Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools.Lydia Segal's Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools is as timely as it is remarkable. It analyzes why millions of valuable public school dollars are lost to waste, abuse and fraud--the underbelly of school politics, management and operations. Segal, an associate professor at CUNY's John Jay College of Criminal Justice John Jay College of Criminal Justice: see New York, City University of. , documents the nature of these programs, concentrating on the three largest city school systems, where funds are most plentiful and the potential for fiscal misuse and abuse is greatest. The book takes a counter-intuitive and controversial approach, arguing that the more centralized the controls--the more top-down the regulations and oversight--the less the motivation for people in schools who use the funds to reduce waste, abuse and fraud. Not everyone will agree that greater decentralization de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. is the answer to the problem. However, it makes sense that giving educators greater authority over the financing of their own goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. would encourage thrift and integrity. After all, principals, teachers and students benefit most from frugal, well-spent funds. Hence, those furthest away from the children in education, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Segal, are the most prone to wheel, deal, cheat and steal. Those nearest the students stretch every dollar for schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school . Segal's formula is sound: Let the top of the system set the standards and permit those closest to the education of children to shape the policies. School leaders would enjoy greater autonomy in how resources are being spent, reducing waste and corruption and improving education for all. (Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools by Lydia G. Segal, Northeastern University Press, Boston, Mass., 2003, 256 pp., $32.50 hardcover) Bruce S. Cooper Chair and Professor of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy, Fordham University Graduate School of Education, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. |
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