EDLD 5342 Week 5 Part 1-3

Part 1

Educators, including the Superintendent must be examples of ethical behavior in everything they do. This includes the development of programs that are good for students and their total development, the ethical behavior in the area of personnel, and ethical stewardship of district finances.

Example 1: Standard 1.3 states that “The educators shall not submit fraudulent request for reimbursement, expenses, or pay.” A somewhat tricky example of a violation would be a situation in which a large group of administrators and educators from a district registered for and traveled to a national educators conference. Registration fees and hotel costs were handled up front. At the conference a sizeable number of the attendees never attended a single session at the conference, enjoyed the tourist sites, etc. yet turned in records for reimbursement for their time at the conference. This behavior violates that standard, in spirit at the very least. Consequence:  The educators, if caught, could face written reprimand or other discipline based on the severity of the incidents. Prevention: Put procedures in place in the district for providing proof of conference and session attendance throughout the chosen conferences.

Example 2: Standard 1.2 states that the “educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, or equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage”. I am aware of two incidents that are examples of violating this standard. One is when a principal was apparently in the habit of accepting checks from entities like the school photographer or book fair company, on behalf of the school, but instead of allowing the campus secretary to deposit and account for the money, he would take them to the bank and “cash them”, never making the deposit. A similar incident happened involving another school activity account where money was taken in by the school in connection with certain projects like the school yearbook, but not accounted for properly and cash came up missing or checks were not deposited, but instead cashed. In both cases the principals were disciplined or removed from their position and procedures were tightened for collection and deposition of money across all campuses in the district. Consequences: The principal, or other district personnel, who violate this standard could be investigated, put on leave, or terminated, as was the case in the above example. Prevention: Establishment of procedures that demand daily deposit of funds, limited access to checks and cash by a limited number of personnel, and improving accounting procedures.

Example 3: 1.1 and 1.7 state that the “educator shall not intentionally , knowingly ,or recklessly engage in deceptive practices regarding official policies of the school, district,

etc.” and “the educator shall comply with state regs, written policies, and other state and federal laws. One example of a violation of this kind would be when a district employee uses a district credit card to buy personal items. As was the case several years ago with a Dallas ISD superintendent who bought personal furniture, it is a violation of district policy, the law, and ethics. Consequences: Investigation, termination, destruction of ones career are all possibilities. Prevention: Put in place stringent procedures for use of credit cards or eliminate them entirely.

Example 4: Standard 2.3 states that the “educator shall adhere to written local school board policies and state and federal laws regarding the hiring, evaluation and dismissal of personnel.” An example of a violation would be when a superintendent does not follow the procedure for job postings and hires the “chosen one” that was “predetermined”, without following procedures for posting, interviewing candidates, etc. Consequence: This could result in grievances being filed, loss of trust within the district, and in possibly not getting the best candidate. Prevention: Separate, clearly define roles of each office and allow the HR department or applicable division to follow procedures for posting and hiring.

Example 5: Standard 2.6 states “the educator shall not use coercive means or promise of special treatment in order to influence professional decisions or colleagues”. An example of this would be when a superior tells a principal to hire a certain person for a position and promises they will be considered for a future promotion in return. Consequence:  Not hiring the best, losing trust in the organization and building a poor climate, grievances or complaints being filed. Prevention: Follow approved, written procedures for all hiring.

Reflection: The superintendent is responsible for the care of an entire district, for posterity. They must live with the decisions they make for kids, staff, and the financial health of the district. They must live with what they pass down to the future. Ethical leadership is essential

Part 2-

Competency 8 Area:

The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology application.

The superintendent knows how to:

__C___ apply procedures for effective budget planning and management.

__C___ work collaboratively with board of trustees and appropriate personnel to develop district budgets.

__C___ facilitate and evaluate effective account auditing and monitoring that complies with legal requirements and local district policy.

__C___ establish district procedures for accurate, effective, ethical purchasing and financial record keeping and reporting.

__C___ acquire, allocate, and manage resources according to district vision and priorities, including obtaining and using funding from various sources.

__C___ use district and staff evaluation data for personnel policy development and decision making.

__S___ apply knowledge associated with personnel management, including requirements related to certifying, recruiting, screening, selecting, evaluating, disciplining, reassigning, and dismissing personnel.

_ C___ manage one's own time and the time of others to enhance district operations.

__C___ develop and implement plans for using technology and information systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of school district operations.

