The zoning decision∗

∗The research reported here was performed while both authors were members of the Department of Economics, University of Reading.

Abstract

During a period of intense school reorganization and closure in Reading C. M. S. Sutcliffe was was a member of Berkshire County Council, serving on the Education Committee. He was also a governor of two local schools, one of which was closed during this rationalization. He has addressed a number of academic conferences on the subject of school zoning. He now holds the Northern Society chair in the Department of Economics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

J. L. G. Board is now a member of the Department of Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics. He has co‐authored a number of papers on the application of modelling techniques to social decisions.

The allocation of children to secondary school is both difficult and contentious. Although a balanced intake is desirable, it is, in practice, often not achieved. This paper discussed the use of goal programming models to achieve these allocation patterns and considers the results of the first large‐scale application of the technique to this problem. The subject of the allocation is Reading, Berkshire, whose allocation scheme proposed in 1978 was the subject of investigation under the Race Relations Act. The results clearly indicate the advantages of the method as a useful tool to help real‐world educational decision‐makers.

∗The research reported here was performed while both authors were members of the Department of Economics, University of Reading.

Notes

∗The research reported here was performed while both authors were members of the Department of Economics, University of Reading.