The Conception of Size and the Internal Allocation of School District Resources

The effects of organizational size on school processes are studied in this article through the use of a resource allocation model. The model stresses the importance of including nonpurchased resources provided outside of school in the calculation of educational costs. Distinctions are drawn among various conceptions of school district size, and resource allocation implications for each are derived. Empirical evidence from New York State is used to test the proposition that the consequences of differences in size are distributed unequally among categories of students. This within district inequality could be viewed as a potentially serious denial of equal educational opportunity.