EDLD+5342+Week+2

**Week TWO Part 1**

Goal Driven Budgets are designed to address the Needs Assessments which are conducted annually as preparation of District and Campus Improvement Plans. These DIP’s and CIP’s are compared to the District’s Vision, Mission and Goals as the basis for allocating funds to match goals. Goal Driven Budgets are sometimes referred to as Outcome-Focused or Mission-Driven budgets. These formats focus on identifying the results and the desired outcomes prior to committing to resource allocation. In theory, if a goal is not identified, it receives no funds. Goals are identified by campuses, departments, the Board, SBDM’s and stakeholders based on personnel, data, transportation and facility needs within the district.

Improved Graduation Rate or Cohort Completion Rate are goals that receive funding in the form of Optional Flexible Year Program, Credit Recovery, Attendance Initiatives and other local programs.

Student Achievement is also a goal of most schools. Even schools that are doing well have room for improvement. With the changing demographics come challenges in maintaining AYP and AEIS standards of Recognized and Exemplary Ratings. Dual Credit, Advanced Placement along with Inclusion and Mainstreaming students with special needs are efforts to maximum the potential of students at all levels. These programs require additional funding and are a part of Goal Driven Budgets.

During the video for week 2, Goal Driven Budget was described as the alignment of shared vision from the Board to the classroom for the purpose of distributing revenue provided through federal, state and local governments. There has previously been an apparent disconnect between what the Board has identified as goals and what the classrooms and campuses see as goals for the district. The Budget Retreat is an important step in articulating the perceived goals and their connection to the district’s goal identified by the Board.

**W ****eek TWO Part 2 ** My initial wiki posting was in response to Lee Moses and is as follows: I agree with your November, March and August dates. I feel the January meeting of the Executive Team to review formulas and budget development and the March -April review to analyze budget input are critical as well as the items you listed above. I chose these two items due to the importance of analyzing formulas and budget input prior to finalizing the actual budget. Formulas take into account the property rates and the WADA to estimate the starting revenue to prevent expenditures from exceeding revenue.

Items that were debated were the Budget Retreat in May which Lee explained will cover the same things that the March-April review will address.

Postings of the Top Five List of Events of the Budget Development calendar varied between wiki group members. The discussion resulted in a clarification of the following as the most important dates: November: Create Budget Development Plan and present District Improvement Plan to the Board March: Budgets due from Campuses, Directors, and Coordinators May: Budget Retreat for analysis of formulas, revenue and actual budget development. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 5pt 0in;">June: Budgets are presented to the Board <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 5pt 0in;">August: Budget is approved by the Board.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 5pt 0in;">We feel the May Retreat is critical for analyzing revenue, WADA, and proposed expenditures from the District Improvement Plan as it is aligned with the Campus and Department Improvement Plans.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 5pt 0in;">Week TWO Part 3 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 5pt 0in;">In every sector of society the word budget evokes emotions from dread to confusion. Budgets require the analysis of current assets prior to developing a plan for savings, investments and expenditures. This is no different for school districts and superintendents. There is a wide variety of types of budgets. Some of them include the Zero-Based Budgeting, Performance Budgeting, Outcome-Focused Budgeting, Line-Item Budgeting and the Site-Based Budgeting. Each type of budget has its own challenges and critics. Many of the budgets begin with a needs assessment to define the specific concerns of the organization. Many budgets start with identifying the results desired prior to planning goals to reach the desired result.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Texas school districts primarily use Outcome-Focused Budgeting with District Improvement Plans which define the district’s vision, mission and goals and the resources that will be used to finance the goal. District Improvement Plans are designed to identify needs or desired results, the strategies used to achieve the results, the person(s) responsible for completing the strategy and the formative and summative evaluation measures and the resources utilized to achieve the goal. Goals are aligned with the Board’s identified vision for the district.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Week 2 Part 4 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The role of the Superintendent is to be the go-between for the School Board and the personnel of the district and stakeholders. He/She is the manager of public fund and the key public relations person for the district. During the interview with my superintendent Thomas Collins, I was intrigued by the passion he exhibited for the students, staff and constituents of the district. As we discussed his role in the budgeting process he spoke of staying current on matters before the legislature and knowing intimately the fiscal needs of Waxahachie ISD. Mr. Collins reminded me that the number one priority in the budget process is to keep the Board informed throughout the process. Budget workshops, presentation of the District Improvement Plan, and getting input from the Board are vital to keeping the communication lines open and gaining the trust of the Board. Superintendents who do not have the Board’s support, do not have the support of the community served and thus are putting their tenure at risk. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Mr. Collins reminded me that the largest part of the budget, approximately 80% is spent on personnel salary and benefits. This fact can create tension within the district due to the need for budget cuts which will ultimately affect teacher to student ratios and overall staffing percentages. We reflected on Dallas ISD’s recent lay-off and Reductions in force where staff were terminated using a seniority formula. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">We also discussed building the budget based on 95% of the October snapshot date enrollment to ensure money is available for unexpected expenses. Our Tax Rate has been the same $1.04 since 2005 and per pupil allocation has been $5700/student for the last 7 years. Enrollment has increased; therefore the district budget has increased as well. The superintendent is the gate-keeper and must serve as the protector for the taxpayers’ trust and treasure along with the Board.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Week 2 Part 5 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="border-bottom: #a7bfde 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: #a7bfde 1pt solid; display: block; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #a7bfde .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #a7bfde .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 10pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 10pt;"> <span style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #a7bfde .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #a7bfde .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"> The superintendent receives information for the District Improvement Plan and Budget Development for central staff and the District Improvement Committee through a series of forums and department action plans. Principals provide campus input through the submission of the Campus Improvement Plans and Principal Meetings where the needs of the district as a whole are discussed and strategies are identified. The Site Based Committee provides information which is part of the CIP’s. The Board submits their budgetary decisions based on the district’s vision and constituent’s input.