__C___   apply legal concepts, regulations, and codes as required.

_  C___  use revenue forecasting and enrollment forecasting to address personnel and budgetary needs accurately.

Self Assessment Reflection:  In no way, form, or fashion have I even begun to understand every detail I need to know about school finance. This class has been difficult because it lies in my area of weakness. I am an instructional leader, a professional development expert, and an inspirational servant leader. Examining the details of finance, summary of finance reports, etc. has had my head swimming. However, I have learned the basics. I am competent in every area and even more convinced that you must know a bit about everything, but can never know as much as you need to know. I am further convinced that you must hire those who compliment you. I rate the area of recruiting, screening, disciplining, evaluating personnel, etc. as a strength because I have been successful in raising expectations and holding people accountable on my campuses and can apply that to the next job.  I can not rate myself as anything more than competent in any other area, but feel I have grown. I feel I am strongest in the areas of collaboration and managing time.

Part 3
Final Reflection from EDLD 5342- As this class draws to a close, I am left with the understanding that you must surround yourself with people who complement your strengths and weaknesses. You must be able to trust those around you and hold them accountable for excellence. Finance will be the biggest area in which I have to use that philosophy. I found the lectures, videos, and transcripts to be informative, as always and particularly enjoyed hearing about the Economy of Scale and Differentiated Staffing. I may have been using different terms for them, but made an immediate connection in how I use paraprofessionals to organize and effective intervention system on my campus, one that has drawn much attention from visitors and much success.  I honestly found it difficult and tedious to search for numbers and figures on the various reports that we had to analyze but it did give me insight into the scope of the finance issue. It was interesting to learn about the sources of revenue, WADA, and levels of expenditures in districts and how they compare. I learned that we have a very inequitable system that needs to be fixed and am left wondering if anyone has courage in this country anymore to really fix our problems. I am left wondering if politics will always cripple us and actually feel somewhat hopeless on many levels in relation to the issue of whether or not we will ever solve our problems. Finally, I attempted to learn how to work with a wiki group that is very far away from me. At first, I did not understand how in the world you could have people who are so far away from each other and in online classes truly collaborate as a group. Dealing with everyone’s personal and business schedules, and with the complexity of some of the assignments left me frustrated in the early weeks. However, once I got the hang of it, I did enjoy and come to value members of my group.

EDLD 5342 Week 4

Week 4 Part 1 - FIRST

The purpose of the financial accountability rating system of Texas or FIRST is to ensure that school districts are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices. According to Chapter 109, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Financial Accountability, “The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to manage their financial resources better in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes”. The system consists of five ratings ranging from Superior Achievement to Suspended- Data Quality. Overall, there are six “Critical” indicators on FIRST. However, in our opinion the three most important components are: Was there an unqualified opinion in the annual financial report, did the annual financial report not disclose any instances of material weaknesses in internal controls and finally, the examination of the general fund account. The first important component of FIRST that a Superintendent should be concerned with is whether or not there is an unqualified opinion in the annual financial report. While examining this area it tells a Superintendent if the district had any problem areas in the district’s financial statements. This would be a red flag that should be reviewed.The next critical area of FIRST is whether the annual financial report disclosed any instances of material weaknesses in internal controls? This lets the reader know if there are possible problems with the financial system that is in place at the district.  If there are weaknesses in internal controls there may be problems in the future. The last final important component in our opinion is examining the general fund account. The total fund balance minus the reserved fund balance in the general fund must be greater than zero.  This is extremely important because if the fund balance is zero then a district will have no cash to meet its liabilities or payroll obligations. The FIRST should be an important rating to a Superintendent. All districts should be managing their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes and this rating system is used to help districts achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources.

Reflection: I am pleased to work for a district with excellent FIRST ratings and a healthy fund balance. In talking with my superintendent, it is apparent that he takes the fiscal health of the district to be of the utmost importance….now and in the future.


Part 2

While comparing the two district snapshots this week the concept of economy of scale becomes evident. Economy of scale is  explained by thinking about bulk purchasing, as you buy more the cost per unit may go down. As a district becomes larger it can actually reduce infrastructure costs per student and in turn results in more instructional program revenue per student. It also allows for these efficiency savings to improve teacher salaries. Both districts had similar Total Revenue per pupil (a bit over $10,000) and Total Operational Expenditures per pupil. However, the average teacher salary in District 2 is much higher than District 1. One explanation to the differences in teacher salaries is economy of scale.

