5342+Week+4

** Understanding FIRST  ** 1. Fund Balance: 50% more than optimum and not more than 150% 2. Audit Report: Filed on time, No auditor opinions or disclosures on weaknesses usually conducted in September 3. Student-Teacher Ratio There are two accountability systems for school districts in the state of Texas. The Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) is the accountability system for districts' curriculum and instruction programs. The Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) hold districts responsible for the business and financial operations.
 * Week 4 Part 1 **

The Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, § 109.1001, states that the purpose of the financial accountability rating system is to ensure that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools will be held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to manage their financial resources better in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. The system will also disclose the quality of local management and decision-making processes that impact the allocation of financial resources in Texas public schools.

According to Dr. Stephens’s Interview, the Superintendent has to be equally concerned about “district ratings” by both the AEIS and the FIRST systems. “It is incumbent on the Superintendent to monitor both rating systems, analyze areas of needed improvement, and implement needed adjustments.”

The FIRST system requires the Texas Education Agency to review audited financial reports from all districts and assign financial management ratings based on how the data conform to 22 established indicators. Every school district in Texas is required to prepare an annual financial management report that includes the district's financial management performance rating from TEA, the district's previous performance on the rating indicators, and information that the Board of Trustees deems useful. In addition, state law requires that school districts hold a public discussion/hearing on the report and publish notice of the hearing at least two times prior to the meeting. The School FIRST accountability rating system assigns one of four financial ratings, with the highest being "Superior Achievement." For the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the financial accountability rating of a school district was based on its overall performance on certain financial measurements, ratios, and other indicators. The same will apply for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Our group agreed that the three most important components of FIRST is the Fund Balance, which should be 50% more than optimum and not more than 150%. The second most important component is the audit report. The report should be filed on time and there should not be any opinions or disclosures on weaknesses. It is usually conducted in September. Finally, the last component we felt was the most important was student-teacher ratio. This is crucial since school districts tend to maximize classrooms to minimize their spending on salaries. This is a concern due to cuts in funding. This is an area to monitor as teachers are cut or positions are eliminated through retirement and resignations. Overall, all of the components of FIRST are critical to school districts. Superintendents should have the knowledge of the measurements used to rate the district and should strive to receive Superior ratings just as they strive to be Exemplary. ** Week 4 Part 2  ** ** Comparing Economy of Scale in Large and Small Districts  ** (Advanced degrees D1: 12.7% & D2: 24.6%) || $39,771  || $50,307  || District 2 is considered a large district with over 32000 students. District 1 has an enrollment of a little over 800. Both of these districts do a good job of distributing the wealth to ensure equity for all of its students and both do a good job of generating revenue per pupil. The large district, 2, is most likely in a metropolitan area or an area of great population. Thus, this area will have budding business growth along with many opportunities for work and living. A larger salary, many times, will accompany a large districts employment. This salary is driven by cost of living being more expensive in a high population area and greater competition for good teachers. Also, a large salary will sometimes go hand in hand will larger problems or duties. Also, if you subtract Total Operational Expenditures per Pupil from Total Revenue per Pupil and then multiply this number by the number of students for each district, you find that District 1 has a surplus of $1,591,940 and District 2 has a surplus of $45,515,008.
 * Week 4: Part 2 || District 1  || District 2  ||
 * Total Students  || 830  || 32,326  ||
 * Number of Schools || 3  || 45  ||
 * Total Revenue Per Pupil || $10,529  || $10,316  ||
 * Total Operating Expenditure Per Pupil || $8,611  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">$8,908  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Average Teacher Salary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Number of students per teacher || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">11.9  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">14.1  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Total Teacher FTE || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">70  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">2,299  ||

