Lauren Bryie

EDL 648

Article 2

"Budgets In An Era of Local Control and Accountability: Tips For Site Leaders

This article is about the best practices and principles that leaders need to have to

be successful. 1) Develop a basic understanding of the big picture. I appreciated how

this article wrote that a principal doesnt need to know all of the ins and outs of funding

and financial aspects of a school. It did state that its necessary for a leader to know

where their schools funding is coming from and where that money goes to. Such as,

does the school have Title I funding? Everything is changing, so a principal needs to

stay on top of it and be informed. 2) Master your agencys budget-making process. It is

critical that a school leader understand the budget and fiscal processes because policy

decisions are usually decided by fiscal considerations. Money drives a school, money

pays for the staff and facilities that run the school. Its important that the principal knows

where the money is coming from and going to. 3) Understand your role within your

organization and 6) Organize your budgets and records. This will be determined based

on the school, district, and leaders involved in the fiscal decisions. 4) Keep accurate,

up-to-date records. Organization is key to being an effective administrator. I know that

as a teacher I do a better job when Im organized. 5) Excel at budget oversight.

Keeping a timeline for the site and program budgets throughout the year, will allow a

school to be in the green. Any changes need to be reflected in the budget. 7) Factor

in personnel costs. About 85% of the budget is dedicated to staffing. There will not be

much room leftover for other things. It is important to not have too much staffing, but to
have enough to meet all of the needs. 8) Make fiscal and human resources staff your

allies. As a principal, you need to know what the rules and policies are having to do

with fiscal issues. It is also important as a principal to stand up for programs and

people that are important to the culture of the school.

All of these best principles and practices have shown me that its important that I

continue to educate myself on fiscal and policy issues. By educating myself I can make

informed and smart decisions.