Finance – Page 3 – FiscalShare

Category: Finance

Winners, Losers and Political Sausage

When I attended the Edsource Symposium last May, the head of the state board of Education, Michael Kirst, got a bit testy when audience members started asking pointed questions about “winners and losers“. Paraphrasing broadly, he said to forget the past funding formula. It is over. Stop comparing yourselves to others and stop talking about

December 15, 2013 Short URLCalifornia, Edsource Symposium, education, Education Code, government, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, Michael Kirst, public education, public school finance, public schools, school financeLocal Control Funding Formula

What Does it Take to Get Fired?

Sometimes, Not Much The article Fatal IT Distractions lists mistakes that will lead to immediate dismissal in the IT world: things like forgetting to back up data nightly or not testing your disaster recovery plan prior to a disaster. This made me ponder. What will get you fired in the world of school finance? I am not talking about obvious offenses

December 5, 2013 Short URLcalculation, conflict of interest, disaster recovery plan, dismissals, employment, Excel, fired, government, hiring, IT mistakes, jobs, Management, revenue calculations, school bonds, school district, school district business, spreadsheets, tax rate, unemploymentCareer Development, Excel, Finance, Management, School District Jobs

Schrödinger’s Excel

Or, how to be deadly and awesome at the same time Is Excel good or bad? It is both. Are you good at Excel or bad at it? Probably both. Excel is extraordinary. In the wrong hands it also can be a disaster, Excel is just a tool, like a chisel. It is inspiring in the hands of a skilled carpenter and murderous in

November 25, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, business, candidate, data, Excel, fiscal, Herb Kelleher, hiring, job candidate, Management, Microsoft, Schrodinger, spreadsheet software, testing, workAccounting, Excel, Finance, Government, Management

Government’s Return on Investment

Is it ever OK to say “I spent more on that, so I am in compliance.” Is spending more money the only way to demonstrate “success?” I say this is the opposite of success. Are we going to allow school districts to shrug off poor results by spending more. I really don’t understand the critics of California’s Local Control Funding Formula’s

November 7, 2013 Short URLaccountability, anti-government, California, civil rights coalition, Education Trust-West, government, government spending, kpi, lcff, local control funding formula, measures, measuring success, outcomes, regulations, return on investment, right wing, ROI, school districts, spending, successFinance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Public Schools

Local Control Funding Formula: Nothing and Something

The California Department of Education has “updated” its reporting software by removing the previous revenue schedule and replacing it with, um, nothing. I am going out on a limb. I have created my own multi-year calculation. Please email me at support@fiscalshare.com if you want a copy. We are four plus months into the fiscal year,

November 7, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, budget, calculation, California, California Department of Education, California school districts, CDE, Excel, government, lcff, local control funding formula, public education, public school finance, revenue forecasts, school district, school financeAccounting, Analysis, Daily Work, Data, Excel, Finance, Local Control Funding Formula

When School Districts Borrow

This an outstanding guide to school district debt financing by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP. While the guide references California law, it is useful in understanding public school finance in general. School district administrators in California function in a complex financial universe that increasingly requires familiarity with and use of sophisticated tax-exempt public finance techniques to finance

October 20, 2013 Short URLanalysis, bonds, borrowing, business, California, data, debt, debt financing, education, education business, education finance, finance, finance techniques, government, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Management, Orrick, public education, public finance, public school finance, public schools, school district, school district administrator, school district administrators, school district debt financing, school districts in CaliforniaFinance