Management – FiscalShare

Tag: Management

“I Don’t Have Time”

When my son was little, he wanted me to buy him a toy each time we went to the store. I would usually say no. “Why?” he would ask “Can’t we afford it?” My answer: “We can afford it but, this time, I am not buying this toy.” With the mortgage and school fees, yes,

July 6, 2015 Short URLaccountability, Management, staff development, time managementDaily Work, Management, Productivity

The Mystery of the Black Box

The black box is usually associated with tragedy. However, this post is not about airplane accidents. It is about wasted opportunities and undefined steps. There is a cartoon that shows a blackboard full of calculations. The calculations on the left hand side are, presumably, Step One and those on the right hand side must be Step Three. Between

March 19, 2014 Short URLblack box, business, Management, mission, planning, strategyHuman Resources, Procedures and Practices, Uncategorized, Working Together

The Handshake of Death

A handshake should be neither limp nor bone-crushing. This is common knowledge. But how should you handle a death-grip handshake that is clearly designed to intimidate? I inadvertently stumbled across the answer when meeting with a customer who had used our bus services and was now not paying the bill. The transportation manager had arranged the meeting. I

February 4, 2014 Short URLauthority, business, death grip, handshake, Management, meetingCareer Development, Management, Uncategorized, Working Together

Reasons, Excuses, Rationalizations

My mother recently had a fence replaced. The “Fence Guy” was a self-employed franchisee for a national chain. When he did not show up on the appointed day my mother left three unreturned messages before complaining to the franchisor. Fence Guy eventually called back and said he was behind and he would be there in three weeks.

January 26, 2014 Short URLappropriate work behavior, behavior, best practice, business, choice, choices, communication, deadlines, dependability, excuse, explanation, Management, missing deadlines, problem solving, rationalization, reason, reasonable person defense, reliability, schedule, workManagement, Productivity

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

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

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