School Finance Week 2 Assignment Part 5

Stakeholder input is very important and I am sure that each district accomplishes these tasks in a multitude of ways.  In my district there is not as much site-based budgeting as probably recommended, but many efforts are made to seek participation and receive feedback to encourage buy in for the budget process. 

Concerning central office administrators and staff, these individuals play a large role in process from beginning to end.  They also provide tremendous support to campus principals in the development of the budget on each campus.

Principals are involved in the process because they are responsible for preparing their campus’ budget and provided feedback and request concerning current and future programming.  Principals utilize campus leaders, teachers, and the site-based committee to help make the necessary decisions for the budget.

Site-based and district improvement are involved in the discussion several times during the year and provide guidance to the campus level or district level administrators.

Teacher organizations have little or no input according to the superintendent.  Campus administrators are expected to share and have dialogue with campus teacher leaders about budgetary issues.  Also campus administrators should share and provide information at regularly faculty meetings or through memoranda. 

Community members and other stakeholders have little to no input in the budgetary process.  This part of the process is not volunteered, but often concerned community members voice their concerns at board meetings or through various forms of media.

The board of trustees role is focused on attending budget workshops, budget reviews, dialogue at board meetings according to the set agenda, and of course the adoption process.

Reaction:

Through this process I have learned a lot about how the State, local governments, and school districts manage or should manage their budgetary process.  Our district’s process could definitely use more of the site-based budgeting approach, but honestly the system works and there are many people who have a part in the process, although not directly.  The boards of trustees represent the constituents concerns and desires and usually voice their concerns through this method.

School Finance Week 2 Assignment Part 4

The opportunity to discuss the topic of school finance with an active superintendent and director of finance was a great experience.  In this turbulent state of affairs we are currently facing financially, it is a great issue.

A superintendent has tremendous oversight concerning the budget.  Although there are many players in this game, the superintendent seems to be the driving force behind the success of the budget process.  Activities include: agendas for meeting, budget workshops, data comparisons, daily/weekly/monthly/yearly reviews, and many more responsibilities not mentioned.  There are a few responsibilities worth mentioning from my interviews.  Start the process with the director of finance.  This is necessary to provide campus and district administration with the necessary materials to begin the budget review process.  This is a crucial step because this data will be used by the campus improvement and district improvement committees, as well as other key groups.

Once the data has been collected and dialogue with key stakeholders has occurred, then the superintendent meets with all necessary parties to discuss budget reductions, allocations, campus goals and initiatives.  Over time this data is combined and used to create the agenda and drive the budget workshops and required meetings to potentially adopt the budget.

After reading the excerpt from the required reading, the author gave good feedback concerning the importance of the budget process.  I was particular interested in the part about the unanimous vote from the board.  I would agree with the author because on an issue as important the annual budget all board of trustees should vote for even if they do not agree with all phases of the plan.  It will be up to the superintendent to create a “win, win situation” for those trustees who may feel disenfranchised.   Also the story about the bond issue vote and how closely the board correlated with the communities voting trend.  You can never underestimate or assume anything in the voting process.

Overall, this was a valuable lesson and opportunity to have dialogue and insight within the budget process.  It is inevitable that I will continue to have questions about all sorts of things, but it is important to talk to others and ask questions. 

School Finance Week 2 Assignment Part 3

There were many points to ponder during the reading of the TEA Budgeting Guidelines.  Many of the pages read were all new material.  This made it challenging to say the least.  Reading this material provided me with a glaring weakness and the desire to turn this weakness to strength.  It is obvious experience will play an enormous role in my ultimate grasp of the topic at hand.  Also it will be necessary to tap into available resources like: books, articles, websites, blogs, and educational peers to provide a well rounded viewpoint on budgeting.

Planning, preparation, and evaluation were the three pillars mentioned in the TEA Budgeting Guidelines.  Planning relates to the goals and objectives of the budget.  Preparation focuses on the resource allocations necessary for the attainment of goals and objectives.  The purpose of the evaluation is determining the effectiveness of the budget and provides feedback on the completion of goals and objectives.  These three points or pillars of budgeting are the all encompassing necessities for a successful financial plan.

