The faster P&S will cost more that the budget you have. There are so many out there at your price point that it would be very hard to get the "optimal" one without doing a lot of research...

Thanks NikoDoby.
Our budget is way less than $500. More like 150$ although I might could stretch it a tad. I love my big camera but I can lug it around either. I need something compact. I know P&S are a lot slower but aren't there some that are quicker than others? Thanks for te info on the burst mode and multi shot mode (both of which are missing on the current school camera!) I will look into those as fix.

Hi Betsy and welcome to the forum. Point & shoot cameras aren't known for their fast response time between shots. Part of the problem is that point & shoots use contrast auto focus which is slower than a DSLRs faster phase detect auto focus. Llook for a point & shoot that has a burst mode or multi-shot mode for action shots. That mode will take several photos in rapid succession. I was an educator myself so I'm well aware of how you have to stretch your budget and I know how destructive kids can be at times. However the price of DSLRs have come down so much that you might want to consider buying one instead. The D3000 is more than enough for a classroom setting and it's current price is under $500 dollars with a lens. The faster point & shoots will cost well above $400.

Hi All, I am a newby to this website. I love my D40x, however, I have gone back to teaching and do not want the children ruining my lovely camera. I need a cheap (school will fund it) P & S with a short lag time. The camera we are using now is so slow I miss a lot of incredible shots. Any recommendations? I also want a battery pack. The MPs do not matter as much because the camera the school offers has 5mp! It's about 6 yrs old. We can only go up from there right?

Thanks for your help!