102: Education Finance at a Glance

Education finance is a topic that will put a vast majority of Americans to sleep. But funding a school district is a monumental task for a business manager that is extremely important to every function of the district. CCSD #1 Business Manager David Horner has done a noteworthy job in this arena. The 4 main functions of a school board are to hire the superintendent, create goals for the district, establish policy, and to fund the district. One non-negotiable to keep in mind when dealing with public education is at all cost, keep the students at the center of every decision. A grave mistake that staff members make in schools is to worry more about the adults than the students. If there is ever a question in your mind about a decision that is made in public education, ask yourself if students were considered first in that decision.

A superintendent's job with finance is to ensure we are spending our money where students are supported with every available resource possible. For example, our students should be receiving the most engaging instruction, by the most talented instructors, in the safest environment, with every available modern resource. Anything short of this is missing the mark. Our district acknowledges and spends much of our budget on highly qualified educators that will change students' lives and take Carbon #1 to the top of the state, and this is money well spent. Approximately 80% of our total budget is spent on staff. Where districts divert and lose focus is when they spend monies, attention, and resources on things that have little impact on students and learning. Programs can fall in this category and many districts are suffering from program fatigue because they believe throwing money at expensive programs can raise achievement and fix their district.

This year Carbon #1 will reload, focus our sights on goals that have been collaboratively set through strategic planning, and pull the trigger on educational outcomes that are solely centered around our students graduating and becoming leaders in a competitive economy. Education finance should not be boring or overlooked. It can mobilize the community to take a broad look at our school district and give feedback on where they think our resources should be spent. These are tax dollars and we will be accountable for every penny that is entrusted to our organization. But keep in mind the main filter for every decision in education...is this good for kids? If not, reconsider the decision and spend the money where kids will benefit the most.


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101 - Educational Leadership

Any organization will succeed or fail due to a large part by its leadership or lack thereof. The people in an organization will be motivated to perform at higher levels and will be loyal to leaders who are approachable, collaborative, and supportive. When leaders invest in their people and treat them with dignity, respect, and validate their efforts, the organization has a greater chance of success. Education is a unique field as the ultimate goal is not monetary profit, but to grow the intellectual capacity of students so that they become informed, resilient, and successful adults who can positively contribute to a sometimes ruthless and competitive global society.

A leader's work is never completed in isolation, it truly takes a village to educate a child. A great educational leader will surround him or herself with stellar individuals who are incredibly hard to manage with their ambitious drive to push the envelope on every issue for the sake of kids. Having to pull a staff member back is a great thing. Having to kick someone in the tail to get going is tougher to do because it requires that person to work harder. In any job, once someone has insulated him or herself from hard work it is difficult to change that behavior. A counter to this argument is the "work smarter not harder" attitude. But working smart and hard is the best combination that will produce results in any organization.

The work of an educator is becoming more and more difficult in contemporary America. Shrinking budgets, deterioration of the home, standardized testing, school safety, technology, and politics, have all changed the game. Today's educators have to be extremely talented in many different disciplines in order to handle the classroom. I give my utmost respect and applause to anyone willing to go into this field and reap the greatest reward in the world - transforming students' lives.

Each day presents opportunities for us to grow and improve in our specific arena of responsibility. Let's take hold of those opportunities and catapult our organization to new levels of excellence.


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