There are various budget approaches mentioned throughout the required reading.  Budget types included: line item (traditional), performance, program and planning, zero base, and site-based.  These five budget approaches are considered the most common and often two or three approaches can be hybridized to form a budget system that suites the user or organization.  The line item approach is consider rigid and time consuming as it pertains to necessary budget amendments.  A performance approach to budgeting is a very strict method for more specific and data driven plan.  It focuses on specific outcomes and achievements based on concise units of measurement.  Programming and planning is the method that is more goal oriented and provides its users with tremendous flexibility with spending as long as it falls within the respected program goals.  A zero based approach focuses on the budget objectives and goals and setting priorities.  Programs and spending are categorized and prioritized several times before allocations and the adoption occurs.  Site-based approach utilizes the vast interlinked community of the organizations to help crystallize the budget.  Seeking specific insight and input from stakeholders provides this plan with a more well-rounded approach to the budget process that allows for consensus and support.

The school districts in the State of Texas are held to a very high standard and are expected to be fiscally sound in their decision making.  A specific list of guidelines and deadlines are in place for a specific reason.  Throughout the reading it was very apparent that the State intends to hold school district accountable and has provided a template for accomplishment.  The time tables help steer the decision making process.  Also budgets must be adopted by a specific date based on the fiscal year established by the district.        

Roles and responsibilities are a vital piece to the overall success of developing budget.  By requiring specific tasks for those individuals in leadership positions emphasis can be placed on their duties and accountability can be determined.  Two areas of liability fall upon the district and campus level.  Each level is has its own purpose and objectives.  When meshed together both groupings provide a unique approach to budgeting.  Without the leadership and direction at both levels no budgetary accomplishments could be made.

A majority of the budgeting guideline pertained to the detailed budget allotments, Foundation School Program (Tier I, Tier II), and grant monies.  These budget allotments are the basis for funding in the State of Texas.  Tier I funds include calculations related to Average Daily Attendance (ADA), Special programs like: Career Technical Educations, Special Education, and other adjustments and allotments to create and equitable system based on need and size of the district.  Tier II funds include: property tax value, local tax effort, and Weighted ADA (WADA).  Grants (competitive and non-competitive) should be included in the budgeting process and allotments, but actually make up a very small portion of the overall budget.  Grants are intended to be supplemental and should not be expected every year, but can enhance a district’s programs with effective use of the funds.

Much more data was discussed throughout the rest of the document, but my charge was to summarize what I had gained from the reading of the TEA Budgeting Guidelines.  The above information is a collection of what I have learned from this process.  Now that I have been introduced to this material I plan to use it as a foundation for future growth in the area of school finance.  My goal would be to continue to gain knowledge on the subject and be a voice of reason and logic in the planning, preparation, and evaluation of campus or district budget depending on my current capacity in the school district.

School Finance Week 2 Assignment Part 1

Upon review of the video lecture and other select readings it is evident that a goal driven budget is essential to a fiscally sound school district.  A goal driven budget provides all members of the learning community with consistency and balance as it pertains to effectively managing a complex funding system.  If I were to define this type of budget the hallmark of its explanation would focus on specific expectations and achievements for the budget. 

Utilizing the district’s specific goals developed by the board of trustees will ensure efficient use of public funds.  For a budget to be goal driven it must have practical and attainable goals.  The aforementioned goals must be developed using information gathered from a variety of resources.  Other than the raw data like: student enrollment, student needs, and student teacher ratios; focus should also be placed on the state/federally mandated programs, courses, and requirements for today’s school districts.   Ideally the board of trustees’ goals would institute the vision or direction for the district improvement committee and campus improvement committees as they create the improvement plans based on these goals. The improvement plans would ensure buy in from key stakeholders and be the conduit for funding programs and necessary district and campus allocations.  Once the plans are established, then consistent review and monitoring of expenditures is vital.  During the lecture interview Dr. Arterbury said, “The district and campus goals should reflect the Board goals and the budgeting process should reflect a commitment to expending funds to achieve those goals. That would result in a goal driven budget.”  As superintendent is it necessary to encourage as well and enforce the fact that goal alignment is essential to every portion of the organization as well as the financial aspects. 

