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Budgeting for Student Achievement

Amy Dherit

EL5723 Resource and Fiscal Management

Dr. Jacqueline O’Mara

August 8, 2021
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Budgeting for Student Achievement

The importance of education in terms of having a positive influence on future economics of cities and

states, can be directly tied to the importance of how budgets are utilized in education to provide students with

the most effective instruction. According to Kaplan “a reduced achievement gap among diverse student groups

(lead to) a better prepared workforce” (Kaplan, 2013 p.1). Therefore, it is imperative to make sure that budgets

have a direct positive impact on education. The decision principals are faced with hinges on understanding that

by implementing a program or model that addresses increasing teacher effectiveness, then student achievement

becomes the consequence. Principals understand the importance of hiring and retaining effective teachers

because their effectiveness is the ability to provide meaningful instruction that promotes student’s growth and

learning (Aaron Garth Smith, 2019). When a weakness is identified, such as the reading and writing weaknesses

at Gaffney Middle School, then implementing a program such as Strategic Instruction Model, that targets at-risk

student’s literacy skills, helps to increase the teacher effectiveness school-wide by providing a staff

development on the specific use of researched-based academic strategies that correlate to student’s

achievement. Based on data from Gaffney Middle School’s SIP, only 52% of the students are meeting state

expectations on SC Ready ELA. The student population at Gaffney Middle School consists of nearly 83%

students associated with low-income. The Students of Poverty along with the African American Students and

the Disabled Students also have significant achievement gaps in reading, reading comprehension, and writing.

Implementing the Strategic Instruction Model through a whole-school approach provides a multi-tiered

approach that incorporates training teachers the skills and strategies to use with students in an organized format

that helps students learn how to become self-learners and gain independence in their critical thinking. SIM is a

research-based intervention that is rated as “Strong” on the Evidence for ESSA website and has “demonstrated a

99% confidence level in both middle and high schools” (Dherit, 2021 p. 3).

PART 1: Budget Analysis

Identified Instructional Improvement Target from SIP: Focus on targeting the literacy skills, especially in reading,
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reading comprehension, and writing to show an increase in scores from 52% students meeting or exceeding SC Ready

ELA to 70% meeting or exceeding SC Ready ELA.

Community Resources/
Discretionary Funding Grant Funding
Volunteer

Goal 1: Professional $100.00/day for snacks $200 per teacher, PTO, Church Partners,

Development for the and drinks for teachers Literacy Coach, and and volunteers to help

Strategic Instruction during training. 4 days of Reading Interventionist with providing breakfast

Model totaling $7600.00 training = $400.00 from a grant given by for teachers training.

for 36 teachers, 2 The Fullerton

Reading Interventionists, Foundation.

and one Literacy Coach.

Goal 2: Strategic $2500.00 from $15.00 Manual for each

Instruction Model Trainer Instructional Funds to teacher, Literacy Coach,

$2500.00 Grant Funding cover Strategic and Reading

and 45 Manuals @ $15 Instruction Model Trainer Interventionist totaling

each totaling $675.00 $675.00 to be covered by

the grant from The

Fullerton Foundation.

Goal 3: Part-time $15,000 of the teacher Community Volunteers

Reading Interventionist salary will come from and Church Partners to

and Reading Mentors Title 1 funds. help as Reading Mentors

before school and during

Exploratory Classes.

PART 2: Interview with Administrator

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In order to get a better understanding of all the decisions a middle school principal is responsible for

regarding a school budget, I spoke with Gaffney Middle School’s principal, Dr. Eric Blanton (August 5, 2021) .

Dr. Blanton explained to me that there are various funds, and these funds can vary from school to school.

Gaffney Middle School gets BMW grant money that is only for Gaffney Middle School. He explained that all

of school funding comes from a compilation of federal, state, and local contributions.

What happens to funding that is not used during a school year? How do administrators make sure they

use all available funds during a school year?

Any funding that is not used will be absorbed back into the district or state or rolled over, depending on

the type of funds. It is important to make sure that we are using the funding to promote student achievement and

that means making sure that we use as much of it in a responsible way as we possibly can. Some funds can only

be used for specific things such as using CTE or what is often referred to as Perkins to cover career classes. The

district money works much in the same way but there is a little more flexibility. The money can be distributed

based on the principal’s goals for the school or to meet certain areas of needs. Some of this money is spent on

teachers in maintaining morale. Tentative budgets are made and sometimes those needs change. Covid-19

proved that we must be ready to modify those budgets and still make sure it is benefiting students in the best

way. Schools can also receive grant money and that is always specialized funds for a specific cause, for

example BMW provides grant money for instruction and clubs, if they are STEM based. Throughout the year,

the leadership team and instructional coaches are identifying school needs. At the end of the school year when

accounts are dwindling but still have funds available, teachers can submit requests for resources that will have

direct student benefits for the following year.

How do principals know what funding is available for discretionary use during the school year?

