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.