     Total Revenue per pupil in each district the totals are very similar. District 1 total revenue is slightly higher than District 2 at $10,529, while District 2 is at $10,316. Also, the Total Operational Expenditures per pupil are similar. District 2’s Total Operational Expenditures per pupil is only $297 more than District 1. Average teacher salary is much different in the two districts. District 2’s average teacher salary is $50,307 while District 1’s average salary is only $39,771. One explanation to the differences in the average teacher salary is economy of scale. District 2 is much more populous with over 32,000 students and 45 campuses. District 1, however, has less than 900 students over 3 campuses. Being a larger district gives District 1 an economy of scale advantage over the smaller district. Being a larger district allows cost of other expenditures to decreases making more funds available to provide a higher base salary and salary increases.


Part 3 Differentiated Staffing

         As stated in the lecture, differentiated staffing is a concept that proposes specialized use of personnel. It is similar to how the medical profession separates duties. Meeks (2011) noted that there was a rise in the interest of differentiated staffing in the 1960s to increase the cost-effectiveness of faculty dollars. The idea was a tiered-labor model ranging from educational aides to expert teachers. I have used this at both campuses I have led. I was able to hire aides to help with intervention time, save funds, and help teachers. The division of labor is accomplished with teacher’s aides,  Teacher’s aides at my school help with instruction and in smaller ways with classroom management, logistics. Each grade level/subject area has intervention time and gets 5 people who come to their level/subject area for an hour each day, then rotate. The teaching team is the expert in the curriculum, coordinates lesson planning, and assigns teaching roles. Overall, the number of staff members required for a certain number of students would is less. In addition, the number of regular certified teachers would be less. However, the number  aides increases. This  results in a smaller budget for staff salaries and benefits. The division of labor  improves job satisfaction of all staff members. They feel they are getting more done and we are seeing the results.

Part 4

Mansfield ISD appears to be in good shape, in spite of the recent legislative session. The district’s total expenditures are listed at $226,376,155. Payroll for all personnel totals $194,826.314. This is broken down in the following ways: Instruction $124 million, Instructional Administration $2,095,021, School Administration $13,840,169.  Other departments and salaries make up the remainder of the $194 million in expenditures. The average teacher salary in the district is $53,100. 

Providing an across the board pay raise of 5% in the district would result in an increase of $9,700,000 being added to the budget. In this current economic climate, an across the board raise of that magnitude would result in having to make choices to cut programs and positions. Currently our district is working on ways to deal with the loss of 13 million in revenue from the state this year and an additional 13 million next year. MISD was able to keep from laying off staff by moving people around in the district to fill openings and handle the cuts through attrition. In addition, we are moving to an 8 period day from intermediate school through high school. This allows the district to save teacher jobs and programs for kids. If we did not do this and kept the current 90 minute block schedule the district would have to pull ten million a year from the fund balance to cover the costs. Of course, pay raises are good for employees and provide a morale boost, as well as much needed support as the cost of living rises. However, a 5 percent raise would not be prudent at this time.

This assignment gave me some perspective. Who wouldn’t like a raise? We all would, but looking at the enormous impact of a raise for staff helped me to see the big picture of how that action would effect the entire budget.

Part 5

The Audit Financial Report is prepared to give the district and trustees an accurate picture of the financial condition of the district. The district has a schedule for rebidding specific types of professional services. Auditing services are not bid like products but are rather selected based on their qualifications. The district will issue a document called an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for auditing services. The auditors will answer questions the district provides which include an estimate for external audit services. External auditors are not allowed to bid their fees.It can only be an estimate. These agreements typically span for more than one year or are obligated each year with an engagement letter. Our audit was conducted by Deloitte and Touche. In the report they describe the importance of the district’s integrity of procedures and that the audit is only as accurate as the district is honest. They conducted the audit “in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America”. The audit examined financial statements and found them to be free of material misstatement. They examined the internal and external controls over reporting. It also examined evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in financial statements, examining all major funds, sources of funding, and expenditures. The audit report contains all the financial statements , a summary of the district’s assets and liabilities, a description of the district. I was able to read a bit about the recent years In Mansfield ISD and the increasing tax base associated with its growth. The audit opinion letters showed the district to be compliant with the law and regulations and in good shape financially, with a fund balance of 87 million dollars at the time of the report. Results are communicated to the board of trustees and district in the audit report and two audit opinion letters. I enjoyed working with Ms. Bowman on this assignment. She is a CFO in our district and was able to spend time discussing this with me. I found the report she gave me to be daunting and a little difficult to understand, but I did at least understand the gist of the report, that the district is compliant with the law and has appropriate procedures in place as well as healthy growth and a healthy fund balance.

