EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 5

I had the opportunity to interview my district’s superintendent to find out what current practices are in place to help facilitate stakeholder involvement in the development of the budget.  Each area is summarized below:

Ø  Central Staff

o   Cabinet—we constantly discuss finance on an ongoing basis (year round).  The CFO is on my cabinet.

Ø  CFO

o   He knows the budget backwards and forwards.  I ask him any questions I have.  I have told him that he must tell me both the good and the bad news and he must tell me “no” when necessary.

Ø  Principals

o   Indirectly through their development of the campus budget

Ø  Site Based Committees

o   Development of campus budget

o   Development of campus goals to support district goals

Ø  District Improvement Committee

o   Development of district goals

Ø  Teacher Organizations

o   None at this time

Ø  Key Stakeholders

o   Required budget approval town hall meetings and hearings

Ø  Board of Trustees

o   I give the board options and we work together on what the priorities of the district will be for the next year.

Reaction/Reflection:

Considering that I have worked as a campus principal for the past six years, I was not really surprised by any of the superintendent’s responses.  I am very familiar with her consistent use of the superintendent’s cabinet.  She relies heavily on their expertise and knowledge in each area, including facilities, personnel, finance, student services and curriculum.  I am eager to learn more about how she utilizes board workshops and trainings to educate the board members about the district budget.

EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 4

The superintendent is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day district operations.  A significant portion of that responsibility falls under the area of budgeting.  The Texas Education Code Section 44.002-44.006 specifically states that “the superintendent is the budget officer for the district and prepares or causes the budget to be prepared.” 

While the superintendent is ultimately responsible, their level of involvement will vary depending on the size of the district.  During the interview with my superintendent, this was a point that was emphasized.  My superintendent stated that,

I know some superintendents in smaller districts who actually are responsible for the financial side of the district to the extent that they handle all budgeting, paperwork, communication with the state, etc.  In our district, I oversee the budgeting process.  The CFO and I discuss the process, then meet together throughout the time we are preparing the budget.  Since we are going to zero-based budgeting this year, after campus projections are turned in, I will go over these, as will the CFO.

The superintendent’s role in the budgeting process should also ensure that all stakeholders are involved.  As Dr. Arterbury explained in the lecture, budgeting is part of the “total planning process of the school district.”  Superintendents must work collaboratively with stakeholders and the board to first establish the goals of the district.  Once the district goals are established, then campuses and departments must align their individual goals to that of the board and the district.  The goals then drive the budget.  Since the development of the district goals essentially drive the development of the budget, then the superintendent’s involvement in this process is critical.  This involvement allows all stakeholders to justify expenditures. 

The superintendent must also have a strong working knowledge about the TEA Financial Accountability System.  Most often, the superintendent is going to rely on the expertise of the chief financial officer; however, since the superintendent is the one person that is legally responsible, then it is critical that they understand the process. 

Reflection:

As an aspiring superintendent, I must admit that the budget process is the most intimidating part of the superintendent’s roles and responsibilities.  It is an enormous responsibility that requires a knowledge base that most “educators” don’t necessarily have.  The budgetary process is usually an area in which accountants or CFO’s are more knowledgeable.  For this reason, I believe it is critical for the superintendent to develop a strong advisory team to assist with the budgeting process.  In my district, the superintendent has established a superintendent’s cabinet that is responsible for collaboratively working together to develop the district budget.

EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 3

Summary:

The TEA Budgeting Guidelines published in January of 2010 contain valuable information about the budgetary process.  In the preface of the document, it should be noted that special attention is given to the importance of developing a budget based on needs determined after reviewing district data and information.  In Section 2.3, TEA identifies the three major phases of the budgetary process as planning, preparation and evaluation.  Currently, there are five types of budgetary approaches being used by school districts in the state of Texas.  Section 2.4 lists the five approaches as (1) Line-item budgeting (2) performance budgeting (3) programming budgeting (4) zero-based budgeting and (5) site-based budgeting.  Considering the state of Texas is facing a financial crisis when it comes to school finance, the section on the five types of approaches provides important information for districts that are changing the way they create their budgets. 

