http://nasbe.org/
National Catholic Educational Association http://www.ncea.org/
National Public School and School District Locator http://nces.ed.gov/ccdweb/school/index.asp
National School Boards Association http://www.nsba.org/
United States Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/index.html

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-7

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITY

Nirvana County Schools: A Simulation of the Governing and

Financing of Public Schools By Jody Messinger Wolfe
This simulation was designed to accompany Chapters 7 and 8 of Ornstein/Levine, Foundations of
Education, which discuss the governing and financing of public education. The activity is intended to
confront students with the difficulties inherent in government and financing schools in the face of
divergent special interests and various contemporary social and economic problems. Participation in the
simulation gives students a particular role to play and allows them to apply information from the
textbook to the problems of a specific (but fictional) school district. Although all the students in the
simulation respond to an identical description of the school district, they do so from the unique
perspective of the group they represent. Role descriptions are designed to build conflict into the
students’ simulation experiences, thus requiring them to apply decision-making and problem-solving
skills to reach their goals.
Average playing time is two hours. The simulation can be played equally well in one 2-hour block of
time or in two 1-hour periods.

Directions for the Teacher/Facilitator

Instruct the students to bring their textbooks to class with them on the day or days the simulation will be
played. The text will be an important aid in planning their strategies; only those strategies congruent
with the ways schools are actually governed and funded should be permissible.
Divide the students into seven groups of at least three persons each. (If there are not enough students in
the class for seven groups, the simulation can be played with five or six groups by eliminating the state
legislature and, if necessary, the state department of education.) Give each student a copy of the
description of the school district and allow everyone time to read through it.
Assign each group a role (e.g., one group as principals, one as parents, etc.) and distribute a role
description to each group. Do not allow a group to see any role description except its own. List the
names of the groups on the board and/or have each group display a name card. Have each group select
one person as chairperson and another as chief negotiator.
Explain that each group has a goal related to the circumstances of its role in the educational system and
the economic and political conditions of Nirvana County and the state. Each group’s goal is specified in
its role description. Groups should not share information about their goal with the other groups unless
they feel it will benefit them to do so. Tell the groups that their objective in the simulation is to devise
and successfully implement a strategy that will meet their goal. They will do this in a series of strategy
and negotiation rounds.
First, groups should decide on a strategy that will enable them to achieve their goals related to school
governing and financing. Each group’s strategy should contain specific steps or plans that will most
likely attain the outcome(s) the group desires. Encourage groups to restrict their plans to a small
number of fairly specific steps or strategies.
A group can demonstrate successful implementation of its plan by obtaining appropriate approvals from
other groups. Each group should identify the two other groups in the class that would be the most
crucial to the successful implementation of its plan. A group will be considered successful in the
simulation if it is able to “sell” its plan to these two groups and obtain the signatures of the two
chairpersons on a paper containing a brief description of the plan.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-8

Each group can endorse and sign only two other groups’ plans. Tell the students that because of this,
they should consider carefully the worthiness and feasibility of the plans presented to them before they
decide to sign.
Once you have explained the instructions to the class and distributed descriptions of the Nirvana
County Schools and of the group roles, facilitate rounds of play as described below.
Round 1 (10 minutes): Each group should work alone to study its role description and goal and to
devise an initial plan. Group members should also select the two groups from which they will seek
signatures and decide how they will negotiate with those groups to sell the ideas in their plan.
Round 2 (5–10 minutes): Negotiation round. The chief negotiator of each group should be sent out to
try to sell the group’s plans. Suggested rules for negotiation: Only one person, the chief negotiator, can
leave each group. A group can give an audience with only one negotiator at a time (you can’t negotiate
with more than one group at once). The chairperson of each group should facilitate negotiation sessions,
but other group members may take part in discussions and ask questions. The host group decides
whether or not it wants to listen to another group’s negotiator and how long the group wants to
negotiate (in other words, you don’t have to negotiate with a particular group if you don’t want to, and
you can decide to ask a negotiator to leave your group at any time). Once the facilitator declares the
negotiation round over, all negotiators must return to their groups immediately.
Round 3 (5–10 minutes): Strategy round. During the strategy round, negotiators should report to their
groups, and the group chairpersons should summarize what the group heard from negotiators who
visited them in round 2. The groups should then decide whether they want to stay with their original
plan or alter it, whether they want to seek support from groups other than the two they originally
identified, and so on. At the end of this round, each group should be ready to pursue its original,
revised, or new plan.
For Remainder of Simulation: Repeat rounds 2 and 3 as many times as needed until one or two groups
have successfully obtained the two necessary signatures (in a two-hour class, it is usually possible to
repeat strategy and negotiation rounds about five times each). If necessary, the simulation can be
stopped after a strategy round and then continued during the next class period. This is preferable to
ending the simulation prematurely. End the simulation with a strategy round in which each group
decides on a brief verbal report of its experiences to share during debriefing. Be sure you leave
adequate time for debriefing, so that students will reflect on and derive meaning from their own and one
another’s experiences.
Debriefing: Facilitate a class discussion in which students describe what went on during the simulation.
Here are some sample questions to guide the discussion: What was the goal of each group? How did
each group plan to achieve its goal? What happened to a group’s plan as it negotiated with the other
groups? How many groups were successful in getting two signatures? How did they achieve this
success? Once students have fully described their experiences in the simulation, turn the discussion to
the relevance of their experiences to the “real world” of governing and financing schools. Were their
experiences realistic (based on information in Chapters 7 and 8)? Why or why not?
Optional: Assign a “Reaction Paper” in which students write briefly about their individual experiences,
thoughts, and feelings during the simulation; explain how they believe the simulation relates to the way
school systems actually operate; and describe any new understandings they gained from playing the
simulation.