 

EDLD5342 Week3 Part4

Mansfield ISD has a current M and O tax rate of $1.04 and total collections of $95,654,811.  This comes from the local property tax rate and is based on a tax base of over $9 billion.  The I and S tax rate collections total $41 million. Our revenue at the compressed rate is $5078 per WADA. The total cost of Tier 1 is $175, 339,987.

Allotments include: $15 million for special education, $10 million for CATE, $912K for GT, $12 million in Comp Ed., $1.5 million for Bilingual Ed., $2.2 million for transportation, $2.5 million for the high school allotment.

The local fund assignment is over $85 million and the state’s share of Tier 1 is over $90 million. Mansfield is not a recapture district. It appears that federal funds contribute over $3 million.

$139 million is allocated to directly to instruction. Funds seem to be adequately allocated to instruction and related services. It appears there is a direct correlation between the funds allocated from local, state, and federal sources into instructional programs that benefit children.

Mansfield ISD lost 13 million this legislative session, but was able to do so without laying off any employees in good standing on their campuses. Instead they moved staff from campus to campus as necessary. In an effort to save more money, the district is moving to an eight period day at the secondary level, moving away from the block schedule. 


MISD is in great financial shape and has a healthy $85 million fund balance.

Voters recently approved a bond election whose focus was “Equality”. 4 new campuses will be built to replace aging campuses and equip them with the latest….things that have become standard on buildings constructed in the last several years. The bond election will also make upgrades to facilities, technology, and security available across the district.

EDLD 5342 Week 3 part 6

Compensatory Education funding for the poorer district runs $3.8 million while the wealthier district is receiving  $633K. The intent of this funding is to serve the needs of the children with the most needs. This does enable the poorer district to provide additional services to those children. However, when you look at the revenue per WADA of each, you discover that the wealthy district is at $7206 vs. the poor district’s $5044.  The difference allows the rich district to come out on top and hire more personnel or provide additional programs and services.

EDLD 5342 Week 3 Part 5

DPV-

Property poor district- $145,968,635

Property wealthy district- $2,916,187,709

I and S

Poor- $94, 871

Rich-  $8,836,256

Chapter 46 (EDA)

Poor- $572,716

Rich- 0

Total Available for Facilities-

Poor- $667, 587

Rich- $8,836,256

The poorer district has a much lower tax base than the wealthy district. They have less in the I and S, and less available for facilties. They may receive 500K in assistance for debt reduction, but one can conclude that the wealthier district probably has new, up to date facilities while the poorer one struggles to just maintain their current buildings. Once again, no equity.

EDLD 5342 Week 3 Part 3

The intent of the legislature to provide more funding to district’s with greater needs was not met. Again, I am left wondering if our legislature even understands public education and has a true desire to adequately fund it,  habitually plays politics, or are victims of unintended consequences of their formulas. The poorer district has a WADA of 5555.815 because it has more disadvantaged and at risk students. This district also has a total tax base of only 141 million dollars. The rich district has a lower WADA at 4794, but because it has a nearly 3 billion dollar tax base every penny of their tax rate provides way more revenue for them. The total revenue per WADA for the property poor district is $5044, whereas the richer district has a revenue per WADA of $7206.  When the formulas were changed in 2006, the richer district was still able to raise more money per WADA because of their higher tax base.

                                                         

While the poorer district receives more funds for  the Special Education Allotment, as well as Career and Tech ed, GT, Comp. Ed., and Bilingual Education allotments, the richer district receives more money overall. This means they can employ more staff members and offer more programs to their students. The poor district has to use these allotments simply to play catch up with basic services and programs. There is even a difference in the student/teacher ratio, with the poor district having a higher overall ratio. The richer district has a ratio of students to total staff and students to teacher that is lower. One can even take a look at the average salaries in each district and see that teacher pay and administrator salaries are higher in the richer district. Even though the state made some efforts in the funding formulas to provide additional assistance for students and the poor district benefits from having a higher WADA, it is clear that they may receive more for the weight of their students, but that the richer district is able to raise more money for their general fund and therefore be able to make more choices to provide enhancements to salaries, education programs, etc.

