M and O Fund

When comparing the amount of money received from FSP and the amount that our district receives from property taxes one can see that a discrepancy is in place.  I can see that our tax base is not nearly high enough to provide the needed revenue to run our school effectively.  Without any commercial taxes and the majority of the property taxes within our district being timber and farm exempt then we take a big hit on funding.  Luckily we do receive allocations that make up for the lack of WADA and tax base necessary to fund a school district.  We receive a REAP G5 small school grant that provides a small amount of funds that does help within our M and O fund.  Our district also has an inflated WADA because Centerville ISD is right around 80% being economically disadvantaged and that also helps to an extent. Mineral and timber money is allocated to a small extent, but nothing like it was some ten years ago.  At one point the amount of monies received from timber sales was astronomical for a school our size, but has now dwindled to almost nothing.  But as I posted in our Wiki group I see that there is talk and legislation that is proposing to start funding from that source more aggressively.  Our funding system continues to be a struggle and brings many challenges to us as a district, but we seem to find a way to continue educating our students to the best of our ability.  My hope is that our legislatures will see that the investment that they make in education is probably the best one that is available to them.  When students are properly educated so many positives will come from them that it will far outweigh the initial cost of funding their education system.

Stakeholder Input for Budget

After talking to my site-supervisor, listening to the lecture, and reading my readings I have found that input from all sources is very beneficial.  Each part of a school district can bring different aspects to the budgeting process and is needed in order to prepare an effective budget. Each office, committee, and stakeholder not only needs to have input, they must all have an active role in the process in order for the Superintendent to prepare the best possible budget.

The central office administrators and staff can input on the many aspects of the budget.  It’s important to have this input to ensure that monies are set aside for salaries, professional development, supplies and resources.  All of these expenses need to be taken into consideration to effectively plan.  Giving them ownership in this process is crucial for the Superintendent, so they can have everyone using a “team” concept I this process.

The principals input, in my opinion, are the most crucial in ensuring a strong academic program that allows all students to be successful.  Not only do they have the programs that are needed for their campus, they also get input from teachers, parents, community members, and other staff to ensure that they are funded appropriately.  When principals and the Superintendent are working together with this they in turn can provide for their campuses in the best possible manner.  The principals have the most interaction within this area and are better suited in giving input about the everyday academic processes that they use.  They also work with the improvement teams, the teacher organizations, and most stakeholders on a day to day basis and will have knowledge and information from these other stakeholders.

It seems as if the Improvement teams, the teacher organizations and the site based teams all have the same goals of finding out what needs are needed for the district.  They also formulate ways to improve all aspects of the academics within the district and can provide relevant information when it comes to creating a budget.  It is imperative that all of these groups work together in trying to reach the same goals set out by the board of trustees.  When all of the particular groups work together, in order to achieve these goals, then a positive budget that is goal driven will be accomplished.  When a goal driven budget is accomplished then the entire district has been successful and will ultimately achieve their goals they have set out.  

Finally, the board of trustees set out particular goals for the district and the Superintendent must coordinate and ensure that these goals are met.  The Superintendent has a daunting task in accomplishing this, but with the proper communication channels and planning procedures it can be done.  When each stakeholder works together, with the same goals in mind this process can be very difficult and detailed, but will ultimately work out for the best interest of the district.

Superintendents Roles and Responsibility

After visiting with my site-supervisor and reading our assigned reading for the week, I have found that the budget process is probably the most important task that takes place within a school district.  I learned that for the budget and Superintendent to be effective the school board and the Superintendent must be on the same page when creating the budget. 

Mr. Driskell informed me that the most important part of getting started on the budget is to have a well thought out plan.  This plan must include the input from all stakeholders and program directors and allow them to have make suggestions and bring information to the table.  Once you get your input from all involved, he then suggested taking a look at the previous year budget and observes how things worked within it.  Making a comparison with the last year’s budget gives you a starting point and an idea of where to start the budgeting process.

 He then informed me to get an estimate of this upcoming year’s revenue and to also compare it to last year’s revenue to start to get a feel for how things will work out.  Other things to take into consideration are any new expenditures for the year and what additional revenue may come into play also.  It is critical to know the ADA for the next year and taking a good estimate is a very important in knowing and projecting revenue for the next year.  Mr. Driskell also told me that when working out the template to see what the revenue would be that it is important to have someone else work with you on this process and make a comparison on the projected revenue.  By having at least one other person run the template, it allows you to get two projections and in many cases you should use the lower one as your expected revenue.  While doing it this way you are allowing yourself some cushion in the budget and maybe some extra monies if they were needed.

