School Budget 1

School Budget and Finance

Terrilyn Ladd
Fannie Moore
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
School Budget 2
Principals in todays society ear !any different hats" #ut one of the !ost
i!portant hats that a principal ears is that of #eing a #udget !anager$ Sorenson and
%olds!ith &2'1() say" *Those leaders ho fail to do so co!!it a terri#le disservice to
their schools and" !ore i!portant" to their students &p$ 1)$ This is an i!portant point to
re!e!#er #ecause although principals are #eing faced ith the daunting tas+ of #eing
instructional leaders" they !ust re!e!#er that #udgeting is a +ey co!ponent to a
successful school$ ,s future leaders it is i!portant to loo+ to other principals ho have
proven to #e successful !anagers and -uestion their routines so that e can get a fir!
understanding of ho #udgets should #e created" hat they include" and ho a successful
principal deals ith frustrations that !ay arise$ .t is also i!portant to consider ho a
principal chooses to supple!ent the #udget since #udget cuts are the nor! in todays
econo!ic orld$
Sorenson and %olds!ith &2'1() state ten steps to #udgeting success$ The second
step that is !entioned is involving all sta+eholders and they point out that it is i!portant
to involve as !any sta+eholders as possi#le &p$ 2/)$ ,t *,BC 0le!entary School1 the
sta+eholders that are involved in #udgeting decisions are the !e!#ers of the faculty and
staff that serve on the schools leadership tea!$ These individuals include the
ad!inistrators" lead teachers" grade level chairs" the fa!ily partner specialist" the
guidance counselor" a related arts teacher" an e2ceptional education teacher" the secretary"
and the PT, president$ ,ll of the sta+eholders are given an opportunity to contri#ute to
discussions a#out the #udget$ 3hen the #udget is altered it is alays presented to this
group of individuals #efore any of the changes actually go into affect$ This is also true
School Budget (
for the Title 1 #udget$ ,lthough there are discussions that ta+e place a!ongst the
co!!ittee !e!#ers" frustrations are li!ited #ecause all !oney that is used is used in a
!anner that ill support the school i!prove!ent plan$ .n other ords" if the !oney isnt
going to directly i!pact the school in a positive !anner then it is not spent$ Sorenson
and %olds!ith &2'1() state" *,ction planning and goal develop!ent" acade!ic
i!prove!ent" and #udget !anage!ent !ust #e integrated if school leaders intend to
#ring a#out educational e2cellence and increased student achieve!ent1 &p$ (')$
Therefore" it is i!portant that the principal develops a plan" proposes it to the leadership
tea!" and then revisits the plan and revises it as necessary so that !oney can #e used
appropriately thus ensuring the success of the school and its students$
,lthough the principal of *,BC 0le!entary1 oversees all of the line ite!s and is
the one ho is ulti!ately responsi#le to tying everything #ac+ to the school i!prove!ent
plan" he has to or+ very closely ith the schools #oo++eeper$ , schools #oo++eeper
has a lot of input and this individual assists the principal #y !a+ing sure that the school is
a#iding #y state la and district policies$ The las and policies that have #een put into
place are very clear and leave very little roo! for iggling hen it co!es to
e2penditures$ There are also very clear steps that schools !ust ta+e hen re-uesting a
purchase$ Things have changed drastically over the years and it ta+es a good #oo++eeper
to help the principal !a+e sure that every step is conducted appropriately$ The policy
no re-uires principals to sho ho every penny is #eing spent and the policy also states
that purchase order or a re-uest !ust #e su#!itted prior to !oney #eing spent$ This step
serves as a ay for the principal to dou#le chec+ every penny that is #eing used so funds
are not #eing !isappropriated$ 3hen a purchase order is #eing placed" the #oo++eeper
School Budget 4
or+s alongside the principal to research and provide options$ The principal of *,BC
0le!entary1 recogni5es that he has #een #lessed ith a very co!petent #oo++eeper that
is a definite asset$ 6e +nos that a #oo++eeper can truly !a+e or #rea+ a school and he
points out the i!portance of #uilding a strong relationship ith that individual$ 6e also
points out that it is e2tre!ely i!portant for the principal to !onitor the #oo++eeper and
to !a+e sure that !oney is #eing handled per district and state policies$
*,BC 0le!entary School1 has actually #een #lessed ith a large #udget hen
co!paring it to other schools throughout the district$ 3hile the school does have a