The legislature’s failure to provide an adequate and equitable funding system is further seen in the EDA numbers. The rich district may not receive any assistance with debt reduction, but the poorer district only receives a bit over $500,000. This minimal amount of assistance does not make a true difference in an age where the infrastructure in our nation is already crumbling and needs to be updated. One can imagine a situation where the property poor district could be struggling to maintain its buildings, let alone update or build newer up to date facilities.

In the end, it is the state’s responsibility to provide an equitable public education experience to all students in Texas. It is a responsibility mandated in our state constitution and it is one that is continually shirked. We live in a time where our politicians are more concerned with being reelected that doing what is right for kids. If you take a look at the demographic and economic trends it is situation that is only going to get worse. The baby boomers are retiring in droves and are concerned about their taxes, benefits, retirement, social security, and medicare. The legislature is not committed to scrapping the entire current system and starting over to create the right system. They seem to be more interested in cutting budgets. A recent article ran that showed the disparity in wealth between the older generations and the younger generations is at its highest gap/point in history. Even with that new data, we are cutting funds to education, childrens’ and family/health programs, and allowing college tuition to become unaffordable while not touching the entitlements for those already holding the wealth.  The only solution is to scrap it and start over with the aim of building the most innovative schools in the nation and doing what it takes to get there…whatever it takes. I wonder if we have the courage.

EDLD 5342 Week 3 Part 2

Summary:

This assignment at first overwhelmed me, so I interviewed my district’s CFO to get a better understanding of the snapshots, how to find the target revenue, etc.

To find the total target revenue I multiplied the WADA at the compressed rate for each district by the WADA. 

The rich district’s formula would be $7,206 X 4794.076= $34,546,111.656

They have 307 teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians, with 265 FTEs.

The poor district’s formula is $5044 X 5,555.815= $28,023,530.86

They have 281 teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians, with 265 FTEs.

Reflection: It appears that the rich district benefits from the target revenue and hold harmless provisions. They have roughly $2000 more per student and a 3 billion dollar tax base. The poor district is locked in and can’t raise enough money. When property tax rates were compressed beginning in 2006, it capped each district’s rate but this does not negatively effect the richer district. My reflection is that there is no such thing as equity in Texas. Apparently all men are not created equal.

EDLD 5342 Week 3 Part 1

Summary: One district is obviously a wealthy district, with only 20.7% meeting the criteria to be economically disadvantaged. Their refined ADA is 4032.937.  Their WADA is 4794.07, and their ADA is 4032.  The other district has a population that is 93% economically disadvantaged. Their refined ADA is 3893.754.  Their WADA is 5,555.81 however because they have a higher number of at-risk, disadvantage, or special needs students. The district with less wealth has an ADA of 3898.  The district with the smaller ADA is indeed the one with less wealth in this scenario, therefore their WADA is higher.

Reflection: Upon completing the first assignment, the only thoughts that came to my mind were that I was developing more of an understanding of how to read the reports. I understand and support the philosophy that districts with higher needs should have adjustments made in their funding to meet the needs of their students. It was not until completing the rest of this week’s assignments that I fully understood how good intentions are not met.

TEA Budget Guidelines

EDLD 5342- Week 2- Part 3- TEA Budgeting Guidelines

From reading over the TEA Budgeting Guidelines, I have learned that I am indeed overwhelmed by the entire concept of budget and finance and am thankful for the resources and resourceful people available to complement my leadership style, strengths and weaknesses.

I learned that the budgeting process is a way for the district to describe its vision in financial terms and adequately fund its priorities. I learned that the majority of funding comes from local property taxes and state funding. Federal funds make up a small percentage. I also learned from reading that there are several different types of budgeting. The line-item format is the most widely utilized approach and is shown by taking the current budget and increasing or decreasing a certain percentage. Performance budgeting has a focus on efficiency.  Zero-base budgeting came about in the 1970s and is one of the newest budgetary approaches.  It forces you to start over each year and justify funding. Some districts have gone to this in these current tough economic times. In Site-based budgeting the principal and other campus staff are at the center of the budget preparation process. The campus is given an allotment for which they have the responsibility of planning and management. It appears that the campuses in my district function in many ways in site based budgeting because we are given an amount an plan accordingly. I am not sure which method all of our departments and the district as a whole use.

I can take this information and use it in the future when planning budgets by investigating the current methods of budgeting used in my district as a whole. I can also use this resource as a reference in future budget planning. As the times get tougher, it may become necessary to use different methods to get the most out of our funds.

