Given the current economic constraints facing the country, school districts in the U.S. have been pushed to develop annual budgets through a new lens and to accept the reality that budget adoption is a complex, political process. Whether a school district is rich or poor, growing or declining in enrollment, serving a specialized population or…

This article features Strategic School Funding for Results (SSFR) project, a new joint initiative of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Pivot Learning Partners (PLP) aimed at improving school finance, human resources, and management systems in large urban school districts. The goal of the project is to develop and implement more…

Aging school infrastructure, changing population dynamics, decreased funding, and increased accountability for reporting school success all require today's school business officials to combine a variety of disparate data sets into a coherent system that enables effective and efficient decision making. School business officials are required to: (1)…

Research findings suggest at least ten guidelines for the practice of school system budgeting. (Author/MLF)

Describes the benefits and how to set up a georeferenced information system that contains standard student demographic data, the geographical location of each student, selected geographic location descriptors, growth factors attached to various land sections, and land usage and zoning. (MLF)

An Arizona district funded staff salary raises by developing some workable budget-reduction strategies. The process emphasized garnering board and community support and collaborating with employee groups. A list of 67 ideas for generating revenues or reallocating program dollars represented $9 million in savings. A condensed list saving $3 million…

Analyzes U.S. educational spending levels and sources, providing aggregate data for 50 states. Discusses spending disparities across districts and schools, using Schools and Staffing Survey data and highlighting California and Florida's spending disparities. Discusses how schools use available resources, based on research findings in Florida,…

Describes the features of a new student resource-allocation model that analyzes resources for individual students, groups, or categories of students and allows the integration of cost analysis into school-district and building-level planning and evaluation. States that use of the model will assist school-district administrators in making more…

Summarizes the current literature on whether money matters in education and the allocation and use of educational resources. Offers suggestions for districts seeking to focus on instructional purposes. How money is spent matters more than how much is spent. Since 80% to 90% of a district's funds are spent at the school level, most savings or…

Whether inclusion will produce resource economies for school districts is difficult to determine. Districts that have developed inclusive models have reported mixed results. There appear to be no savings in personnel costs, although some overall reduction in transportation expenditure has occurred. Inclusion demands a more fluid approach to…

When Governor Roy Romer challenged Colorado's 20 largest districts to undergo performance audits, 12 responded. Consultants recommended that districts provide more market-sensitive salaries, privatize certain functions, cross-train personnel, and create job flexibility. Districts can improve overall efficiency by generating accurate operational…

Offers an alternative to zero base budgeting called multi-level based budgeting. (Author/MLF)

Informally reviews the site-based management/budgeting literature, focusing on SBM implementation strategies, resource allocation decisions, and the role of site councils, principals, and school business administrators in effecting changes. The school business administrator remains a key person in determining, implementing, and coordinating the…

At each of Baltimore's 46 junior and senior high schools, a microcomputer system distributes tickets for subsidized lunches and transportation for over half of the students. (MLF)

Discusses incremental SBM budgeting and answers questions regarding resource equity, bookkeeping requirements, accountability, decision-making processes, and purchasing. Approaching site-based management as an incremental process recognizes that every school system engages in some level of site-based decisions. Implementation can be gradual and…