Human Resources

Identify and describe at least five federal and/or state funding sources for public schools. For each of these sources, include whether there are any state or federal restrictions or limitations regarding how the money should be allocated.

Examples of restrictions and limitations include the following.

ADM is Average Daily Membership. A student must be continuously enrolled for 10 days in order for the school to receive funding for that student. If a student has 10 unexcused absences, he/she must be dropped from school enrollment, reported to the state, and the school no longer receives funding for that student.

ADMw is Average Daily Membership weighted, which refers to “special populations” like pregnant and parenting teens, homeless children and teens, and any other state-funded special populations such as ESL/ELL. Free and reduced lunch students (children who live in poverty) MAY be weighted, depending on federal funding (free and reduced breakfast/lunches).

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Please use Dallas Independent School District to complete this. Thank you!
A school budget should include information about the development process, allocations for each grade span, and an explanation about which programs will be supported and if any reductions were made. It should also include information about general fund expenditures categorized by function and object. This is in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

“Function/object budgeting. Most districts use function/object budgeting, since it organizes spending around the basic functions of the system, such as instruction, student support, operations, administration, and transportation. In addition, functions are subdivided (e.g., into elementary instruction, high school operations), while the object being purchased (e.g., elementary textbooks, high school cleaning equipment) is also specified. Personnel services or salaries and benefits may be handled by function; that is, for instructional, support, or plant maintenance staff, for example.

While these broad categories, objects, and processes are generally the same for education budgeting across the country, a strategic attempt has also been made to determine the most effective and efficient uses of resources. These efforts have led to such innovations as zero-based, program-planning, and site-based budgeting, which attempt to be more mission-driven and constituent-friendly than traditional types of budgeting in education.” (Answers Corporation, 2012)

Note: FTE means Full-Time Equivalent positions.

Please find the school budget you found on your district’s website (or another district’s), and answer questions below. Some districts maintain a substantial web presence hosting a cadre of information resources. Others do not. It might be wise to explore the websites of several districts before making a final selection.

Please make sure to include the URL (website address) of your district’s budget documents in your post. If you are not teaching in a public or charter school, as an alternative you may refer Oregon’s Forest Grove School District budget. Please use the adopted budget for 2011-2012. See the link in the Required Studies section.
1.Why is it important to be knowledgeable about school finance in terms of maintaining a position as principal, and advancing as an administrator in your school system?
2.What areas of school finance/budget lines are especially important for a principal to be knowledgeable about? Why are these areas important?

Answers Corporation. (2012). Public school budgeting, accounting, and auditing. Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/public-school-budgeting-accounting-and-auditing