EDAM 710

Final Reflection and

Summary
Presentation
Katie Mathew
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Student Learning Goal 1:

Understanding financial responsibilities in K -

12 Education
“School district finances drive the engine to grant
primary and secondary education’s successes.
Without proper funding, a school will struggle to
achieve students’ academic successes, and without
leaders who comprehend the fundamentals of state
specific school finance revenue, the opportunity for
utmost students’ achievements falters” (Born,
2020)

Figure 1: Sample per pupil funding formula

(Born, 2020)
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Reflections
⊸ School finance is a shared responsibility
⊸ There are multiple checks and balances built into the system
⊸ The ultimate goal of school finance is to provide a high quality
education for public school students

Leadership Opportunities:
- School leaders need to understand the school finance system in order to maximize
benefits for students.
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Student Learning Goal 2:

Understanding of sources of income and expenditures in K -

12 education
Revenues Expenditures

Figure 2: Local Tax Calculation Figure 3: Federal School

(Assignment 2) Expenditures (Born, 2020)
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Reflections
⊸ School districts in the United States are mostly funded by state
and local revenues
⊸ Federal revenues do not account for a large percentage of
revenues
⊸ Local revenues are tied to property taxes therefore communities
with higher property values have higher school revenues
⊸ Public school funding in Canada flows from provincial grants;
this model is also not without problems

Leadership Opportunities:
- Work towards a more equitable funding model where there is more equal distribution
of local and state/ provincial funds
- Consider barriers to educational equity beyond dollar allocation (ie: rural, school
choice, teacher quality, etc.)
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Student Learning Goal 3:

Understanding of financial control procedures

in K - 12 education
“Any purchases over $1,000 need to go through the School Board Office.
An accounting secretary at the School Board Office would assist in finding
the most affordable source, create a requisition online with the account
code where the merchandise is to be charged, the Administrator from the
school would authorize the purchase and the accounting secretary would
issue a purchase order for the merchandise. The accounting secretary
would send a purchase order to the vendor and once the vendor has
supplied the merchandise, they would send an invoice to the School Board
Office to be paid.”
- Excerpt from Interview with Wendy Longland, Accounting Secretary,
SD72 (Midterm Assignment)
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Reflections
⊸ Districts have procedures to manage the allocation and tracking
of funds
⊸ Accounting system includes codes that associate the expenditure
of funds with a specific budget
⊸ There are laws that govern how the school district can solicit
contract work (ie: lowest responsible bidder)
⊸ School audits ensure that funds are tracked and spent
appropriately

Leadership Opportunities:
- COVID-19 is going to pose an interesting challenge for school districts across the
country; it was interesting to see where the School District of Philadelphia prioritized
and deprioritized funds in the 2020-21 school year
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Student Learning Goal 4:

Understanding of roles of faculty, administration, and

staff in the budgeting process
Stakeholders and decision-makers in district budgets:
● Students/ Parents
● Public/ Taxpayers
● Superintendent
● School Business Administrator
● Budget Committee
● School Board
● Principals
● Teachers
Figure 3: Budget Timeline
(Assignment 2)
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Reflections
⊸ It is important for school administrators to understand the
financial side of schools so that they can explain school district
systems and decisions to the school staff that they oversee, they
can maximize outcomes associated with investment and they can
oversee the appropriate management of funds
⊸ Budget development is an ongoing process that involves many
voices
⊸ Contract negotiations are complex and the “cheapest” contract is
not always the best contract

Leadership Opportunities:
- As a school leader, involve various voices in the budget process
- Allow opportunities for teachers to connect investment with learning outcomes by
involving them in the process
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Student Learning Goal 5:

Understanding of facilities planning,

development, and financing in K - 12
education
● Certain services can be outsourced (ie:
transportation, food, etc.) but the long-term
consequences need to be considered
● Investment of funds that are not immediately
required is a good opportunity to earn money
for the district but cash flow needs to be
carefully managed to ensure that there is
adequate funds at the time they are needed
Figure 4: School District of Philadelphia’s
“sinking fund” (Assignment 4)
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Reflections
⊸ Outsourcing may be attractive but a school leader needs to
consider the longer term costs as well as relinquishing oversight
of certain services for children
⊸ The School District of Philadelphia spends a depressingly large
percentage of revenues servicing debt

Leadership Opportunities:
- School finance includes a lot more than just teacher pay and facilities; a savvy leader
has an understanding of the whole ecosystem and directs all systems towards
supporting the ultimate goal of quality education for students
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Student Learning Goal 6:

Understanding of major issues impacting

schools in the 21st century
● Ideological debates about school choice
● New ideas about how to distribute school funding across
counties rather than tied to local community
● COVID-19 budget shortfalls
● Different approaches to teacher pay and benefits
● Equity for students
● School funding decisions and disparities related to Figure 5: Teacher’s compensation
(Assignment 5)
transportation, food service and extracurriculars
● Online teaching and changes in place-based nature of
education
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Reflections
⊸ Balancing the school district budget is a complex process that
involves many stakeholders
⊸ There are advantages and disadvantages of various funding
models
⊸ School districts will be making difficult budget decisions post-
pandemic that reflect their values
⊸ School choice intends to create better equity but in some cases,
can harm disadvantaged students further

Leadership Opportunities:
- After the pandemic, there will be an opportunity for school system renewal which
will include redesigning some of the unequal aspects of school finance.
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Thanks!