FiscalShare

Sutter Brown: Philosopher King, I mean Dog

I think I officially have a crush on Jerry Brown. What chief executive on earth in an address to the combined legislature of his state would hand out playing cards featuring his dog? The various playing cards have a picture of his dog on one side, with cute doggy sayings about budget restraint. The other side of each

January 22, 2014 Short URLCalifornia, governor, Jerry Brown, playing cards, politics, state of the state address, Sutter BrownFinance, Government, Laws and Regulations

Billion with a “B” for iPads

I highly recommend the following commentary in the LA School Report: If iPads are the answer, what’s the question? The author interviewed tech savvy LA Unified students, who also happen to be in the target demographic for the iPad purchase (students of color in south LA and Watts). One of the student responds: “What I’m struggling to

January 21, 2014 Short URLanalysis, best practice, budget, business, California, California school districts, community engagement, decision process, government, government spending, instructional technology, iPad, iPads, laptop, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, notebook, parents parental participation, public education, public school finance, public schools, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, technologyFinance, Government, Public Schools, Technology

Resources for Aspiring School Business Leaders

Continuing my series for future school business leaders, I offer short commentaries on some of the most useful technical and policy resources for California school business aspirants. In no particular order, here they are: 1. School Services of California. This is a subscription service. If you are in California it is likely that your school district is a

January 20, 2014 Short URLaspiring leader, auditor, business, California, California Department of Education, California school districts, career development, CASBO, CCR, Code of Regulations, Edjoin, Edsource, Education Code, fcmat, Google alerts, government, government spending, leadership, legislative analyst, Management, policy issues, PPIC, public education, Public Policy, public school finance, public schools, Sacramento Bee, school district business, school finance, School Services, technical expertiseCareer Development, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools, School District Jobs

Proposition 98 Forecasting and Finagling

Dear aspiring school business leader, My recent post on California’s Proposition 13 was for you. This post is about Proposition 98. Together, these represent the two voter initiatives that you MUST understand. Start with the Wikipedia entries for both. This gives you a general overview. Then read the Legislative Analyst’s Prop 98 Analysis. If you find this intolerably dull,

January 19, 2014 Short URLCalifornia school districts, Education funding, government, government spending, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, Proposition 13, Proposition 98, public school finance, public schools, school district, school district business, school finance, voter initiativeFinance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Public Schools

How Bad is too Bad? How Much is Enough?

Click on this map for some interesting data, courtesy of BestEducationDegrees.com. The statistics for my state, California, are particularly bleak. Given the current hoopla about the new funding formula, I thought it might be useful to step back and ask a more fundamental question. Does the state collect enough revenue to support education to the extent that

January 18, 2014 Short URLanti-tax, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, California school districts, deck chairs on the Titanic, education, Education funding, government, government spending, Jerry Brown, lcff, Local Control Funding Formual, Proposition 13, Proposition 30, public education, public school finance, public schools, role of government, school district business, school districts, school finance, tax, taxes, too much taxFinance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Public Schools

Not Usual

He is a senior silicon valley executive. She is an analyst in a governmental agency. Their third grade daughter cannot read. He is an abusive deadbeat dad who hides his assets and pays no child support. She is a low wage earner barely scraping by. Their eighth grade daughter is one of the top students in

January 17, 2014 Short URLbest practice, business, California school districts, education, Education Code, Emanuel Derman, Financial modeling, John Deasy, LCAP, lcff, LCFF regulations, Local Conrtol Funding Formula, Local Control Accountability Plan, Management, Nassim Taleb, public education, public school finance, public schools, school district business, school financeFinance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Public Schools

Your Tax Dollars at Work! Headlines to Avoid

Mrs. Smith came into my office. She was angry, but controlled. Her practiced smile was plastered on top of gritted teeth. “Teachers just don’t get paid enough. Every now and then we have to do something nice for them.” What was this all about? My staff had rejected Principal Smith’s expense report where she was seeking

January 16, 2014 Short URLbest practice, California, gift of public funds, government, government spending, inappropriate expenses, Management, perks, public education, public funds, public school finance, public schools, school district business, school finance, tax, taxes, teachers, teaching professionAccounting, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools

Size Matters

In the course of my career I have occasionally heard some unsavory “us versus them” talk. Teachers versus non teachers Certificated versus classified Management versus non-management School versus district Parents versus school administration Some discussions of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resort to this rhetoric, most notably the “school versus district” polarity. I have previously mentioned the

January 15, 2014 Short URLaccounting, best practice, business, California, California school districts, data, fairshare4kids, icr, indirect cost, indirect cost rate, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, return on investment, school administration, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, us versus them, us vs themData, Finance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Productivity, Public Schools

Budgeting Blindfolded as Art Form

Last Thursday the governor’s budget proposal for 2014-15 was unveiled. My loyal readers may have noticed that I let the occasion pass by without a peep out of me. The truth is that all of you devoted school district business officials are still budgeting blindfolded. Estimates for individual district revenues will be developed. Programs will be implemented and costs

January 13, 2014 Short URLbudget, budget assumptions, budget proposal, budgeting, business officials, CBO, CFO, economic forecasts, economy, forecasting, governor's budget, lcff, local control funding formula, work drama, work stressFinance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Public Schools

Reputation: a Matter of Trust

Today I recommend thinkpurpose’s post Why I Don’t Care About the Reputation of my Organisation. …If you aim for a good reputation, trust takes a back seat. Spin, presentation and image are the easy ways to a good reputation but trust is made from simpler and sterner stuff. It has to be based on something

January 12, 2014 Short URLbest practice, building reputation, business, career development, customer experience, disengaged employees, employee engagement, engagement, experience, government, online reputation, public schools, reputation, reputation management, school district, success, superintendent, TripAdvisor, trustCareer Development, Government, Management, Public Schools, Working Together

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