In a time of financial hard ships, balancing a districts budget has become increasingly difficult. As a school board member for the Peoria School district it is important and crucial to effective budget decision making to be educated on the school districts budget design and delegated responsibilities within the system. These decisions need to be made based on the protection of public funds and property. “The legal responsibility for such protection rests solely with the board of education in each school district” (Brimley, Verstengen, Garfield, 2012, pg. 332). Areas vital to this effective decision making of a board member are account practices, superintendent and board member responsibilities for a building budget, key terminology, how the funds are budgeted and coordinated, district budget timelines, enrollment projections and how they are calculated, and the possible considerations of staff requisitions. Every decision of a board member is of the upmost importance when balancing a district’s budget in 2014.
Accounting Practices
Accounting practices of a building budget are called GAAP; general accepted accounting principles (Brimley, Verstengen, Garfield, 2012). These practices are adopted by all school agencies in order to spend revenue the most effective and efficient way. Another goal is to make the money go as far as possible, therefore it is important to have a committee, team, and well researched established plan. “Schools can not achieve their instructional goals without the wise expenditure of public funds” (Brimley, Verstengen, Garfield, 2012, pg. 304). The principles include accuracy, completeness and timeline, simplicity, and uniformity of the accounting system (Brimley, Verstengen, Garfield, 2012). In every dist...
... middle of paper ...
...e Bottom Line. American School Board Journal, 195(5), 46-51.
Brimley, V., Verstengen, D. A., and Garfield, R. R. (2012). Financing Education in a Climate of
Change (11th ed). Boston: Pearson
Eadie, D. (2007). Building a Budget. American School Board Journal, 194(5), 50-51.
NCES. (2011, March). Projections of Education Statistics to 2019 - Introduction to Projection
Methodology: Elementary and Secondary Enrollment. Projections of Education Statistics to 2019 - Introduction to Projection Methodology: Elementary and Secondary Enrollment. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/projections/projections2019/app_a1.asp
Peoria Unified School District | Financial Transparency. (2013). Peoria Unified School District |
Financial Transparency. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from https://www.peoriaud.k12.az.us/admin/Pages/FinancialTransparency.aspx
Mikesell, J. L. (2010). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (8th ed.: 2010 custom edition). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning
As stated previously, anyone dealing with public funds can not be careless. Therefore the physical education administrator must closely keep track of his/her budget. They must also be able to have a good sense of what is needed and what is not needed when creating the budget. While they are solely responsible for creating the budget, they can not do it alone. They have to be able to trust the coaches and that work under them to be responsible when requesting budget items.
Lankford, Ronald D. "Chapters 2 and 3." The Rising Cost of College. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. N. pag. Print.
...earn the material. Schools for the most part budget the money that they get to the best of their ability, but need more money to use for these basic and important needs. Overall the school budget committee needs to start from the bottom and fund what is necessary and needed to get schools back on their feet. These easily solved problems are a key part of school funding and should be addressed appropriately.
Rothwell, Jonathon. "The Economic Value of Education." The Brookings Institution. N.p., 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Johnstone, Bruce. "Investing more equitably and efficiently in higher education, creating value for America." National Dialogue on Student Financial Aid (2003): 6-10. Print.
Roy, Joydeep. "Impact of School Finance Reform on Resource Equalization and Academic Performace: Evidence from Michigan." Mitpress Journels, 2003: 1-31.
The skyrocketing price of college tuition is causing a tremendous concern over whether higher education will be a viable financial concept to the average citizen over the next decades. Some families have opted to explore different means of obtaining a higher education for their children as these costs escalate. There is overwhelming evidence that colleges need to restructure the way they are run because tuition prices are increasing at a rapid rate causing changes in the way students fund their education and in the way the government provides educational subsidies.
Koppich, Julia E. “Journal Issue: Financing Schools.” The Future of Children. 7.3. (1997). Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Ask any college student to state one of their largest expenses and it would be safe to bet the response would be “Textbook prices!” The cost of purchasing required materials for courses has reached numbers high enough to cause many students to take out second loans. Information released this year by the American Enterprise Institute shows that “College textbook prices have increased faster than tuition, health care costs and housing prices, all of which have risen faster than inflation” (Kingkade, 2013). This information equates to an 812% increase in the cost of college textbooks over what they were just over thirty years ago (Kingkade, 2013). The figure here shows an unusually large increase that has far outpaced that of average inflation. Combine this information with the equally troubling information released by Bloomberg stating “college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978” and a serious financial problem for students emerges(Huffington Post, 2012). One thing should be clear given these statistics: something must be done to help lessen the financial burden being placed on today’s students. Considering the implications of these two figures, the University of Delaware should attempt to remedy the increasing cost of textbooks as soon as possible before they overwhelm students any more than they already have. In order to help reduce these runaway costs, this institution should pursue a policy similar to those high schools and elementary schools practice, namely a sort of loan program.
The American public school system faces an education crisis. According to Benjamin Barber, American children barely surpass the lowest standards set for education, especially in literacy, throughout the county’s history. Barber supports the existence of this crisis in his essay “America Skips School”, but argues against a solution to remedy the numerous problems facing the system. Although he acknowledges no solution, Barber suggests a smarter flow of financial resources will address many of the issues, however, he fails to acknowledge the distribution of this money. Barber’s suggestion for smarter financial resources for schools can be effectively implemented through a structured committee focused solely on the distribution of money.
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, DC. "Fund the Child: Tackling Inequity & Antiquity in School Finance." Thomas B. Fordham Foundation & Institute (2006): ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 2 May 2011.
I learned a few things about my school and myself in regards to this area of leadership by participating in this activity. I learned that my school asks for very little participation from the teachers and community in regards to the budgeting process. But it could be an excellent venue to review prior year accomplishments as well as decide on future objectives with these stakeholders. If I were an administrator, involving the community and faculty would not only help in maintaining awareness, but I could also use this as a way to help those who may not be directly vested in my school, but who are helping fund it through their taxes, recognize effective administration in our efforts to reduce costs and provide needed resources to the various programs. I also feel that budget decisions cannot be solely programmatic or solely monetary. There needs
Because members of school administration are entrusted with the management of public funds, administrators must act ethically and with integrity to ensure school funds are utilized responsibly and that policies that affect the district’s financial integrity are closely examined. Therefore, policies, such as approval of expenditures and payroll, finance and goal setting, and the preparation of the budget, that directly impact the financial integrity of a school district should be carefully
As you can see the school board handles many issues from budgets, to tenure, to performance scores, to conferences. Although this paper did not cover everything in the meeting, it summarized what took place, and what affects it would have on teachers. The decisions made no matter how big or small can influence how and what task a teacher performs. The school board meeting was interesting because you are able to see how the changes could affect you personally.