5342 Week 5 Part 2/3

Part 3

I did not realize how much more comfortable I feel about school finance until completing the self-assessment in part two.  Entering this course I felt finance to be a weakness but now feel much more confident with the required tasks of the superintendent position.  None-the-less, I do not claim to be an expert in any area and feel that this course long with my current position will enable me to shorten and better manage the learning curve during my first superintendent position.  I realize the need to involve and learn from the many resources in the budget process.

The self-assessments provide insight into areas of growth and needed growth.  These provide guidance for reflection as discussed in the week five interview.  This is a skill where I also need to improve to maximize my opportunities for professional growth.  Reflection, as I understand it, consciously serves to reinforce learning and opens opportunities for future growth much like the subconscious growth from transfer learning.

The opportunity to work with the outstanding professional resources in group one has also been amazing.  The thoughtful insights of my group partners extended my learning and challenged me to analyze our activities at a much deeper level.  Insights from district interviews and  course interviews/lectures strengthen learning with invaluable experiences from those who have “been there & done that”!

5342 Week 5 Part 1

Part 1

There are many ways a superintendent may violate ethical standards but, as stated in this week’s video, the simple philosophy of “taking the high road” and “doing the right thing” is the one way to avoid making such errors in judgment.  Some examples of violations to the TAC follow.  A superintendent using maintenance personnel and/or supplies to paint his/her home during school hours violates standard 1.2.  Directing a counselor or principal to enhance the grade of the school board member’s child violates standard 1.6.  Failure to hold the required open meeting prior to the board’s approval of the budget would be a violation of standard 1.7.  A superintendent encouraging employees not to vote in the board elections violates standard 2.4.  The hiring of a friend for the HS principal position from outside the district without advertising and accepting applications violates standard 2.3. 

In each scenario there are serious ethics violations that could result in written action against and/or the termination of the superintendent.  The district will also face rebuilding lost trust between leadership and the community.   The lack of trust will likely interfere with community/board support in other immediate and future areas as well.  Of course the career of the superintendent may also be in jeopardy as he/she attempts to move on.

Every educator must hold themselves accountable and, as previously mentioned, do the right thing.  When entering unknown areas we must seek the advice and wisdom of those on our team, school lawyers, and those who have served as our mentors.  We must use all resources for informed decision making.

5342 Week 4 Part 5

Part 5

CISD follows the TASBO model for external auditing.  The district accepts proposals from interested firms and then reviews each proposal and checks references to refine the selection process to three firms.  Interviews of each of the three firms are then conducted to select which firm will conduct the audit.

The selected firm will then work with the district throughout the year conducting scheduled visits to review requested documents and interviews.  A final report is prepared and presented to the Board of Trustees.

CISD has employed the same CFO for 40+ years and during our current superintendent’s tenure has never encountered a major problem or concern.  The board and superintendent have great faith in our CFO and are troubled by her recent retirement and the thought of replacing her. 

5342 Week 4 Part 4

Part 4

CISD currently spends 82% of our budget on salaries.  This approximate 80-20 ratio of personnel to other operating expenses is interesting when considering some of our surrounding industry.  In discussing this with a friend of mine who is in management in a local refinery, he stated that their ratio was the mirror opposite (20-80).  Their product does not require the supervision, instruction, etc that our product requires and thus we must have a greater number of employees per volume of product.  As stated in Part three we are funded at cost rather than receiving retail for our product and thus making it even more challenging to adequately compensate teachers.

In today’s financial climate there is little room for a salary increase.  At CISD, a district of about 3700 students, we lost approximately $4.6 million in funding this year.  As a result we have 117 fewer employees in 2011-2012 than 2010-2011.  In addition, all stipends tied to content area incentives have been eliminated.  With the projected funding in the next biennium we expect little or no salary increases.  Although not impacting us at this time, due to the increase in teacher availability, we expect that this will make competing for quality teachers more difficult as more teachers retire and fewer enter the profession.

5342 Part 4

CISD receives revenue from three sources: local and intermediate, state program, and federal program.  Each source of revenue contributes monies to one of three fund types: general, special services, and debt services (from which federal program sources are excluded).

Local sources account for 28.21% of the total revenue for CISD at $9,489,265.  Of that amount $7,446,747 is allotted to the general fund, $413,410 to special services, and $1,629,108 for debt services. 

State sources account for 59.06% of the total revenue for CISD at $19,865,660.  Of that amount $18,184,470 is allotted to the general fund, $386,068 to special services, and $1,295,122 for debt services.

Federal sources account for 12.73% of the total revenue for CISD at $4,283,581.  Of that amount $286,240 is allotted to the general fund, $3,997,341 to special services, and $0.0 for debt services. 

The amount of revenue from local sources is reflective of CISD being a poorer property wealth district and thus not generating enough local tax revenue to adequately fund the educational needs of CISD’s students.  As with state program sources, the majority of money from the local sources are allotted to the general fund and a much smaller amount to special services.  Each contributes to the debt service for facilities.  Much of the facility improvement in CISD comes from the fund balance as passing bonds is very difficult in our community.

Federal sources require almost all monies be allotted to special services and, although only 12% of our revenue sources, are very important in these tough economic times.  CISD lost $3.5 million in state funding and $0.5 million in federal funding from 2010 to 2011.  In addition, due to an unexpected decrease in enrollment as of snapshot, we stand to lose an additional $680,000.  To further complicate financial matters, the state informed us that they made a $400,000 mistake in 2009 and will be holding that from CISD in 2011.

Nearly 80% of our student population is economically disadvantaged and thus the funding formula appears to work in our favor by sending more money from the state to compensate for our lack of local sources.  Where I feel that there is a lack of equity is how some districts, through CEI and other components of the funding formula, are assigned substantially larger WADA/student amounts.