NEAT - info about SPPS budget: http://tinyurl.com/3gt66 _________________________________________
Posted With Permission For Roger Barr: --------------------------------------
I have served on two site councils, advised numerous councils, and helped the Office of Leadership Development create best practices that are used by many site councils in the St. Paul Public Schools. Like all education/budget issues, the answer(s) to this question is more complex than we would like it to be.
First, it is necessary to understand that a school operates with funds it controls as well as funds that are administered by central office. District wide, sites (or schools) see about 49 percent of the total budget, while central office administers 51 percent. Most of that 51 percent funds programs or costs that go directly to schools, such as food service, transportation, nurses, special ed. teachers and the like. The list of district funding responsibilities is extensive.
In contrast, most of the (district average) 49 percent that schools have direct control over goes to funding staff. The site also has revenue for non staff costs for supplies and so on. Again, the list of possible funding responsibilities at the school level is extensive.
When schools develop their SCIP or strategic plan, their plan uses resources (staff and non-staff) allocated directly to the school, as well as resources (staff and non staff) administered by the central office. Not surprisingly, most schools approach the planning/budget process from this perspective: Do we have enough revenue from all sources to "cover" our current programs next year? Adjustments are made to programs in accordance to what revenues are available--tempered by parental input/influence and district oversight.
With dollars tightening and performance expectations on the rise, this old method of planning is being replaced by data driven decision making. More and more, schools are expected to review performance data and plan based on research, as opposed to tradition or preference. You will hear data driven decision making applauded and criticized.
Now, here is how site councils fit into the picture. According to district policy, the site council's role is to "approve and monitor" the SCIP, or School Continuous Improvement Plan, which until this year included the budget. The site council's role isn't necessarily to CREATE the SCIP and budget, only to approve and monitor it. Some school site councils take a very active role in the development of the SCIP/budget. Site council members serve on committees that make recommendations or even draft portions of the SCIP document. The principal presents the SCIP to the site council for its review and approval. It is not uncommon for debate to result in modifications to the plan before it is approved by the site council and forwarded to the district's accountability office for compliance review.
It is also district policy that the principal has the final authority (and the legal accountability) in a building and can overrule the recommendations of the site council. In truth, some principals maintain tight control over the SCIP/budget process. In such schools, the role of the site council "to approve and monitor" can be diminished to what some frustrated members call a "rubber stamp."
Most site councils lie somewhere in-between the two poles of very high involvement/influence and very minimal involvement /influence in the planning and budgeting process. In general, in my seven years of hanging around site councils, I have seen marked improvement in the involvement and influence of site councils (read, teachers, staff, parents, community members, students) in the planning and budgeting process in our schools. Overall, the focus in the relationship between site councils and principals is shifting, sometimes slowly, from "Who gets to make the decision?" to "How do we make a good decision?"
We still have a ways to go in developing an influential site council at every school. This is not simply because principals dominate the process. There is a fairly sharp learning curve associated with being a knowledgeable and effective site council member. Site council members move through the system with their children. Thus a site council can be strong one year, and back to square one the next as its leadership and skilled members "graduate" with their students.
The St. Paul Public Schools is working hard to train principals to work collaboratively with their school communities in the planning process. These efforts have been, are, and must be in the future matched with similar efforts to prepare staff and especially parents to assume active and constructive roles as site council members.
Parents interested in joining the site council at their school should contact their school office and ask for the names of the site council chairs. It is also possible for community members to join site councils even though they do not have students in the school. My organization, Support Our Schools, has helped schools find community members, and also helped community members find a school site council to join. Community members who are interested in joining a site council are welcome to contact me.
Roger Barr Support Our Schools 10 River Park Plaza St. Paul, MN 55107 651-603-8858 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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