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Many principals find the budgeting process to be confusing
and overwhelming. And it can be so
if one is completely focused on the little things.
But if one is focused on the big things, budgeting becomes a manageable
and useful tool. So here are the
big things to wrap your mind around.
1. Effective budgeting is not about incrementally starving
programs. For example: cut Program A by 10%; cut Program B by 20%; cut Program
C by 15%.
Effective budgeting is about fully funding the programs that are
critical to the organization accomplishing its mission, and not funding the
programs that are not critical to the organization accomplishing its
mission. Which would look like
this: Program A and Program C are
critical to the success of the organization, they receive full funding. Program
B is not critical to the success of the organization, it gets no funding and is
discontinued.
Some may argue that this way of thinking is inappropriate in
a school setting. Those people
would be wrong. Then there are
those would argue that this way of thinking is hard in a school setting. Those
people would be right. But if leadership were easy, anyone could do it, and
that is not the case.
2. Money represents time, tools, training and staff. The
equation looks like this: $ = Time, Tools, Training, Staff
The job of the leader (and budgeter) is to find the optimal
mix of time, tools, training and staff that maximizes student results for a
given budget amount.
What I have found is that the campus that goes lean in
staffing, invests heavily in training and modestly in tools is the most nimble
in the short run and remains competitive in the long run.
The campus that is staff heavy and tool heavy (which is
easier to get approved by central office) ends up skimping on training which
makes for a lumbering school in the short-run that becomes decreasingly competitive in
the long-run.
So to tie this up, when working on your budget, don’t get enamored
with head count and programs. Instead...
A. Have
fewer people and train them better, continuously.
B. Quit
doing the things that don’t make your campus better. Just do the things that do
make your campus better.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
- Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
- Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool)
- Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
- Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation and like Lead Your School on Facebook
