California – FiscalShare

Tag: California

Parental Involvement: Cause or Correlation?

I was in a meeting about student success. We had broken into groups, and the question of parental involvement came up. “Were your parents involved in your school?” I half-whispered to a fellow director, born and raised in Hong Kong. “Not at all” she said. “Not mine either” said I (born and raised in another

March 3, 2014 Short URLachievement, achievement gap, best practice, California, California school districts, education, parental involvement, parental participation, public education, Public Policy, school, school district, school districts, school meeting, student engagement, student success, successPublic Schools, Uncategorized

Annotated Timeline for School Funding (California)

When I first started out in California school business, I was a bit confused by the state’s revenue certifications and re-certifications. I wished I had an overview of the entire process. So – here’s one I put together: Annotated Principal Apportionment Timeline This does not contain enough detail to be used instead of your complete annual calendar,

February 8, 2014 Short URLaccounting, California, California school districts, Education Code, principal apportionment, public education, public school finance, school financeAccounting, Finance, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Procedures and Practices

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

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

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

‘Tis the Season for…the 14-15 Budget

The California Budget Project has posted a useful article on the 14-15 budget debate, which begins with the release of the Governor’s budget on or before January 10. Also of interest on the CBP blog is their post on the budget process. And when I say that these links are useful and interesting, I mean that

December 20, 2013 Short URLanalysis, analyst, budget, budget analyst, California, career development, employee engagement, employment, government, governor's budget, hiring, local control funding formula, public education, public school finance, public schools, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, workFinance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Public Schools, School District Jobs

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

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