Input from Additional Stakeholders

EDLD 5342 Week 2- Part 5

Input from Stakeholders in the Budget Process:

 Central Office Administrators and Staff-   The superintendent has regular meetings with the leadership team. This includes central office staff, such as area superintendents and curriculum department leaders. In January, this team receives relevant projections and budget planning information.  In February, budget planning workshops are done with this team and they begin working on their documents and requests. These budgets are received in the budget/finance office in March.

 

Principals- Principals work all year with their staffs to monitor the needs of their campus. They work with their site based team as well to plan a goal driven campus plan and budget. Principals receive training in budget workshops in February and submit budget requests in March. Principals also meet monthly with their area or level superintendents and monthly as a leadership team with the superintendent and central office staff.

Site Based Decision Making Committees-  Site based teams meet monthly and create/review/adjust the campus plan and the budget associated with it. This team is important in helping to drive innovation and performance at the campus level.  

District Improvement Committee- Our district education improvement committee meets several times throughout the year and is comprised of members from all stakeholder groups. In the past, I have observed this committee to be a rubber stamp for administration and not truly a forward thinking, strategic committee. Ideally this committee helps to align the campus and district plans and the goal driven budget for the district and seeks innovation. I am looking forward to seeing how this committee works in my new district.

Teacher Organizations- Our district has an active teacher organization called the United Educators Association. Each campus has a representative and those representatives are given an audience with the superintendent monthly. Concerns involving a variety of issues are heard. Currently, the UEA is active in expressing opinions about changes in schedules that are being made due to budgetary concerns as the district moves to an 8 period day at the secondary level in order to save money and jobs.

Key Stakeholders- Stakeholders are involved in several aspects of the district, from district education improvement committees to community forums.

Board of Trustees- The superintendent and board work together to create goals and listen to each other. I have seen my superintendent work very well with the board as they develop plans for the new high school. They have made many decisions regarding programs, funding, school colors, zoning, and more. I have also seen him work to pass a bond election this year to provide equality at each campus. When he needs to lead rather than collaborate he does. Evidence of this has been seen as he advocates changing to an eight period day at the secondary level. He knows this is unpopular with parents, kids, and board members. However, he has been able to explain the cost saving benefits of this proposal and pointed out the number of jobs saved by the switch.

The process of creating and working from a goal driven budget involves working with a variety of stakeholders and getting input from a variety of sources. It also involves leadership. Politics aside, sometimes you have to step up and be a leader or advocate for the things that are difficult to promote.

Superintendent's Roles and Responsibilities in Budget Process

EDLD 5324 Part 4 –Superintendent’s Roles and Responsibilities in the Budget Process

During the interview with the superintendent, we discussed the structure of the district and how planning and budgeting works. In our school district the superintendent has a keen understanding that the legal responsibility for overseeing the budget rests on his shoulders.   I see it in his face and hear it when he converses with his entire team about the bond election or how the decision to move to an eight period day at the secondary level will effect the budget. He knows he oversees the budgeting process while the Chief Financial Officer and her department handles the development of the budget and adherence to state guidelines. The CFO anticipates collections and is able to give quick feedback when needed. I have seen the “look” in her eye when he puts her on the spot by asking for something or asking her to make something happen. You can tell the two of them work well together and compliment each other nicely. We discussed that the budgeting process should ensure that all stakeholders are involved. Superintendents must work collaboratively to establish goals for the district and sometimes it looks more like a political dance than leadership in this area. Give and take is evident in many areas. I asked specifically how much he has to know about the budget because finance/budget is something that is hard for me. He told me that the superintendent indeed must have a knowledge base but assured me that I do not have to know everything about everything. He instead pointed out that you must surround yourself with people who compliment you. Like me, he is a big picture person and a fast mover. Sometimes it is hard for him to be patient because he wants to change the world….immediately. So, he purposefully surrounds himself with people like Dr. Vazsauskas because he slows him down and helps him to think about all the details. He purposefully hired Mrs. Bowman, the CFO, because she slows him down and handles the minute details about budget and finance so that he can have the general knowledge he needs and can be supported by competent experts in their fields.  The entire team works together to adhere to the budget planning calendar and leads his team to guide the campuses through the budgeting and campus planning process, all in a way that is aligned the disrict’s vision and strategic plan.

I learned that budget and finance is best handled by a team of experts. It is ok that I am an instructional leader with talents in other areas. I must be proficient in everything but being proficient does not mean I have to know everything about everything.