Gaffney Middle School receives some specific funding such as Title 1 and the BMW Grant that are for

specific areas. Title 1 funds provide much of the necessary funding and are broad if the funds are used to

promote academic support. The Title 1 budget allows teachers to purchase support resources for students
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learning that would be ordinarily impossible based on the district allocated funds for curriculum support

resources. Other BMW grants are limited to STEM.

How does your principal ensure he or she is getting student learning impact for time, energy, and money

invested in activities?

It is nearly impossible to make a statement that all the money spent is always impacting students

learning as it should. Comparing activities is like comparing apples to oranges sometimes. For the most part,

school-wide programs are usually District mandated. However, when education was hit hard by Covid-19,

funds from the Instructional Account were used to pay some of our top teachers to create engaging and self-

directed lessons in all subject areas, for the anticipation of teachers being out due to exposure or contracting

Covid-19.

What system does the principal have in place for monitoring the use of funds during the year? How does

the principal ensure use – but not overuse – available funds?

There's a lot of trust between a principal and a bookkeeper and I rely heavily on my bookkeeper to run

our weekly spreadsheet last line-item reviews for each of the accounts. I will spend my Friday afternoons and

often Saturday mornings cross-referencing the spreadsheet. I pay particularly close attention to our school credit

card and making sure that all the charges match the line-items in the spreadsheet. I usually will have

departments and clubs send me an accounting for their accounts twice a year and then I will have the

bookkeeper double check please as well.

What safeguards are in place to protect administrators, office staff, and teachers from potential

allegations of misuse of funds?

There are safeguards in place that protect School personnel. All purchase orders have to have my

signature and anything that is over $2,500 has to have District approval. The district also conducts periodic

audits. Some of these audits are scheduled and some are unannounced. Usually they are only looking at one or

two different accounts and just making sure that things add up and are accounted for. There is a lot of

transparency between the school and the district in terms of the accounts.
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How can you help your principal maximize the current use of funds and resources to help improve

student achievement?

In order to help the principal, maximize the current use of funds and resources towards the Improvement

of student achievement would be to utilize the resources that are provided in the way that they were designed to

improve student achievement. The principal can purchase these resources but it's going to ultimately be up to

the teachers to use these resources effectively and consistently. The principals are also going to have to rely on

the teacher’s reflective component of how these resources are working. If a new reading program is being

implemented and the teachers are finding that it's not getting the desired results, then a change needs to be

made. If there is a software program that funds are being designated for every year and it is not helping students

acquire achievement, then the school needs to stop using that program and stop wasting money on something

that's not effective. Communication between teachers and principals are of the utmost importance since teachers

are the frontlines of Education.

Conclusion

 Using School funds to provide professional development for teachers can be an effective way in which

principles can ensure that the budget is being directed towards student achievement.  Having effective teachers

in the classroom and providing the instruction based on the student's needs By personalizing the instruction to

meet the students where they are at is a more effective way of using budget refunds. By implementing the

Strategic Information Model, Teachers will gain skills through professional development that can then be

utilized in the classroom. Through this model students will gain understanding by using strategies modeled by

their teachers that will help them improve their reading, reading comprehension, and writing skills. The goal is

for students to increase in their performance on the SC Ready ELA by 18%, which translates to at least 70% of

the students meeting or exceeding on the SC Ready ELA. By utilizing specific funds within the school budget

and acquiring a grant from The Fullerton Foundation, Gaffney Middle School can take significant steps to begin

to shrink the achievement gaps currently present. 

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References

Aaron Garth Smith, opinion contributor. (2019, July 13). School principals, not formulas, should decide how to
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spend education dollars. TheHill. https://thehill.com/opinion/education/452729-school-principals-not-

formulas-should-decide-how-to-spend-education-dollars.

Banning-Lover, R. (2016, June 19). A beginner's guide to planning and managing school budgets. The

Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/jun/19/beginners-guide-planning-

managing- school-budgets.

Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE), Slavin, R., Lake Amanda, C., Inns, A., Pellegrini,

M.,Brunner, I., & Madden, N., Strategic Instruction Model (SIM)1–2 (n.d.). Baltimore, MD; Johns

Hopkins University School of Education.

Department of Education, FY2020 Title 1 Served Schools 1–12 (2020). Columbia, SC. Gaffney Middle School,

School Improvement Plan1–54 (2017). Gaffney, SC; Cherokee County School District.

Dherit, A. (2021). Funding School Improvement Intervention Through Grant Writing. Unpublished manuscript,

American College of Education.

Kaplan, L. (2013). The Latest Research on Effective Teachers: Implications for Principals. The Journal of

Effective Schools, 11(1), 1–34. https://issuu.com/odujes/docs/jesspring2013.

Land, S. (2004). School of Education Training & Technical Assistance Center. William and Mary School of

Education. https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/resources/articles/teachtechnique/sim _

helpsucceed/index.php.

McMahon, M. (2009, October). Strategic instructional model (sim). Mike McMahon AUSD.

http://www.mikemcmahon.info/simtraining.htm.

South Carolina Legislative Services Agency, & S.C. Gov., South Carolina Code of Laws Title 59 -

Education1–17 (2021). Columbia, SC; S.C. Gov.