This is the second posting on how the town budget is prepared and approved. This post looks at the process used to determine the school budget. The school budget is different than other town departments in that state law requires a specific minimum amount be allocated by each town for its schools. Towns can provide more funds than the minimum but must spend at least the minimum. The applicable laws on minimum school funding can be found here. The formulas used for the calculation of required spending are convoluted and complicated and I don't claim to fully understand them. But essentially, the state gives each town a school spending number that must be funded for the year. This spending amount is often referred to as the minimum net school spending requirement. Spending for school lunches, transportation, long term debt, and other items can not be included in spending to meet the requirement. The minimum local spending requirement is reduced by the monies provided in federal and state aid and grants. So unlike the other departments in the town government, the school department minimum spending is set by law.
The other difference in the school budget is that the School Committee has sole discretion on how to spend the funds that are allocated by Town Meeting for the schools. The Town Meeting, or anyone else for that matter, cannot direct how the money for the schools is used. The laws governing the School Committee can be found here. The school budget is developed by the school administrators and business manager and presented to the School Committee for approval. The School Committee must hold public meetings to discuss and adopt the budget. The allocation of funds within the total school budget is set at these public meetings of the School Committee. Information on the school budget and budgeting process can be found here. Once the school budget is approved by majority vote of the School Committee, the total spending request for schools is forwarded to the town administrator. The town administrator includes the school budget request in the budget submitted to Finance Committee for their recommendation. The town charter requirements for school budget submission can be found here.(MS Word, section 5-2) The Finance Committee may increase or reduce the total school request but cannot reduce it below the minimum spending requirement or change how funds are allocated within the total. The Town Meeting then considers the total spending request for the schools as a single line item in Schedule A. Again, the Town Meeting can increase or reduce the total school request but cannot reduce it below the minimum spending requirement or change how funds are allocated within the total.
As you can see, the school budgeting process differs from that of other town departments since there is a minimum spending requirement and the School Committee is solely responsible for how the funds are spent.
Add your thoughts on this post or school spending by clicking on comments below
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Town Budget Process-school budget
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3 comments:
The first goal in achieving excellence in education without robbing a bank, is for the legislature to abolish the State Department of Education, which harbors misfits with D.Ed's, who tend to perpetuate unproven dogma on education.
Without these ignoble rule makers, we can change certification to people who have completed a major in a subject as English, Math, Physical Sciences, have done further work in that field, who love their subject and know how to motivate others into learning that field.
With that, I as a retired mechanical engineer could teach mathematics, physics, chemistry, expository writing and effective speaking, and would work for less, as I aleady have my pension, social security, Medicare, and investment income. I can do this at University level, as the State has no jurisdiction. I have taught at that level, with classes up to 50 students, with no teaching assistants. I would rather teach a class of 25, but have never had discipline probems.
I also would cut administrative salaries, negotiate with teachers unions a sharing of medical insurance costs, and substitute 403 savings plans for defined benefit pension plans, and health fringes after retirement [when Medicare kicks in].I would cut secretarial one on ones and substitute a "pool",eliminate any jobs titled "ass't to", and 50% of guidance counsellor positions. I would bring back physical education to those things that are healthy into later life, like tennis,jogging, golf, tennis, and sailing.Football,basketball and baseball would be intermural only,competitive athetics would be curtailed until gasoline was back to $1.25 per gallon and electricity for night lighting games came down to 5 cents per kilowatt hour. This would contribute to energy independence,lower bus costs, and a much smaller athletic staff. It would also save a lot of litter of beer cans, and marijunana butts littering the side streets near the stadium. Which will reduce garbage pickup costs, and improve the life of our landfill.
Finally I would charge $100/month parking fees to any teen who drives to school instead of taking the school bus, and use the revenue to subsidize bussing. Again, coat reduction, "green", energy independance, and more driver's jobs.
I agree with anonymous that having teachers who have a passion for the subject that they teach, i.e. they majored in it in college, is a good thing. I think that the development of education as a course of study has created teachers who go into the field because they like kids but don't really have a genuine love for their subject matter. The teachers who had the greatest influence on my education really loved the subject that they taught and their enthusiasm was contagious. Not that teachers who major in education cannot possess this quality but the teachers I had who loved history, music, or even mathematics were the ones I learned the most from.
Are you kidding about piccking male dominated sports and only ones you want to do wjhen you are old, goodness. kids and teens need more excercise not less. I don't think young kids can be 50 deep in a class and I think we need helpers and certainly guidance counselors who are front line in preventing drop outs and creating campus well being and student safety. You have some weird ideas.
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