EDLD 5342, Week 5, Part 3

EDLD 5342, School Finance, was a difficult course for me because it addressed the area of educational leadership in which I have the least experience.  It proved to be a challenge well worth the effort as I learned multiple concepts that will benefit my future career as a superintendent. As I completed the Competency 8 self-assessment, I was aware that I had grown in several areas.  One of the greatest areas of growth was in the ability to establish district procedures for accurate, effective, ethical purchasing and financial record keeping and reporting.  Prior to the assignment covering FIRST and the readings about school financial audits, I really had no idea that there was a standardized procedure for helping schools keep their finances in line.  I had obviously seen budgets and been involved in budget meetings, but to actually see the standards and requirements was an eye-opener.  I also learned a great deal about revenue forecasting and the importance of WADA as it applies to funding.  The crucial coding for PEIMS and its impact on WADA and funding was an important lesson to learn. I always enjoy the lectures because the topics that are most important are discussed so I can zero in on the most relevant areas of the week’s lesson.  Week five was interesting to me because of the assertion that it is almost impossible to embezzle funds from a school district.  I’ve personally seen several instances in which employees attempted to take school funds illegally and they’ve been caught at a great cost to not only themselves, but the trust that a community puts in its school’s leaders.  Week four’s lecture brought the concept of “economy of scale” to my attention.  I knew that there were advantages and disadvantages to schools depending on the student population, but I did not realize that it could be quantified.  This finding helps me understand the push for consolidation that comes from Austin from time to time.  Other lectures also proved beneficial, from Week one’s history of school finance to the more “nuts and bolts” topics of budgets and the TEA Summary of Finance discussions in Week 2.  Week 3’s lecture was the heart and soul of the course, in my opinion.  Understanding the sources of funding and actually seeing and comparing two districts was a great learning experience. My interviews with my superintendent during this course basically confirmed my belief that funding for education in Texas needs a complete overhaul.  As a property poor district, we are not able to provide the same level of education as a rich district which can pay their teachers more, provide better training to teachers and aides, and be on the forefront of technology and best practices.  I came to admire administrators and school boards who must make tough decisions concerning school finances in these difficult times. Weeks 3 and 4’s assignments were real back breakers.  I learned more about the workings of school finance by looking at FIRST and the comparisons of the districts than in any other part of this superintendent’s certification program.  By having to look at real situations faced by administrators, discussing these problems with my Wiki group, and reading other Wiki groups reasoning I came away with a powerful sense of how difficult school finance really is.  In talking with Dr. Creel in my  conference I believe he was right in saying that only a few people really understand the system for educational funding in Texas….it is just that complicated. My Wiki group turned out to be a real learning experience.  Each of these educators was outstanding in their work ethic and dedication as well as their insightful comments concerning each week’s lesson.  Because we were a mixture of large and small schools, wealthy and poor districts, I was able to get a perspective I could not have seen without their contributions.  I appreciated their generosity in explaining issues that I didn’t understand and learned that networking will be a great tool that I must have if I hope to be an effective superintendent. This course, EDLD 5342, was difficult for me, but I know that I will draw from what I learned in these 5 weeks throughout the rest of my career in administration.