5342 Week 3 Part 2

                                                     District 1                                 District 2

Rev./WADA Compressed Rate    $5044                                     $7206

Total Target Rev. for M&O           $28,023,530.86                      $34,546,111.66

Teachers                                       265                                         265

Other Prof. Staff                            49.44                                      33.6

This is a great example of how complicated public school funding can be.  I work at a property poor district that is 80% Eco. Dis. and is joining the funding lawsuit against the state.  The districts above have the same tax rate, and approximately the same number of students but differ greatly in property values and funding.  It is easy to argue that district 1 should receive more money but one could also argue that when considering the total M&O collections (1:$1,369,340 and 2:$35,879,109) that district 2 is being penalized by the state for its wealth.  But that is an argument of fairness and not of equity.  If we truly value education and wish to reduce poverty then we must equally put our money where our mouths are, to include those which hunger most!  

5342 Week 3 Part 1

                                                          District 1                              District 2

% Eco. Dis.                                        93.3                                     20.7

Tot. Refined ADA                               3893.754                            4032.937

WADA                                                5555.815                            4794.076

The district with the smaller ADA has the larger WADA resulting from formula considerations such as the percentage of students represented in the areas of economically disadvantaged, LEP, special education, career/technology, and gifted and talented.  This district has a larger percentage of students represented in each of these areas.

Additional Stakeholders in Budget Process

The process of developing a budget should involve a diversity of stakeholders.  Superintendents my gain information from these stakeholders in the following ways:

Central Office:  Persons here can offer a large amount of financial information to include previous and projected costs of salaries, insurance benefits, technology, professional development, etc...

Principals:  Staffing needs/wants and facility needs/wants, technology, programs, supplies, etc..

Site-based:  Programs needed and desired and the support needed

District Improvement Team:  Should be able to give a reflection of community goals and programs needed to support those goals

Teacher Organizations:  Teacher perceptions and desires for slaries, benefits, programs, etc...

Key Stakeholders:  Needs/Costs for supporting daily operations

Board of Trustees:  Direction of district and areas for funding to be allocated

Superintendent's Role in Budgeting

In discussing the role of the superintendent with CISD’s superintendent it was stated that the main role is to maintain financial integrity of the district.  The conversation centered on the activities of this past year and the difficult decisions needed to be made when facing such a large reduction in funding.  With so much money required for personnel and very little wiggle room elsewhere we were faced with the elimination of many positions.  When making such decisions he noted the importance of communication with the board to “involve and inform” in/for the decision-making process.  The role of the superintendent is viewed as a manager of a process involving many stakeholders to consider the needs to accomplish the district’s goals.  Many are involved in the preparing and he “manages” through the monitoring of the calendar by which budgeting activities and those responsible are held accountable.  It is also important to stay current on the financial trends and how they are projected to affect public school funding.

TEA Budget Guidelines

In reviewing the TEA Budgeting guidelines I have learned that the budget process is very involved and a time-consuming process.  As a result of the time needed it is important to follow a calendar to identify the activities required as to meet state standards and to properly prepare for the districts needs.  This calendar must also identify the person(s) responsible for the completion of those activities and the date by which said activities are to be completed.  The establishment of dates creates accountability and is necessary for effective planning. Of course any budget must have an accurate estimation of revenue.  This is very difficult our current system so a heavy reliance on those experienced and accurate accounting for ADA and WADA is important.  This is an area where I need a large amount of professional growth and understanding. It is interesting to consider the application of budget types.  Line-item budgets are useful for fiscal accountability.  The district has a certain amount of money budgeted and must stay within the confines of that budget.  Within the overall budget may lie program budgeting which should reflect the goals and objectives of the improvement plan as created by a diverse group of stakeholders.  It would seem that zero-based budgets would serve to create accountability within the overall and program budgets.

Goal Driven Budget

A goal driven budget is a reflection of a district's careful examination of that district's goals and its resources available for the attainment of those goals.  Such a careful examination requires the involvement of all stakeholders through representation on committees charged with the decision making for goals and goal attainment. 
At CISD the district's goals are reflected in the CISD Improvement plan.  There are four goals with each expanded by several objectives to which needed resources are identified.  The fund to be used is identified but a numerical figure is not given except when federal funds are to be used. 
Though not specific, I do believe that a goal driven budget is achieved.  In the environment of fiscal uncertainty created by the current funding system and the date of funding allotment notification it is difficult to identify specific amounts to any program.  The improvement plan may instead direct the funding of target areas as identified by the goals and objectives of the plan.