public education – Page 2

Tag: public education

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

The Long and the Short of It

Or, Don’t Use Your Credit Card to Buy Groceries (and Don’t use Bonds to Buy Technology) I was walking by Fort Point in San Francisco (you’ll know the spot from Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”). I fell into conversation with a guy who, by coincidence, was a new customer at the bank where I worked. He went on to

December 6, 2013 Short URLbonds, California, capitalization, capitalized equipment, common core, computers, finance, finance techniques, government, information technology, LA Unified, on-line testing, parcel tax, problem solving, public education, public finance, public school finance, school district business, school districts, school finance, standardized tests, technology iPads, testing, testsGovernment, Management, Public Schools

School Construction Law:

In Brief Lozano Smith recently posted this video on YouTube, covering changes in California school construction law. Do you need to watch it? Unless you are directly managing school district facilities and construction, probably not. But school finance leaders do need to be aware of new laws that affect their direct reports. So to save you and hour, here’s what

December 5, 2013 Short URLbidding, contractors, DSA, government, prequalification, public education, regulations, school construction, school district, subcontractorsSchool Construction

Make Them Cry “Uncle!”

My boss and mentor used to chastise me. “Pile work on your staff until they cry ‘uncle’ ” she would say. Is that really a valid management technique? Sounds a bit draconian. “Not at all,” she would counter. “You don’t really know if they are working at full capacity until you give them too much

November 22, 2013 Short URLbusiness, complainers, cross-training, human resources, job, job description, job rotation, Management, problem solving, public education, work-avoiders, workloadManagement

Budget Advisory Committees are Hard

When the Budget Advisory Committee was approaching my boss and I would look at each other and groan in unison “Ugh BAC!” Why? It was not that we didn’t want to talk budget with the community. Hey, we’ll talk your ear off with all sorts of budget geekiness if you let us. It is because a BAC

November 17, 2013 Short URLbudget, budget advisory committee, budget development, community, community input, data, Education Code, government, government spending, input, Management, problem solving, public education, school district business, school districts, school spending, schools, unionsAnalysis, Data, Government, 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

“Dog Person” Gets Cat: Surprised by Level of Dissastifaction

I am working on a proposal to present at a professional conference next April. The topic I have chosen is career development. Thus, my blogging volume is both: 1) Temporarily reduced, and 2) HR related Why the topic of career development? Well, frankly, it is on the list of proposals they are seeking. And also,

October 24, 2013 Short URLbusiness, career development, Disgruntled Cat, employee engagement, employment, hiring, job description, job satsfaction, public educationCareer Development, Management, School District Jobs, Working Together

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

Free Washing Machine, $50

I remember reading the following story as a kid – probably in the Readers Digest. A family buys a new washing machine, so they leave the old one out front of their house with a sign “Free”. No-one takes the washing machine. So they change the sign to “Works Great, Only $50”. The washing machine

October 18, 2013 Short URLchoice, government schools, home schools, perceived value, private schools, public education, public schools, school choicePublic Schools

Classroom Dollars and Bad Teachers

Start with a graphic representation of a dollar bill. Divide it up to show how many cents are spent in which categories. Not a bad way to represent expenditures. Except when it is done this way: Why? Because this cartoon is not just wrong, it is dishonest. The categories of expense are a bit hard

October 17, 2013 Short URLbad teachers, business, cartoon, classrom, classroom dollars, education, education dollar, firing teachers, Management, public education, school district, school district administration, school district business, teachers, unions, wasted dollarsManagement, Public Schools, School District Jobs, Working Together

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