A GUIDE FOR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS

The authors are both journalists whose published work has paid special attention to current problems in American education. They have provided a handbook in laymen's language for the people who have accepted appointment or won election to school boards and who are faced with the fact that their duty is to guide a system that probably ""... served more lunches than any restaurant in town, owned more property than the largest local manufacturer, spent more money than any local business, and contributed more to the economic health of the community than any local institution."" It's an overwhelming position when you realize that it consists of decisions on building programs, curricula, personnel and public relations. The authors present these myriad considerations at an elementary, introductory level. They presume the good sense and good faith of their board member readership while quietly demolishing, with facts and digest history, any stubborn commitments to simplistic formulas for educating the young at little cost, or without regard to expert advice, or how local needs affect national needs. The market for this is as big as the author's estimated turnover in school boards--50,000 per year.