Goal Driven Budget

EDLD 5342 Week 2- Part 1- Goal Driven Budget

Dr. Arterbury  stated in this week’s lecture that a goal driven budget is a “version of the vision”. To a person like me, who is a bit overwhelmed by the whole topic of budget and finance, that statement makes sense. A goal driven budget is the financial version of the district’s vision.  If we decide that the vision of our family is to become debt free and plan for college for our kids, as well as our own retirement, then our family budget and spending plan better be the financial equivalent of that vision. If not, then we are not putting our money to work to meet our goals….and there will be consequences at some point. A school district has the same responsibility to create a budget that matches their vision and live within it.  Most districts probably say they have a goal driven budget because they have a district plan that spells out their performance goals and then they “find a way” to fund the salaries of employees and programs to meet their performance goals. However, I agree with Dr. Arterbury’s statement that there appears to be a “disconnect between the board goals and district and campus goals”. I have personally seen when “finding a way” means the purchase of huge programs or curriculum with little more than the whim of a director behind them.  My current district, however, aligns the district’s strategic plan with the district improvement plan. The campus plans then are aligned directly to those. Budget considerations are made to fund the goals and activities specifically mentioned in these aligned documents. One example is one of my local projects. I am the chair for the Kindergarten/PreK Roundup for the district. Last year’s committee chose to plan for a district wide and centralized event rather than smaller events at individual campuses. I called a committee meeting this fall to begin planning, our committee chose centralized locations to meet the wishes of the committee and broke into subcommittees that began researching the many needs of this combined effort and are in the process of submitting budget requests. In this instance, even though it is a small initiative compared to some district endeavors, there is an example of strict alignment to the district’s plan and vision, from planning to budgeting to implementation.  A goal driven budget allows you to plan for all the things that are important to a district, one budget line at a time.

Comparing District Plans

EDLD 5342- Comparing Austin ISD and Mansfield ISD Plans- Week 1- Part 4

There are similarities and differences between the Austin ISD and Mansfield ISD Strategic Plans. Both plans begin with an alignment between the district strategic plans and the campus plans. In both districts there is a direct alignment beginning with the strategic plan, then moving to the district plan, and now the campus plans. This is the first year that Mansfield ISD has totally aligned the campus plans to the district plans and it creates a cohesive program across the district. No longer is the campus plan simply a brag book of all the "wonderful things" a campus is doing. It is now limited to particular district goals and objectives. Other similarities include the scope of topics and goals addressed in each. There are student performance goals in each, for example that are generally grounded in data. Both districts plans state the goal and desired result or objective. They each offer measurable evidence and activities that will be used to accomplish the goals of the district. They also offer resources and timelines for completion in both plans. Specific budget planning is included in each plan as well. There is a precise coordination of state, local, and federal funds in both. The differences are pretty striking. The Austin ISD plan includes far more information about the committee work that was done to create each piece of their plan. You can see a picture of the work done to get to their "plan". They include minutes, discussion questions or areas of concern and a very thorough depiction of the work done in committee. There were even documents in the plan that included questions and concerns that were fleshed out to the point where you could almost hear the discussion happening in committee. In my district's plan the benefits and concerns are listed for goals and activities in the plan. This is helpful as well, but they are bulleted items and it is a little more difficult to "hear" the thinking behind some of the goals and activities. In the end, both documents seem to be living documents and focused on measurable outcomes.

Equity, Equality, Adequacy

EDLD5342 Equality, Equity, and Adequacy- Week1- Part 3

Equality means everyone has access to the same services, opportunities, and programs. All students should have access to an educational program that is accredited and serves them in all core subjects. They should have access to the same types of basic courses. Our district recently approved a bond election whose theme was to provide equality across the district. Upgrades were proposed to campus security systems at all campuses, as well as technology upgrades that would provide the same basic access and supplies at each campus. In addition, 5 older and deteriorating campuses will be rebuilt to new standards and provide experiences to their students that are equal to students at other campuses.

Equity means providing additional funding or opportunities that make the educational experience more even or lift up economically disadvantaged or at-risk populations. Title One funding is an example of funding whose purpose is to provide more equity. Rich districts and neighborhoods often provide intangible opportunities in the home or pay for the extras they want in their districts. Equity funding seeks to provide more programs and services to those in need.