Economy of Scale is also a factor as we examine the data above. We notice the lower per unit cost as a result of increasing size. Infrastructure cost per pupil decreases as size of the district increases. (Jenkins, 2011) District 2 has lower revenue and operating expenditures per pupil based on Economy of Scale. Also, note the greater the competition the more advanced degrees among teachers. That factor also increases the average salary. ** Week 4 Part 3  ** ** Analysis of Differentiated Staffing on a Campus of Your Choice  ** There are many reasons why differentiated staffing impacts and/or improves the goals of the campus. The obvious answer would be that each individual brings new perspectives, experiences and skills to the classroom. Given the multi-lingual nature of many schools, the presence of bilingual staff may improve student outcomes. Furthermore, a diverse staff creates a positive and dynamic environment that models valuing diversity. Students who may be language learners may feel more comfortable and are more likely to approach a teacher for help and support and may feel more motivated to succeed. In almost every profession that strongly impacts society; the concept of a “generalist” is considered archaic. Frederick Hess (2009) describes in his article “The Human Capital Challenge: Toward a 21st Century Teaching Profession,” “Even in the most innovative and dynamic charter schools, teaching bundles together the roles of content deliverer, curriculum designer, diagnostician, disciplinarian, discussion leader, empathizer, clerk, secretary, and attendant - and asks teachers to fulfill these roles for a variety of students in a variety of content areas.” (p. 13) Because of this, teachers are worked harder than is needed and less time is devoted to honing their actual teaching skills. A system of differentiated staffing will ensure that each teacher can specialize in one aspect of a child’s education and together with their colleagues make sure that each area of holistic learning is provided for so that all students achieve mastery levels in their educational experience. Orangefield ISD is a rural, small 3A district located about 20 miles from Beaumont, Texas. In Orangefield ISD, a Curriculum Director serves as a curriculum and research specialist. His job is to keep abreast of all research into new methods and content and transfer it to the local campuses. He also meets with Team Leaders to discuss his findings and implications for beginning new programs in their content areas. He trains and provides support to new teachers during their probationary period of teaching. Teachers are given the opportunity to serve as Team Leaders on all campuses. At the elementary level (PK-4), there is one team leader per grade level. At the junior high (5-8) and high school (9-12) level, there is one team leader per subject area. Team Leaders meet with teachers on their team and with campus and district administrators. They relay information between the two groups, analyze data related to the students assigned to them and their team members, and schedule events for their team. Classroom teachers comprise most of the faculty. Paraprofessionals support teachers in RtI labs and mainly are assigned to life skills classrooms. This hierarchy could be modified to even further follow the differentiated staffing model. Team Leaders could take on more of a supervisory role on their campuses and possibly spend a large percentage (75%) of their day in the classroom teaching and the other time (25%) in leadership roles and helping mentor probationary teachers in their field of experience. Paraprofessionals could serve as support persons in all areas and provide teachers with more time to hone their skills rather than monitoring recess time and copying worksheets. An area of concern in Orangefield ISD is the lack of a culturally diverse staff. The student population of this district is growing and changing and the staff should reflect those changes. Currently, OISD employs 0 African American teachers, 1 Hispanic teacher, 118.1 White teachers, 0 Native American teachers and 0 Asian/Pacific Island teachers. The student population is made up of 14 African American students, 125 Hispanic students, 1,573 White students, 15 Native American students, and 27 Asian/Pacific Island students. As stated above, diversity and the presence of bilingual staff should improve student outcomes, especially with the students who are language learners. This also will support the district goal that states, "Orangefield ISD will implement strategies to promote positive climate and a nurturing culture for all members of the learning community." Making these changes to the current staffing patterns would increase the budget for staff salaries. Removing the Team Leaders from the classroom for a portion of the day would involve hiring someone to teach the students for the 25% of time that team leaders are out of the classroom. Also, this would involve hiring more paraprofessionals, which would increase the budget. Student achievement should increase based on the increased amount of time teachers would have to actually teach their subject area and research innovative ways to deliver content. Implementing a differentiated staffing program at OISD could be a positive change agent in the district with the positive aspects outweighing the negative concerns. ** Week 4 Part 4  ** ** Understanding Personnel Salaries in District Budgets  ** Salaries often control the climate of a learning culture, but they are not the driving factor behind learning. There are good teachers in our profession that work hard and would work for less is if meant their students performed at a higher rate. There are teachers who work just enough not to get fired and think that they are underpaid. You will find this paradigm in all professions. Salaries are a delicate topic in a district because it is right to increase salaries alongside the cost of living and growth. The delicate part about increasing salaries is that is a decision that cannot be undone. Once you increase salaries 2.5%, then that increase must be accounted for the upcoming year when your revenue could all decrease. This increase should be known and communicated to all employees along with the knowledge that there may be no increase in salaries. ** Week 4 Part 5  ** ** Interview with the Business Manager on Financial Audits  ** My interview with Lyndal Cabaniss, Director of Finance at Salado ISD, lasted this entire class. We have had great dialog thru this course and I have increased my knowledge greatly. More importantly, I have learned that once you find a great financial director, you hold on to them. The external auditor is selected by requesting qualifications, experience, cost and accessibility. It is up to the district who they select, but these four qualifications are the most important. The audit is conducted based on the Financial Accounting System Resource Guide, which is a checklist for auditors. Just as large businesses have many transactions, so does a school district. Remember, your school district is probably the largest employer in your area and there are many opportunities for theft and fraud to occur. All transactions could not be checked but the auditor operates on a sampling and confirmation system. This system asks for a certain amount or area of data and checks for errors and security. The audit will conclude with the general checks and balances of the system, accountability, possible fraud and budgets and how they are followed. The audit is presented to the chief financial officer and the superintendent before it is presented to the board of trustees in a meeting. After those two points have been communicated to, the audit is available to the public through the TEA.