District Administration - May 2011 - (Page 79)

above, the oakland skyline from the harbor. right, third-graders at ascenD, which is a K8 school in the oakland Unified school District, take part in a literacy event where books were given to students, as principal larissa adams (in back) looks on. Budgeting Based on Student Needs By JaSon WilliS and Matt Hill S This California district demonstrates that students can be the foundation of all school financial decisions. and request services from central offices. it suggests that transferring resources, and thereby authority, to school communities enables better decisions and resource configurations for students. New Central Office Strategies The current economic and fiscal climate in education provides an opportunity and incentive for school communities to consider a SBB system. For example, many communities have called for greater transparency about where districts are investing their resources. additionally, this new climate places more pressure on central offices, rather than school sites, to make cuts in budget and staff. Establishing a SBB system in a school district helps May 2011 79 chool finance reform has Become a KeY componenT for transforming public schools in the United states. over the last decade, a growing number of districts have turned to an approach known by different names— student-based budgeting, weighted student funding and fair student funding, among others—in which budgets are allocated to schools in dollars, based on the needs of students within a school, rather than in staff positions. student-based budgeting allows for a more equitable and rational allocation of funds among students and schools with differing levels and types of needs and a better alignment of school budgets with instructional goals. authors Jason Willis and matt hill helped the oakland (calif.) Unified school District transform itself and use student-based budgeting to better meet the needs of its students. The typical organization of an urban district, which includes top-down management, compliance-focused departments, and one-size-fits-all change efforts, is the backdrop for many of the change efforts initiated in urban school districts in the past that have been unable to produce sustainable results. in contrast, a student-based budgeting (SBB) system, otherwise known as resultsbased budgeting, helps districts, such as the oakland (Calif.) Unified School district, keep sight of the “customer.” in this type of budgeting approach, the dollars follow the child. Therefore, schools are able to express the needs of their students clearly www.DistrictAdministration.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2011

District Administration - May 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
The Cradle-to-Career Solution
Turnaround Principals
Starving for Recess
Army Strong, Superintendent Savvy
Budgeting Based on Student Needs
Research Center
Books
Product Focus
Products
Superintendent's Insights
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion

District Administration - May 2011