It was observed during the review of the district improvement plan that many of our goals objectives seemed to indicate our district is goal driven in terms of its budget.  Our community and parent involvement goals placed focus on supporting the district website, partnerships with the local state college, funding our supervised agricultural experience farm for our Career and Technical Education students.  The plan specifically addressed dollar amounts allocated to the detailed initiatives listed above.  The funding was directed coupled to the district goal.  Also the district goal tied to staff development addressed the objectives set forth by the board of trustees.  The goal objectives were: increase and provide quality technology training to improve instruction, provide instructors with strategies related to education of special needs children, and continuing to provide services through web-based teacher programs and library databases.  The plan provided dollar amounts to address these goals and objectives for successful implementation.  The plan is consistently reviewed by the district improvement committee, administration, and board of trustees.

School Finance Week 1 Assignment Part 3

Equality-ensuring the same standard and balance to school district funding throughout the state to provide students with the best possible education Examples: (1)state provides funding for the core curriculum (2)the use of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) for funding purposes

Equity-providing individuals impacted by the state funding system with fairness and access to the state educational programs Examples: (1)providing students with disabilities the same rights as their non-disabled peers (2)meeting the needs of bilingual students that enter our educational system

Adequacy-ensuring districts statewide have sufficient funding to provide students with the mandated educational requirements Examples: (1)the state requires additional courses to the core curriculum and provides funding for new textbooks (2)several districts in a state educational region affected by adverse weather, attendance is poor on that specific day, district held harmless for ADA

School Finance Week 1 Assignment Part 2

Issues Impacting the State Formula
1.State property values affect the per pupil allotment based on current accounting laws Reasons: Property values can change drastically and are not static enough to use as a base a per pupil allotment. To offset these fluctuations it seems other allotment protocols were created to hide the fact that property values are an inadequate form of funding, at least in its current form.
2.The complexity of the funding process Reasons: The current funding process/procedures are too complex for most to understand. Modified funding, allotments, adjustments, and very other accounting measures create a mind numbing experience for the average educator. Although I do not have a good solution, it seems we are facing this crisis because the federal, state, and local governments refuse to control our spending and tighten up our belts and realize there is more to education that just throwing money at the problem. We need a common sense approach that attacks the real problem, over spending.
3.Maintaining equity in funding (rich vs. poor, hold harmless) Reasons: I am very much a novice when it comes to educational financing, but it seems to me that there is still and equity in funding issue. Honestly, I have tried to study and understand the finance system, and have a tremendous amount to learn. From what I do understand some districts still get a lot more money per pupil then others using this current system. If we take that into account, why is one student more valuable than another? For example, District “A” gets $5000.00 per pupil and District “B” gets $3500.00 per pupil. I definitely need to be educated on how this is possible.

School Finance Week 1 Assignment Part 1

Top Three Events in the History of Texas School Finance
1. Mirabeau B. Lamar is known as “The Father of Texas Education” because he was the driving force that persuaded the legislature to establish three leagues of land in each county to support education and 50 leagues of land for two universities. These land grants provided the initial funding for Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. Why? This event was selected because it provided land for the early higher education system as well as land for other schools throughout the state. Utimately it placed emphasis on the importance of education for the state and definitely set the tone for future generations of Texans.
2. The Republic of Texas became the state of Texas in 1845 and the new Texas Constitution provided for the establishment of free schools and called for state taxes to support education. One-tenth of the state revenue was dedicated for educational purposes and became the basis for what we now call the Permanent School Fund. Why? This event was chosen because it came forth after our annexation to the United States. The new state constitution provided a free education to its citizens and created a method of payment for these services, although it would not be sufficient for the future.
3. The Texas Supreme Court in November, 2005, in the case of Neeley v West Orange-Cove CISD, et al, decided in a 7-1 decision that indeed the $1.50 tax cap for M&O created a de facto statewide property tax which is unconstitutional. It also stated:
• Current school funding was adequate
• That although a disparity existed between rich and poor districts, the disparity was not large enough to be unconstitutional
• Consolidation of smaller districts should be considered in the name of fiscal efficiency;
and
• The state legislature is cautioned that soon the funding disparities between rich and poor districts would rise to a point it is unconstitutional and is in need of a remedy
Why? This event was chosen because it was a more modern view and impact on school finance. When to Texas Supreme Court determined this form of finance unconstitutional it required major changes to funding.