Another thing that my site supervisor went into detail was on the different line items.  He would sit down and go through each one on the previous year and see how that line item came out.  If the item was in the black and there were no expectations of needing more money in the particular item, then we would fund the same amount.  Thus, creating a cushion within that item that in most cases could be forwarded to the fund balance the following year.  His advice was to be careful when doing it this way and insure that all areas of the budget were covered and not to leave any gaps in other program areas.

It seems that the best thing learned from this process is to have common sense, plan appropriately, be transparent with all stakeholders and communicate with those as well.  When these steps are followed and this process is done in the correct manner, then the budgetary process can be completed with success.  When a budget is successfully made with the best interest of the whole district in mind, then the students will always benefit.   

Summary of TEA's Financial Accountability System

After reviewing the TEA resource guide to planning and creating a school budget, I was enlightened and surprised at all that I didn’t know about a budget. It seems that planning and communication is the key to creating a successful budget that will benefit the school district as a whole.  That doesn’t really surprise me, because that is a common sense factor among success in any aspect.

The first thing that interested me in the guide was the laws and what is required of a Superintendent when preparing a budget for the upcoming school year.  The August 31 deadline is the first law that I had heard, and was assured that the budget must be completed and approved by the school board.  I was aware of the 10 day posting period in the local newspaper to inform any taxpayer that may want to attend and participate in the amending of the budget.  I think this law could have both positive and negative outcomes.  It helps to allow the community to have a say and see what the school district is spending money on, but it can also create a bad situation for the board and school Superintendent.  Some tax payers would take this opportunity to bring negative press to the board and Superintendent and create a negative situation.  I understand in most cases this doesn’t happen ,and in most instances this keeps everyone honest and helps to create that positive school-community relationship.

That leads me to the next topic:  communication and input from all stakeholders.  I have seen many cases where the Superintendent creates the budget and has the board approve it, and no other stakeholders have a say in it whatsoever.  This particular situation also created some negative conflicts and really hurt the morale of the whole district and community.  Still to this day many community members and school employees question what could have happened to all the fund balance that the school had accumulated over the years.  That is why having as many as possible participate and plan for the budgetary process is so important.  When all stakeholders are involved and know where the expenditures are going, then there can be no questions about integrity or excuses of not being funded enough for their area of concern. 

The next area that I learned about was that of the FSP and the local taxes, and how most of the district's revenue is generated.  Basic allotment of the FSP Tier 1 is generated by a school district's ADA and is formulated to create the majority of the district's revenue.  The next means of revenue comes from the local tax base and is extremely important for school districts.  Schools generate revenue from these local property taxes and the state matches with a certain percentage.

Much of this basic information was knowledge that I was somewhat familiar with, but didn’t know the details of.  I can now take this information and utilize it in the future in helping to create a budget or when I actually create one.  The knowledge that I have gained so far in this particular finance class give me the foundation to be able to lead the budgetary process in the future.  I think that it is so important to not only learn about the process and the suggested mean of doing a budget, but also the laws.  Being within the law and keeping all things legal within the school district is imperative for an administrator to be successful.  I hope to take this learning and utilize it as I begin my journey as a school Superintendent.

Goal Driven Budget

A goal driven budget is one that is designed and built around a group of goals that has all stakeholders of a school district in mind.  The superintendent has taken in to account all stakeholders and their needs, and gears their budget to meet these particular goals.  A superintendent must look at several sets of goals, from several different stakeholders, in order to effectively plan and produce a goal driven budget.

Not only does a Superintendent need to look at a district improvement plan, but they should also consider each campus improvement plan as well when they begin the budget process.  Each of these plans requires different resources and the responsible party needs to take that into consideration.  Even though these particular plans will have some of the same goals and desirable outcomes, they will have distinct differences that will need to be considered.  The goals that these plans lay out will need to be taken into consideration during the budget process in order for the district to reach them.  Superintendents must allocate funds for improvement plans by utilizing Title I and State Compensatory funds in an appropriate manner that will allow these goals to be accomplished.  The school board also has goals for the Superintendent to address and try to help the school district reach.  As Dr. Arterbury says during the interview, this is having a shared vision within the entire budget process in order to reach all goals set forth by all stakeholders.  The Superintendent in turn must work the budget towards achieving these goals in order to utilize the budget to the best of their ability.

The budgeting process can be a daunting task for the entire team, and for it to be a valid budget it is necessary for open communication from all involved.  As Dr. Arterbury states during the interview, it is vital that the Superintendent communicates with everyone during this process in order to address any and all needs.  When a Superintendent is better able to address needs in different areas then they are better able to serve the district and create an effective budget.  The Superintendent and the Board of Trustees create the “team of eight” and must communicate effectively and be transparent about the entire process.  When this team works well together and strives to accomplish all goals set forth by all stakeholders then positive results will occur.  When all of these stakeholders work collaboratively and share the same goals and desires for a district, it creates a goal driven budget.  When a budget is goal driven many positives begin to take place within a school district.  Goals are often times attained and improvement will soon follow.  If this process is not followed correctly then many times these funds are spent in ways that are not conducive to improving and overall learning environment of a district. 

