An archived document from the United States Department of Education (DOE) written in October 1996, says “school-based management [SBM] has been on the educational reform agenda for decades.” This may have been more of warning than a prediction.

As the piece continues onto say “there is scant evidence that schools get better just because decisions are made by those closer to the classroom.”

Based on the research of the time there were indications that “the absence of a clearly defined set of instructional goals tends to slow the progress of even the governance changes SBM is supposed to deliver.”

Their conclusions about SBM were based on “an in-depth study of 27 schools in three U.S. districts” one of which was Prince William County, Virginia. They “interviewed nearly 200 individuals from school board members, superintendents and associate superintendents in district offices to principals, teachers, parents and students in local schools.”

They go onto offer advice for a “high-involvement model of SBM” which “envisions teachers and principals being trained and empowered to make decisions related to management and performance.” And “having access to information to inform such decisions; and being rewarded for their accomplishments.”

This model focuses on four elements. Power “over such things as budgets, personnel and curriculum.” Knowledge “of the organization so that employees can improve it.” Information “about student performance and comparisons with other schools, about whether parents and community leaders are satisfied with the school, and about the resources available, either monetary or other.” And rewards which “acknowledge the extra effort SBM requires as well as to recognize improvements.”

Prince William County Schools participation in that archived DOE study indicates in long history of operating under site-based management. As does a reference in The Washington Post’s 2006 eulogy to the late PWC School Chief Edward Kelly. Describing it as a “wonkish label [of] ‘site-based management,’ the approach allowed principals more authority over spending, hiring and curriculum, on the theory that they knew better what their students needed than central office administrators did.”

Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) last school division efficiency review of PWCS took place in 2007. VDOE’s website says the review is “designed to identify ways that divisions can realize cost savings in non-instructional areas that can be redirected to classroom activities.”

There are 16 occurrences of the phrase ‘site-based management’ in the report. Half of those are related to two recommendations made by the VDOE. One was to implement “training modules to ensure appropriate training of appointed new principals and the preparation of prospective school principals [Recommendation 2-18]” Another was to redefine the “responsibilities of principals to exclude functions that can be managed at the division level with greater efficiency [Recommendation 2-19]”

Under the section on ‘financial management and purchasing’ site-based management comes up again. Explains how it is “a way to realign the decision making authority by decentralizing the control from central offices to individual school sites.” And that it “provides administrators, teachers, parents, community members, and students more control over decisions relating to budgetary issues, personnel, and curriculum.”

Budget-wise, “The division’s site-based management budget process provides funding to schools based primarily on a per student allocation. Schools are authorized broad authority to establish staffing and use of the allocated funds within certain established criteria.”

In ‘Prince William County FY 2014 Budget’ one paragraph explains that “The School Division operates under a site-based management philosophy where schools and departments have significant authority to plan and budget resources to meet Division and school/department goals and objectives.

The most recent document to reference site-based management as Prince William County Public Schools 2017-18 Special Education Advisory Committee Annual Report. It recommends to the School Board “Adoption of identified external audit improvements to the current site-based management practices” as its primary takeaway.

Regarding the implications of the coronavirus pandemic on site-based management, PWCS Superintendent, Dr. Steven Walts, made a statement to the Bristol Beat that SBM does not apply “when we are talking about something as important as health, safety and virtual or in-person learning.”

Attempts were made to reach PWC School Board officials for comment, but were not returned.