Adequacy means the minimum necessary. In terms of funding, it is the minimum necessary to provide an education and run a district. For example, the state minimum salary schedule for teacher is an example of a tool that demonstrates a focus on adequacy.

Funding Formulas

EDLD 5342 Funding Formulas- Week 1-Part 2

The state of Texas has struggled to create a system of education that is equitable and provides adequate funding to education for all students in the state of Texas. One thing that effects the funding for each district is the WADA, or weighted average daily attendance. Districts receive funds for student attendance and those numbers are based on the number of students in attendance but also in different special programs like GT, special education, etc. Districts often encourage campuses to work on attendance rates to increase funding. Also impacting funding formulas for each district is the state's effort to redistribute funds to property poor districts and how these efforts sometimes clash with reality when the economic and socioeconomic realities in each district do not always line up with the original intentions of equalizing funding. For example, you may have a large city with a very diverse and poor student population having to send back money to the state for redistribution simply because the property values in the district show them to be wealthy because of the "big business" in the area, or you could have a wealthy bedroom community sending money back for the same reason. And because of the issues with property tax rate caps and the hold harmless provisions, you could also have a district being effectively penalized for keeping the tax rate lower of the years and one that was at the cap receiving additional funds, resulting in huge discrepancies in per pupil expenditures from district to district.

School Finance History

History of School Finance- Week 1 Assignment 1

I find it both refreshing and alarming that the great state of Texas has made education a priority yet failed to adequately and equitably fund it for over 165 years. Refreshing because we evidently have struggled in this state to define our role for many years, not just in my lifetime. Alarming, because the future of a state and nation is at risk more than ever. It is a history of mixed messages sent by a state that on one hand chooses to promote public education, yet undermine it. Three events are especially important in the history of public school finance. Beginning with statehood in 1845, the Texas Constitution mandated the creation of a public school system, a system that would be free and public. Governor Lamar set about creating systems and programs, like the land grants for public schools that made education a priority in the state. He was effectively beginning to take action on the belief that the state itself should make education available. In 1869, the state took another step when mandatory public schooling was written into the new constitution and taxes began to be collected for this endeavor. One could imagine the debate in many circles in this state of rugged individualism. I suspect lawmakers debated the value of funding a state system and dealt with pressure from constituents who did not see its value or as a duty of the state. Was this evidenced by the number of citizens who refused to pay their taxes? Texas seems to struggle with the idea of making education funding a priority while creating equitable funding systems, as evidence by the continuous court challenges to our funding system which has been challenged and found to be unconstitutional and lacking equity multiple times. Efforts are made in each session to promote voucher programs that take money from the public school system and more efforts are made in the area of standardized testing and accountability than are often made in the area of innovation. The final major event that I would like to highlight in the history of public school finance is actually the legislative session of 2011. With the state facing a budget shortfall, tough decisions had to be made. Unfortunately, those decisions were not necessarily made in the best interest of children. Projections for budget cuts to education reached as high at 13 billion dollars. In the end the cuts were less severe, but devastating nonetheless. My current district, for example is losing 13 million a year for two years and having to make decisions about going to an 8 period day at the secondary levels, not because it is necessarily best for kids, but because it will save millions of dollars, save jobs, and keep the district solvent. Not since WWII had funding for public education actually been cut. Yet, the legislature found no ways to fully and adequately fund the largest, most diverse, and increasingly needy population in Texas history. Will the mixed messages continue throughout our history as we continue to espouse with our mouths the importance of education and competing in ever changing world, even as we send the opposite message with the stroke of the budgetary pen?

Reflection from Mtg. with Supt. about Intern Plan

Note: I could not get the activity log to load in the format so I copied and pasted the content.

Date- Sept. 16, 2011- 11 am.

I met with Superintendent Dr. Bob Morrison to review my intern plan and vita. During our conversation, he signed the intern application and agreement forms. I am having to scan them and create electronic files. Dr. Morrison liked my plan and recommended only minor changes in specificity. We also reviewed my local project, which will be the Kinder-PreK Roundup. Our goals are to create an exciting opportunity for all families that draws them into the venue. Suggestions were made about publicizing the screening/readiness skills needed and making the screening a big part of the event so that parents have adequate communication and may even begin to work with their children early at home. The meeting resulted in scheduling some committee work with an area superintendent I will be working with in relation to this event. I was impressed by our conversation because he is genuinely concerned about my growth and serving as an advocate and supporter. We talked about my goals and ways I can contribute to our district in the future. It was very validating and exciting.