Having goals and a budget processing team that desires to create a budget along the lines of the goals will ultimately result in a positive experience.  When all stakeholders have a part in the process and their voices are heard, then it makes for a good environment within the district.  A school Superintendent will accomplish much more when they involve the other stakeholders and communicate effectively with them.  So many times a school leader wants to do it their way or the highway and the relationship begins to deteriorate and will eventually cause the demise of that individual.

Drive the school budget towards a set of goals that have been set by all stakeholders and see the positive results that will ensue.  Don’t get caught letting the school budget drive the goals or one will not get the desired results.

School Finances

Part One: History of Texas School Finance

After being involved in the actual process of school funding with my district this summer, I have begun to realize that there are many variations within the funding formula and it is extremely confusing to figure out.  I’m not sure that there is an exact way to fund public schools that would be "fair" to all.  It has been a great learning experience to actually have the opportunity to be involved with this budgeting process, and see how our district is actually funded.

The first event in Texas school finance history that I find important is: in 1839 Mirabeau B. Lamar laid the ground work for a public education system in Texas.  Prior to this, much of the education came from the local Masonic lodges without much, or any funding.  Mirabeau B. Lamar, being a mason himself, and education being one of their primary goals for everyone, began the process of creating a public education system in Texas.  This event is so important because this was the foundation that our public education system is now formed upon.  Many changes have been made throughout history, and they will continue to be changed in the future, but this historical event was so important for the beginning of our education system.

The next event, in 1869, was that of the new Texas constitution and the first time that a tax was used to help fund public education.  Again, I think these foundation principles are the most important in that they set the standard for what and how our school funding works now.  It is obviously an ever changing formula that must meet our public school districts' needs. 


The last important event happened in 1971 in the court case Rodriquez v. San Antonio I.S.D.  The court ruled that the method of funding public schools was a violation of the equity clause of the fourteenth amendment.  Students in poorer districts did not receive nearly the opportunities that richer school districts received.  I believe that this was the beginning of the state trying to make the system as fair as it could be.

Part Two: State Formula Insights

I feel that an important part of the funding is based on the ADA.  I have to keep such a close eye on our ADA because of our district's size.  Our last years ADA was just over 100 students, pk-12.  The formula funds any district between 90 and 129 students for 130 students and if a district drops below the 90 ADA, then the funding really drops off and can be detrimental to a district.  History has shown that when this happens, programs have to be dropped in order to run the school, and then it’s almost like a snowball effect.  Students begin to move to other districts in order to have those particular programs, and eventually the school will either consolidate or close its doors.  When I was in larger school districts the ADA was really not as an important factor because in most cases the kids will be there and that is just a given.  It’s interesting to see that size, geography, and ethnic make-up in school districts actually changes the way the particular school views things such as funding.

The next important thing that we are concerned with is our CAD.  Our appraisal district is of course responsible for our tax collection and ensuring that we receive the majority of those funds.  Being that we are in such a rural area with no commercial tax base at all, it makes it very difficult to gain much money from our property taxes.  The majority of our property taxes are timber and Ag exempt, and that further hurts the school district as far as revenue.  Our appraisal does an outstanding job of collecting these taxes and it is so vital for us to continue running as a school district.


The final area of funding that we must watch closely and are very concerned with is that of Compensatory education.  With the high percentage of at-risk and low socioeconomic students in our school district, it is imperative that we receive this funding.  This is great revenue for us, because these students do sometimes cost more to educate and need more resources in order to give them an appropriate education.  We are around 75% in this particular category and that makes this particular funding very important to our district. 

Part Three: Equality, Equity, and Adequacy

Equity: all schools receive the appropriate funding for the differences that each have.

1.    Each school has different demographics and some require different amounts of funding for those extra programs.

2.    CTE programs require different amounts of funding depending on the amount of participation that the particular district has.

Equality: all schools and students receive the same basic educational opportunities.

1.    ADA-  all schools basic funding comes from their Average Daily Attendance

2.    Pre-K funding- I know that all schools are funded for half day, but in our case we provide full day pre-k and are only funded for half day.  I feel as if we should be funded for a full day program.

Adequacy:  having significant enough funding that provides for all aspects of a school district.  Having the amount of funding that provides adequate resources for the educational process.

1.    Receiving funding that provides for the rising cost of textbooks and supplemental resources

2.    Having adequate funding to provide for teacher, administration, and staff salaries.