Module 3-5 Application

Budgeting for Student Achievement

School leaders are stewards of public resources. These resources must be strategically managed and allocated ethically and equitably to improve student achievement. One of the key areas in which school leaders must practice ethical decision making is in regard to budgeting and resource allocation – always with an eye on the school vision and student achievement.

In this module’s assignment, you will develop a budget that provides funding and resources for your instructional improvement target (Module 2) and your selected intervention (Module 3). In the budget analysis, you will identify what is already available in the school budget for meeting the target and implementing the intervention that you selected in Module 3, Application 1.

• View/Download the Template Tables Word document for use in this assignment.
• Complete Parts 1 and 2 and compose your responses in a single, 5- to 6-page Word document (not including the title and references pages).
  • Use APA format for the title page, references page, and in-text citations.
• This assignment due Sunday of Module 5.

Note: This assignment’s rubric is specifically designed to assess specific skills and knowledge related to your program. Please review all rubrics carefully prior to submission.

Part 1: Budget Analysis

This assignment is designed to help you understand how to structure a school’s budget in response to a prioritized instructional need. You will create a table demonstrating the relationship between funding resources and action plans currently in place or recommended for your school.

While your principal cannot allow you access to confidential salary information, he or she might appreciate your willingness to review current expenditures through a different and updated perspective. Regardless of the time of the school year, this activity could potentially help your administrators refine planning for the future, learn from the past, or do some mid-term adjustments.

It is likely that your school has an office manager who handles and understands many of the budget responsibilities. Be sure to get your principal’s permission before beginning this kind of a project. Once given permission, request to see any budget guidelines or documents provided by your central office.

Most schools have the following kind of funding available, even if they are referred to by a different title.

• Fixed Budget – items like salaries, utilities, transportation, etc. These bills must be paid; there is no negotiating with these amounts; that is why we will not include them in the table that you will create.
• Discretionary Funds – items like general supplies, extra duty pay for teachers, professional development, etc. These funding resources typically have specific guidelines attached to them, but administrators are expected to make decisions within those guidelines to fund school needs.
• Grant Funds – grant funds usually have prescribed activities and timelines.
• Community Resources – when volunteer groups or community agencies are approached with a request to help support a specific goal, they are often more willing to help. Think about external resources already available or potentially available to your school.

Step 1. Write an introduction for the budgeting activity.

Step 2. Create a table for your budget analysis. Include funding and other resources that are already available as well as new budgeting sources. A sample table and a template table are provided on the Template Tables document.

Part 2: Interview With Administrator

After completing your budget analysis, engage your principal or other school administrator in a budgeting interview. Report the results of the interview in a question-and-answer format.

• What happens to funding that is not used during a school year? How do administrators make sure they actually use all available funds during a school year?
• How do principals know what funding is available for discretionary use during the school year?
• How does your principal ensure he or she is getting student learning impact for the amount of time, energy, and money invested in activities?
• What system does the principal have in place for monitoring the use of funds during the year? How does the principal ensure use – but not overuse – available funds?
• What safeguards are in place to protect administrators, office staff, and teachers from potential allegations of misuse of funds?
• How can you help your principal maximize the current use of funds and resources to help improve student achievement?