Funding and Budgeting for Texas School Children.

The budgeting process for children's learning needs in Texas schools has undergone transformation during the past half century. Traditional school budgets once originated at the Central Office. The School Board would base annual spending decisions for the entire school district on allocations from the previous year without regard for changing program needs or special campus circumstances. The process was inflexible allowing little leeway for creative or innovative solutions to emerging problems or needs.

Typically the school district would rely on state mandated formulas that had existed from earlier periods of time that suited the needs of that era. In Texas there is a foundation formula that is fixed and has been in place since the establishment of the state government. Gilmer-Aikins formulations from 1949 remained in place for decades before being challenged in the courts during the 1970's and subsequent decades. Local millage or taxation typically added additional amounts above the state minimum formula. Different districts would base additional allocations for spending on their ability to pay without raising taxes, usually due to increased local district wealth or the higher levels of expectations from parents.

During the 1970's this changed. The State of Texas began to struggle with ways to balance the educational expenditures on children from property poor school districts with those of children from property rich school districts. Equalization formulas have been attempted with the current "Robin Hood" plan continuing as the most recent model. The formula is complex and is being challenged in the courts.

With increased mandates for accountability and pressures for site-based, data-driven decision-making, funding for Texas schools has changed in other ways. Budgeting in particular has come under tremendous pressure to change. The following trends have resulted in school budgeting:

1. Site-based decision making was implemented during the 1990's in an effort to provide principals greater feedback from teachers when making critical financial decisions.

2. Zero-based budgeting has supplanted traditional budgeting. This means that the principal must each year create a new budget based on identified needs of the campus. This is done in conjunction with a campus improvement team that examines AEIS data and survey data gathered from stakeholders to identify specific emerging needs or problems.

3. The need for teachers to find external funding to supplement the school district budget is increasingly more important.

In any case, the budget has become the most important tool for principals to address the needs of the campus. The focus of the next assignment on grant writing will inform the grant writing process that you have been asked to participate in.