Teachers College Press Getting the Most Bang From the Education Buck

How might school funds be spent more effectively in today's uncertain environment? This up-to-date volume explores a range of ideas to help schools and districts better manage their resources, including: how to rethink staffing and management to get more value for employee compensation; how policymakers might revisit pension arrangements in ways that control costs while putting more teacher compensation in the form of take-home pay; how educators and policymakers can leverage technology as a performance-enhancer and not just a cost-cutting opportunity; and how districts might frame spending options differently in order to more properly assess the needs and preferences of students and families. As American education enters the next decade of challenges, including shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Getting the Most Bang From the Education Buck will be a valuable guide for how to spend dollars wisely and well.Book Features:A systematic look at issues like pension costs, declining enrollments, and school choice.Reflects changes in the political, policy, and practical landscapes to address the world as it stands now.A user-friendly presentation with sensible talk about how to make dollars go further.Each chapter covers a specific topic-from staffing to declining enrollments to pensions-making it easy for practitioners and professors to find their subject of interest. About the Author Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, author of the popular Education Week blog "Rick Hess Straight Up," and coeditor of Common Core Meets Education Reform and Private Enterprise and Public Education. Brandon Wright is the editorial director of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.