At a hearing on May 8, Judge Wallace declined to give his view on the death penalty or on the financing of poor public-school districts.

That panel recommended a streamlining of the state's complex formula for distributing aid to public-school districts.

A charter school is free and open to any child who lives within the public-school district where the charter school is located.

Nor are public-school districts sitting by quietly as their funds and motivated students are skimmed off.

The number of public-school districts in Suffolk County should be reduced by half through mergers to create a more efficient school system, a county task force said today.

The typical client, Mr. Sklarow said, fits the boomer stereotype, with parents in professions, an income of $75,000 to $125,000, and residence in a high-performing public-school district.

LEAD: WITH the Island's 124 public-school districts ready to open this week, Long Island's school population appears to have stabilized.

A private Catholic school in Akron, Ohio, and a public-school district near Portland, Ore., have introduced programs aimed at rooting out girl meanness.

About 15 percent of New Jersey's public-school districts accept private-tuition students, in part to maintain their academic offerings in an era of declining enrollment.