su#stantial a!ount of !oney in a savings account that has #een there since #efore the
current ad!inistration arrived" it is the principals goal to leave the !oney untouched$
Therefore" the school continues to raise !oney through fundraising efforts$ ,ll
fundraising pro7ects have to #e approved #y the 6a!ilton County 8epart!ent of
0ducation$ This is done hen a school su#!its a fundraising pro7ect authori5ation for!$
This procedure is used hen the school is in charge of the fundraising effort or hen the
PT, is in charge of the fundraising effort$ 9nce !oney has #een collected" every cent
!ust #e accounted for and it is placed in the #udget as a line ite!$ This can cause so!e
frustrations #ecause it #eco!es a hassle and even the si!plest events #eco!e an ordeal
#ecause they are seen as fundraisers and proper paperor+ has to #e su#!itted #efore
these events can ta+e place$ Ulti!ately" all events re-uire ade-uate planning ti!e
otherise they have to #e postponed or cancelled since approval has not #een received$
This is one of the donfalls of the ay the policies are stated and this is an area that
could #e i!proved$
PT, fundraisers and other fundraising events" such as school dances" pictures"
School Budget /
etc$ #ring in e2tra !oney to the school: hoever" *,BC 0le!entary1 is in a uni-ue
situation #ecause it #rings in e2tra !oney #y renting its facilities to a local church$ The
church has to carry lia#ility insurance per policy and it pays a !onthly rent to the school$
This !oney is a definite #onus for the school that !any other schools do not have$ This
!oney has helped fund a lot of technology that the school ould not have otherise #een
a#le to purchase and it helps +eep the school in clear since it tends to have a!ple !oney
in its account$
Since the school does have -uite a #it of cash #eing #rought in fro! various
sources" the #udget is -uite large$ 3hen creating the #udget the first thing that is loo+ed
at are the !onthly operating costs that the school is responsi#le for paying$ 02a!ples of
these costs include shredding serves" copy paper" and other office supplies$ These
!aterials !ust #e listed as line ite!s ithin the #udget and they are generally listed as
general operating funds$ Upon further e2a!ination of the #udget" you ill find that each
grade level has its on category$ These categories are set up in this !anner #ecause it
allos for the grade levels to deposit !onies into their on account and then ithdra
fro! the! hen field trips arise$ ,lthough grade levels re-uest !oney fro! parents for
field trips" students !ay not #e +ept aay fro! a field trip #ecause they cannot afford it$
Therefore" the school has #uilt in so!e funds to cover these types of situations$ 3hile
the school can carry over !oney fro! one fiscal year to another" it is not alloed to carry
!oney over that is designated to the specific grade level$ This !oney !ust #e spent
since the students of that particular class have supplied it$ 9ther line ite!s that are listed
in ithin the #udget include B0P supply and !aterial funds for general education and
special education" li#rary supplies" staff develop!ent" and faculty hospitality fund$ The
School Budget ;
#udget also shos line ite!s for grants that have #een received so that !oney is spent
fro! the appropriate source$ Since !oney that co!es in fro! a grant is handled #y the
school" the grant recipient !ust first receive approval fro! 6a!ilton County 8epart!ent
of 0ducation prior to su#!itting a grant proposal$ 9nce the grant has #een received the
grant !oney is placed in the schools account" #ut a line ite! is created for that specific
grant$
Ulti!ately ta+ing care of a schools #udget is a tea! effort and it ould #e
foolish for a principal to atte!pt to handle it on his on$ , principal !ust #uild a
relationship ith his #oo++eeper and the school !ust have a #ac+up plan to !a+e sure
that !oney is deposited in a ti!ely !anner$ Since 6a!ilton County Schools do not
necessarily have #oo++eepers present at all schools every day" it is i!portant for the
school to have procedures in place for depositing$ ,t *,BC 0le!entary1 the schools
head secretary has #een trained for this 7o# and she is responsi#le for depositing all
!oney that co!es in on days that the #oo++eeper is not present$ ,lthough it is a tea!
effort and it is vitally i!portant to have all sta+eholders involved in the #udgeting process
and decision !a+ing" it is i!portant to re!e!#er that *,n integrated #udget and
acade!ic action plan ill not or+ unless you do1 &Sorenson < %olds!ith" 2'1(" p$ (')$
School Budget =
>eferences
Sorenson" >$8$ < %olds!ith" L$M$ &2'1()$ The principals guide to school #udgeting$
Thousand 9a+s" C,? Corin$