An effective way to prepare for school budget presentations is to research accurate responses to "hot issues." Lists the 24 questions most frequently asked at public budget hearings; and outlines a generic response to each of the 10 toughest questions. (MLF)

For any school-based-management model to succeed, the important functions of a school district's business office must be redesigned to shift authority and support for most fiscal decisions to school site. Some of the complexities of shifting the fiscal management to schools include technology, transportation, maintenance and operation, risk…

An Educational Risk Management Plan (ERMP) should be incorporated throughout every school district. Discusses property and liability insurance classifications and features of a good ERMP. (12 references) (MLF)

Asserts the importance of each school business official's responsibility to accurately report the school's financial situation to the state legislature. Uses Minnesota's 33 area vocational technical institutes to illustrate the application of statewide uniform financial accounting and reporting standards to Minnesota public school districts. (JBM)

Explores where in the school-budgeting process decentralized decision making could be used. People at the building site should be evaluating the programs and making decisions about their effectiveness and continued funding. (MLF)

The relationship between school board members and school business officials has become increasingly important. They must collaborate to keep schools functioning efficiently and children constantly learning. If business managers are technocrats and number crunchers, boards must make a judgment about those numbers and decide how funds should be…

Principals and business managers view their jobs and each other from differing perspectives as to time demands, priorities, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. Neither has supervisory authority over the other. Chief problems involve miscommunication, report deadlines, and failure to meet each other's expectations. Ameliorative suggestions…

In November 1979 the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) published a list of assumptions about the business environment within which college and university administrators would operate during the 1980's. The assumptions were divided into two categories: general external economic assumptions, and those that…

Principals want to be part of the decision-making process regarding business operational procedures. Principals want responsibility accompanied by the necessary authority along with having budgeting and other operational information readily available, technical assistance, evidence of equity, and immediate feedback. (MLF)

The skill levels of school business administrators can be divided into technical, human relations, and conceptual. Field-based research revealed that the more the districts rely on shared decision making, the higher the esteem and trust the other administrators had for the business administrator. (MLF)

In an interview, Mernoy Harrison, the chairman of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) board of directors, discusses the issues he will address, the association's role in professional development, association image, the need to achieve more efficiency and productivity in college administration, and…

The Association of School Business Officials International has a Meritorious Budget Award Program designed specifically to meet Canadian needs. It is a budget recognition program to promote state-of-the-art practices in the development and presentation of school board budgets. Explains criteria and how to participate. (MLF)

In Michigan, highly politicized school-finance reforms and the charter-school and school-choice movements present enormous challenges for school business officials. There is greater demand for administrator accountability and credibility, an open environment, effective communication skills, efficient use of data, long-term vision,…

As society's fundamental characteristics change, schools and school leaders must be prepared to modify the educational enterprise to meet the new and unique needs of adults and youngsters in the 21st century. To anticipate and control change, the school business manager must be able to project future trends, issues, and challenges. In this volume,…

Businesses are entering education because they believe they can do a better job with a higher quality of service. Describes the emerging education industry, examines reasons for the growth, offers a glimpse into the future, and suggests some criteria school business officials can use to evaluate privately delivered services. (MLF)