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Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

Heather LaMore

Education Department, Grand Canyon University

EAD-510: Education Finance

Dawn Johnson

August 14, 2022

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Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

For this field experience, I worked with another center director and we reviewed the

annual budgets for my center. My center services a preschool classroom of up to 20 students

ages 2 ½ to 5 years old and 3 classrooms of children grades K-8, up to 54 students. We are

located within a K-8 school building and are a unique center amongst the others in our

organization. Most are either freestanding centers serving children age 18 months to 12 years

with a few also offering infant care beginning at 6 weeks, or grant-funded afterschool programs

inside school buildings. With my location being so unique, it was most beneficial to me to

analyze the information for my center. Students at my center are primarily Hispanic, black, and

white with most from economically struggling families. A major challenge for us this year is

awaiting the announcement of 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grantees.

We have been operating with those funds over the last 10 years and if we are not awarded

another grant, the future of my center is in jeopardy. If families are unable to afford to pay for

care or are ineligible for Publicly Funded Childcare (PFCC) through Ohio Department of Job and

Family Services, our programs will not be sustainable and we will be forced to close.

The way our childcare centers are structured and funded, the director has very little to

do with the overall budget. Based on the incoming funding from grants, PFCC, private pay

tuition, and other sources, our finance department breaks down all of that income into

categories for the director to oversee the direct application of funds at the center level.

Professional Standard for Educational Leaders Standard 1, “Strategically develop, implement,

and evaluate actions to achieve the vision for the school” (NPBEA, 2015) is the guiding force for

budget allocation. Funds are directed based on the mission of the organization, with the finer
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Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

breakdown at the center having more direct influence from the Continuous Improvement Plan

(CIP).

As the funding sources are still unclear at this time of transition, I do not yet have the

annual budget for our center. However, the difference between last year’s budget and the

previous year was effected by the gradual dispersal of funds from the 21 st CCLC grant. In the

first year of the grant, the greatest amount of money is allotted. Each year it tapers off, as the

assumption is that less money should be needed as large ticket items like furniture and

computers are anticipated to be purchased early on and maintained throughout the remaining

years and beyond. Looking at these differences of funds and our CIP, my mentor and I

determined we made great progress on utilizing our budget to make the improvements desired

over the last school year. It is almost time to complete a new CIP for this school year so these

changes will be reflected at that time and should be able to move on to new goals across the

board for this school year. Our primary focus will be on getting enrollment to continue to have

a sustainable program that is able to support students and families as we have for the last 10

years.

My needs assessment focused on the goals of our CIP dealing with personnel,

administration, parent communication, staff communication, classroom environmental rating

scales, and community engagement.

- Personnel concerns were related to effectively invest in recruitment of qualified staff. Of the

teachers surveyed, the majority noted social media, online job search sites, and job fairs as the

places most worth investing in.

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Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

- Administration concerns were related to the administrator lacking coursework specific to

administration. 6 out of 7 surveyed agreed that the organization should invest in the current

administrator by paying for the necessary coursework.

- Parent communication struggled last year, as it was our first year back from pandemic closure

the previous year. Those surveyed agreed that a combination of staff training, additional pay for

a staff member to serve as a parent liaison, and setting up a parent information center would be

a worthy investment to aid in this area.

- Staff communication struggled last year due to 75% of our staff being new to our center. The

majority of respondents noted that an outside trainer would be a good investment to help the

new team learn the benefits of open communication and some effective techniques.

- For both the School Age Care Environmental Rating Scale and Early Childhood Environmental

Rating Scale concerns, the majority surveyed selected that using the budget to purchase new

items to supply the classroom interest areas would be most beneficial.

- Community Engagement needed some help last year as we struggled to restart some of our

established partnerships and respondents agreed that a staff member should be offered

additional pay to act as a community partner liaison.

Based on the survey results and looking forward to a new school year, I would suggest increased

investment in the concerns dealing with communication. Sorting out any issues with communication

between the center and families, as well as amongst center staff and administration will result in

smoother overall operations and a more cohesive team. When the teamwork is there and

communication is effective, most other concerns become less daunting to deal with.
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Clinical Field Experience B: Schoolwide Budgetary Needs

References

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for Educational

Leaders. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from

https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-

Leaders_2015.pdf