Description of the Nirvana County Schools

The Nirvana County School District is one of sixty school districts in the state (the state has county-
based school districts). Nirvana County is predominantly rural. The county seat (population: 20,000) is
its largest community. There are several other small communities in the county.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-9

While the state as a whole ranks in the bottom ten states on most educational indicators, Nirvana
County has one of the best school systems in the state. This is because in the past it has enjoyed a
strong tax base. Over the years, a variety of primary and secondary industries (i.e., mining and
manufacturing) have prospered in the county because of its abundant fossil fuels and river
transportation. Tax levies and bond issues for education have tended to fare well here. As a result, there
are two or three relatively new schools in the county, and its teachers are among the highest paid in the
state. The county’s citizens have always taken pride in the quality of its school system as compared
with other counties in the state.
Times have been tough recently. Many mines and plants have closed down. Unemployment has risen
dramatically. The population is growing older as young residents leave the area in search of work.
While tertiary (service) occupations are still available, the high-paying union jobs to which so many
families had grown accustomed are in short supply. The tax base is shrinking.
The state as a whole is in financial trouble, with many counties in much worse shape than Nirvana.
Tempers are on a short fuse in the state capital, where the executive and legislative branches of the state
government are trying to decide how to best allocate scarce resources and how to generate needed new
funds.
In the midst of the gloomy economic picture, the reputation of Nirvana County Schools is starting to
tarnish. It’s been about ten years since there was a major project (new school, new curriculum, etc.)
around which support could be rallied for the schools. Some of the older, smaller schools need
renovation or replacement. As in many parts of the country, standardized test scores have been falling
recently. There seem to be more students with discipline problems, more with special needs. The
Nirvana County school district’s reputation for quality is slipping.
The county is a moderately small district; it has 10,000 pupils and the following six secondary schools:
School A—1,500 students, grades 10–12
School B—500 students, grades 7–12
School C—400 students, grades 7–12
School D—1,000 students, grades 7–9
School E—500 students, grades 7–9
School F—400 students, grades 7–9
It also has fifteen neighborhood and rural elementary schools (the largest has an enrollment of 800, the
smallest 50).

Group Role Descriptions

State Legislature
The bottom line: there’s not enough money to go around—not even enough to maintain the status quo.
However, you want your constituents to believe that you’re solidly behind progress, particularly in an
area such as education. A special concern of yours is the tremendous inequality in the state’s schools
from county to county. The students in poorer counties of the state simply aren’t getting the same
educational opportunities as those in the counties with a stronger tax base. Some counties are far behind
others in available resources, teacher salaries, facilities, and student achievement.
Your most pressing concern is how to come up with the money simply to keep the system afloat for
another year. As of now, it looks like there will have to be cuts somewhere in the state’s proposed
educational budget for next year.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-10

Your Goal: To decide how to streamline the state’s educational spending for next year without losing
sight of your long-term goal of equalizing and improving educational opportunities throughout the
state.

State Department of Education

Federal funding and involvement in education are declining, but state funds are in short supply. You
have increasingly attended to the ways in which the state school system can be improved without huge
outlays of money. You have been influenced by the school reform reports that various organizations
and commissions have released in the last few years. You want educational excellence for all the
counties of the state, and you want your state as a whole to rank substantially higher nationally on
educational indicators (test scores, etc.). As a result, you have participated recently in strengthening
requirements for the preparation of teachers in the state, implementing learning objectives for all
subjects and grade levels, and encouraging community involvement in education. Your role is slowly
changing. You are providing fewer services to the counties, but you are taking a more active role in
setting and enforcing policies that affect curriculum and instruction.
Your Goal: To strengthen your growing role as a regulatory agency and to enhance the quality of
education throughout the state so that the state’s national educational reputation is improved.

