2012 UCEA Convention

Leading Budget Cutbacks: How School Districts with Shrinking Revenues Manage Competing Spending Priorities. Angeline Kathryn Spain, University of Michigan
Using a comparative case study, this study investigates how two school districts managed budget cutbacks over a 2-year period. I show that when administrators took the lead in crafting budget recommendations, their expertise contributed to greater coherence. But both school boards also sought to preserve enrichment activities, libraries, and other programs, often at the expense of funding high- priority instructional improvement initiatives. I highlight how local political and cultural dynamics contributed to these outcomes.

Refining or Reforming? An Example of Grassroots Leadership from a School Staff-Led Charitable Foundation. Joanne M. Marshall, Iowa State University
The purpose of this paper is to build upon the existing knowledge base about grassroots leadership by describing new examples of grassroots leadership from a teacher-led charitable foundation. Based upon results from a qualitative case study, it explores how school staff lead informally in roles not related to instruction, applying a conceptual framework developed by English and Ehrich and presented at the UCEA 2011 conference.

Where do I get a Book? Differential Impacts of Budget Cuts on School Librarians. Victor James Sensenig, The Pennsylvania State University; Ed Fuller, Penn State University/UCEA
Professional staffing by certified school librarians is an integral part of quality school libraries. Using data from the state of Texas, this study finds that in a period of general reductions in funding for libraries, the school libraries in schools with the lowest performing and poorest children are most likely to lose their librarians. This trend counters any effort to achieve more equal educational outcomes.