Budget Assignment 2

School Finance

EDA 6201

Fall 2005

Assignment: Budget Assignment #2

Lynn Otheline Cato

Instructor: Peter Timgon

My Philosophy

For the nation to continue to prosper it must invest in human capital and that investment begins in the school (Alan Greenspan, 2000).

As a leader in a school setting I believe in using the funds allocated to the school to improve student achievement. I believe in researching the best programs available that will give me the maximum return on my investment. Due to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate, funds will be allocated for class size reduction, hiring the best and the brightest teachers, provide the support they need to do their job well, and maintain a safe, secured, child centered facility.

The School

Crystal Lakes Elementary School is nestled in the middle a communities with several single family homes. This school is a community school that was built ten years ago to meet the need of the growth explosion West Boynton Beach. The average household income is approximately $80,000 per year. The school has a total enrollment of 689 students with 90% Caucasian, 4% Hispanic, 3% African American and 1% other. About 1% of the student body receive free/reduced lunch and breakfast. With this population the school has on staff 32 classroom teachers, 2 administrators, 4 ESE teachers, 4 paraprofessionals, 15 support staff, 5 cafeteria staff, 4 office staff, and 4 custodial staff, a total of 68 staff members. Most of Crystal Lakes Elementary feeds into Christa McAuliffe Middle, the neighborhood community middle school. While a small percentage of our students go on to the various magnet schools in the district.

Reporting Structure

At Crystal Lakes the reporting structure starts with the principal and the assistant principal. The principal meets with the grade chairs and them the information is disseminated to the teams. Learning teams report team information to the principal, and lessons plans, behavior issues, and other concerns to the Assistant Principal.

Daily Schedule

Being an elementary school with self contained classrooms, teachers have the autonomy to structure their day however they wish. They must adhere to the state requirement for 90 minutes of reading instruction and 90 minutes for math instruction.

Allocation