Central Office
You are the heart of the county school system. Your offices house the superintendent of Nirvana
County Schools (who was hired by the school board), the assistant superintendents, and the support
personnel for the county schools.
Declining test scores and a shrinking budget have you worried. Public sentiment is being aroused
against you, fueled by the bad press schools are getting nationwide. You believe that some sort of
county plan of action is needed to address the quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of Nirvana
County Schools. Despite financial problems and increased policy intervention by the state, you want to
take a proactive rather than a reactive stance; you want to lead the county schools into a brighter future.
You wonder if increased consolidation might not help meet your goals, thus focusing your resources on
a smaller number of higher quality schools. This might help you streamline costs related to both
buildings and personnel. You’re willing to consider other options, but you think major changes of some
kind are needed.
Your Goal: To devise a general plan for the next ten years for Nirvana County Schools that will use
financial resources wisely and improve the quality of education for the county’s students.

State Board
You are elected by the county voters. Like other Nirvana Countians, you would like to see the quality
of education in the county improve. In fact, you’d like to see the county be the state’s leading school
system. You’re aware, however, of the declining test scores, the shrinking tax base, and the uncertainty
of state funds. Given these circumstances, you would settle for maintaining the status quo and
preventing the county’s schools from sliding backward any further. However, you would really like to
see the county schools move forward—if this could be accomplished without angering the taxpayers.
Your Goal: To maintain at least the present level of educational services and to avoid public
controversies that might erode your support among your fellow Nirvana Countians.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-11

Parents
You’ve been reading and hearing a lot lately about the failure of the nation’s schools to adequately
educate our youth. You fear this is true: you certainly weren’t adequately prepared to cope successfully
with the county’s changing economy. Now you hear that standardized test scores in the county are
declining still more. If your children are even less well prepared than you, what kind of future will they
have?
In the past you’ve always supported tax levies and bond issues, but now you’re beginning to wonder
how much good that money actually did. You’ve just about decided that more money and new schools
are not the answer. Your own parents say schools ought to go back to the way they were when they
were young—to emphasize the basics and forget the frills. Maybe they’re right.
You’ve decided that you would like to see a back-to-the-basics, core-subjects curriculum and stricter
discipline in the county’s schools. You want teachers and principals truly to begin to earn their pay.
Your Goal: To strengthen community involvement in the county schools in order to see your point of
view implemented and to avoid any additional tax increases.

Teachers
Your morale is low. Even though you work in one of the highest-paid counties in the state, you don’t
make enough money to support your family comfortably. Teachers in a neighboring state with the same
education and experience as yours earn up to $10,000 a year more than you. You wonder how you are
going to provide your children with a good college education.
Every year it seems there are fewer resources at your school. Last year the school ran out of paper in
March, and you had to buy a case with your own money in order to provide your students with tests and
worksheets. You determined that you are now spending about $200 or more a year on supplies and
resources that you feel the county should provide. You know, however, that both the state and the
county are in financial trouble. There are rumors spreading among teachers, so far unverified, that
salaries and/or benefits are going to be cut for next year, and there may even be layoffs.
You feel you are a competent professional and should be treated like one. You need an increase in
salary. You also need better working conditions so that you have adequate preparation time, plenty of
supplies, and fewer disruptive students in your classes. You don’t feel these are unreasonable
expectations; these are just the basics necessary for you to be as effective as possible in your job.
Beyond these basics, you also dream of a day when teachers will have more say in the management of
schools and the development of curriculum.
Your Goal: To get teacher salaries and benefits increased for next year and to improve your working
conditions.

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Chapter 7: Governing and Administering Public Education IM 7-12

Principals
You feel caught in the middle of the county’s growing educational problems. You’ve been taking the
heat from both parents and teachers, and you are expected to implement state and county policies
regardless of how you personally feel about them.
You believe that the county’s declining test scores have come to reflect negatively on your leadership
ability, but so much of your time is occupied with discipline matters and bureaucratic details that you
feel you can’t give adequate attention to instructional leadership.
You wish there weren’t so many people passing off their problems to you, and you wish you had a
greater voice in countywide policy making. You’re also beginning to wonder how secure your job is.
Your Goal: To perform all the functions of your job successfully, to try to improve the instructional
climate of your school, and to maintain good relations with parents, teachers, and county
administrators.

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