Section 2.6 of the TEA Budgeting Guidelines provides information on legal requirements.  The document also has information about the how the functions areas of instruction, instructional support, central administration, district operations and debt service should be used when planning the district budget.  The legalities of the amendment process are explained in terms of moving funds from one function to another.

Reflection: 

Having had the opportunity to serve as a campus for the past six years, I have learned quite a bit about the campus budget process.  The TEA Budgeting Guidelines helped me see the budgetary process from a much more global perspective.  The portion that explained the different types of budget approaches was very helpful.  This year, the district is completely changing the way we create the budget, due to the shortfall.  In the past, we have always used a line-item budgeting approach.  I agree with the description that states this is the most “simplified” approach.  Now that the district is facing an estimated six million dollar cut, we are being mandated to use zero-based budgeting.  The information presented in the resource states that the “basic tenet of ZBB is that program activities and services must be justified annually.”  I believe this approach will definitely give the district more control over all aspects of the budget process.  This approach will certainly require every administrator to analyze requests before they are submitted and prepare justification for each expenditure.

EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 2

Reflection:  After reviewing the “TASBO Budget Development” power point and the sample budget development calendar, it is obvious that the development of the district budget is an on-going process.  The legal requirements that were covered in the TASBO handout were helpful in understanding the dates that were included in the budget development calendar.  It also was apparent that each step in the budget process is critical.  For instance, districts must analyze revenue and expenditures in order to determine their per student expenditures.  As administrators we often have to work in the current year while simultaneously planning the upcoming year.  Budget development is no different.  The current budget must be maintained while projections and planning is being done for the future.

EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 1

In the interview between Dr. Steve Jenkins and Dr. Elivs Arterbury, the concept of goal driven budgeting was discussed in detail.  According to Dr. Arterbury, the purpose of goal driven budgeting is to ensure that all stakeholders work collaboratively to attain the shared vision of the district and campuses.  This shared vision is reached by aligning the budget process to the district goals in the district improvement plan.  The campus goals or campus improvement plan should then be aligned to the district plan and ultimately support the district vision and mission.

My current district improvement plan identifies goals for student performance, alternative assessments, learning opportunities, and safe and secure schools.  The student performance goal states that each student group will perform at or above state average in Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  The district allocated local and federal Title dollars to purchase instructional resources.  Specifically, the district adopted a district-wide vertically aligned curriculum called C-Scope which requires a large amount of funding (approximately $250,000). 

In order to support the implementation of the curriculum, the district plan also supports the need for eighteen instructional coach positions.  The goal states that each of the nine campuses will have instructional coaches for Language Arts/Social Studies and Math/Science.  The positions are funded with Title funds. 

The district’s assessment goals include the development of district benchmark assessments that are aligned to the TEKS.  Additionally, alternative assessments are required to meet the needs of special education and 504 students.  The district plan shows that $20,000 of local funds will be devoted to ensuring that assessments are developed. 

Under the district’s fourth goal, all students will benefit from programs that contribute to their health and safety.  One of the objectives explains the district’s intention to participate in the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child’s Health) program.  The cost is $16,036, and is funded through the local budget and the “Texas Fitness Now Grant.” 

The district budget is included in the district improvement plan in the appendix.  All of the funding sources are listed and linked directly to the goals identified throughout the plan.  This is an excellent example of goal driven budgeting.  

EDLD 5342

We are in our third class now with the Superintendent certification!  Time is flying by.  This course is on school finance, which should be extremely interesting considering all of the recent issues that educators are facing to to the budget shortfall.  I am eager to learn more about the Texas school finance system.  Please check out my wiki for more detailed information about what I am learning.  My wiki is... http://christiegates.wikispaces.com