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School Budgetary Needs

When we think about the school's demographics, we focus on the surrounding

community which includes the job market, overall population and area of location. Since schools

rely heavily on funding which outlines how budget items are determined within a school budget,

recognizing the demographics plays a large role in our schools receiving their funding and

outlining their budget. I have the fortunate opportunity to live in a growing area in the panhandle

of Florida. Since my family moved here in 2020, the area has expanded with new neighborhoods,

businesses, schools, and increased travel. Our surrounding community has a difficult time

keeping up with the demand and our school system is seeing an increase in student registrations.

Since this area is growing vastly, there is a rise in families looking for places to live and

individuals seeking employment. The job and housing market are extremely overloaded and it's

difficult for individuals to find consistent work. The area is considered a tourist destination so a

lot of jobs are low in pay and houses are high in rent. It makes it difficult for struggling families

and we see a lot of turnover throughout our school system because of the economy in the area.

When we look at our current school budget and how our demographics greatly impact the

decisions that are made, it's important to notice that salaries take up a large majority of our

expenditures. However, this changes every year due to demand. Since our school is fairly small,

and generally employs only about ten educators, we do not see a lot of changes in staffing.

Obviously, with the growing population, our budget has shifted slightly to include hiring more

teachers. More specifically, we have seen a rise in special education. Many of the families that

we serve in the area are of native descent and come from countries such as Mexico, Jamaica,

Vietnam, Venezuela, and Brazil. Many of these students do not speak English and our school is

their first experience in the American school system. Due to these difficulties, some of the
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students need special education services to adjust to our culture and academics, and that

increases are need for special education teachers and services. After speaking with my principal

mentor, our district does a great job at generating guidance from principals, assistant principals,

district officials, and school board members. These stakeholders meet monthly with our

superintendent to discuss needed changes, policies and procedures that are successful and school

facilities with immediate need for improvement. Since we are an older county, a lot of our school

buildings are consistently in need of repair, and building improvements are requested every year.

Within our budget, there are expenditures designated for safety, building additions and

maintenance, and upkeep. Each school employs a plant manager who oversees the buildings and

reports to the principal things that need changing and updating. The principal then brings these

needs to meetings with the superintendent and improvements are outlined and addressed based

on the level of need.

When processing the responses from the needs assessment that pertains to the school

budget needs, I was surprised at how open and honest fellow teachers were at answering the

questions and the thought-out responses that I received. When looking at successful student

learning, most of the teachers feel that they are supported in their practice by the administration

and that they are given the funds needed to expand their classroom learning opportunities and

provide the necessary tools for instruction. However, many of them explained that while we do

meet on a consistent basis regarding math and ELA instruction improvements, they feel that our

time is wasted and we do not fully address the needs to guide student academic improvement.

Some of the suggestions given were more age-appropriate professional development, hands-on

learning experiences, guidance on handling behavior in the classroom and providing more

opportunities for parent involvement that relates to learning, behavior, and nutrition. For most,
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our school generates lots of parent involvement activities and provides them with ways to

volunteer, donate, and support the school. However, there is little guidance on supporting your

child through academic experiences at home. There should be a way to bridge the gap between

school learning and home learning. Providing parental involvement activities that involve math,

reading, and science can give parents practical ways to emphasize academics at home. This is

definitely a consistent challenge that we are seeing with our special education families. Many

problems that we are seeing with these students are unresolved behavior issues that are causing

disruptive patterns in the classroom. These parents express a need for guidance in behavior. They

are struggling to understand how to deal with their children at home and how to consistently

manage behavior and consequences that are appropriate. Many of our teachers need guidance

and support to handle these behaviors while preparing a classroom for students to learn and be

successful. It is difficult to handle disruptive behaviors while incorporating best practice

strategies into your teaching practice. Teachers need to feel validated and supported in dealing

with students who are causing harm within the classroom environment.

When I reflect on my future teaching practice, I am first and foremost a servant leader.

My character traits demonstrate that I believe in everyone's fullest potential and my desire is to

include everyone in the planning process. I also strive to work alongside others and understand

that a team environment provides everyone the opportunity to offer positive and collective

collaboration. When I think about how this relates to planning and implementing a school

budget, my goal is always going to be to support my staff and lead the students in an atmosphere

that is conducive to positivity, commitment, opportunity, and advancement. PSEL standard ten

states, “engage others in an ongoing process of evidence-based inquiry, learning, strategic goal

setting, planning, implementation, and evaluation for continuous school and classroom
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improvement” (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2014). I want my school

budget to show that I believe in implementing a school community that believes in the success of

every student. This could be through employing teachers, providing learning opportunities,

offering parental involvement outreach opportunities, or seeking more funding through

fundraising approaches. Having a can-do attitude allows others to see that you are driven to

success and can lead by example.

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References

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2014). Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders. Professional Standard 9; Operations and Management.When

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

Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf