Resource Allocation

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Resource Allocation School Planning Councilsin
Your District
Presenter Sterling Olson
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Outline

• Purpose/Why School Resource Allocations
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Ministry Funding Allocation System
• School District Spending
• Budget Process
• Centralized vs. Decentralized
• Sample Information

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Purpose

• Focus school and district resources on the
  improvement of student achievement.
• Improve the transparency and accountability of
  school board allocation procedures and
  school-based budgets.
• Enable school planning councils and other partner
  groups to understand funding and budget
  decisions.
• Provide opportunity for school planning councils
  to consult with and provide advice to school
  boards related to allocations to schools.

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Why School Resource Allocations?

• Changes to School Act
• Notional School Allocations
• Guidelines for School Planning Councils
• District Accountability Contracts for 2004/05

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Changes to School Act

• Bill 34 May 13, 2002
• Section 8.2
• A Board must consult with a school planning
  council in respect of the following
• (a) the allocation of staff and resources in
  the school

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Notional School Allocations

• Minister of Education states (August 26, 2003)
• That there be more awareness among the general
  public about how school boards allocate resources
  to schools.
• Accepts the following recommendation
• That steps be taken to require school boards to
  provide school resource information and to
  develop a collaborative process with SPCs so that
  funding and resource decisions are linked to
  school growth plans and accountability contracts.

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Guidelines for School Planning Councils

• By a date set by the board, a school
  planning council must prepare and submit to the
  board a school plan for the school in respect of
  improving student achievement and other matters
  contained in the boards accountability contract
  relating to that school.
• Collect and analyze school resource allocation
  information.
• Develop the plan for improvement.
• Provide advice to the school board about the
  allocation of staff and resources in the school.

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District Accountability Contracts for 2004/05

• The intent of the School District Accountability
  Contract is to focus district attention and
  resources on improving student achievement.
• A description of the process to consult with
  School Planning Councils about the allocation of
  staff and resources in school is required.
• A sample of the resources allocation form
  should be attached to the Contract.

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Roles and Responsibilities

• Cabinet and Treasury Board
• establish the overall budget and Individual
  Ministry amounts
• Ministry of Education
• sets priorities and allocates funding to the
  school boards
• issues budget and accounting instructions
• School Boards
• sets spending priorities and establishes budgets
• consults with School Planning Councils
• allocate funding to schools and programs
• Schools
• allocate funding to classrooms/programs

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Responsibilities for School Resource Allocations

• School Board
• Allocate staff and resources to schools and
  programs
• Provides information about the allocation of
  resources to the school
• Consults with school planning councils about the
  allocation of staff and resources in the school
• Principal
• Provides information to the school planning
  council about the allocation of staff and
  resources in the school
• School Planning Council
• Provides advice to the school board about the
  allocation of staff and resources in the school

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Allocation of Provincial Operating Funding

• The system provides for
• Student Allocation of 5,520 per FTE student
• Allocation of 250 per homeschooler
• Enrolment Decline Grant (50 for declining gt1)
• Unique student needs of ESL (1,100), aboriginal
  education (950), special education Level 1
  (30,000), Level 2 (15,000), Level 3 (6,000),
  and adult education
• Teacher salary differential between districts
• Unique geographic factors of climate, dispersion,
  remoteness, school district size, small
  communities (fixed)
• Transportation and Housing allocation (fixed)
• GAAP Funding
• The funding system was set for three years up
  until 2004/05 and significant changes are planned
  for 2005/06

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School Board Variations

• Enrolment ranges from 289 to 60,386 fte
• Funding varies from 5.2 to 376 million
• Average teacher salaries vary from 58,092 and
  64,720
• Dispersion, remoteness, climate and size of
  schools vary
• Enrollment changes 2002/03 to 2003/04
• SD 36 Surrey 868 1.46
• SD 93 Conseil Scolarie 209 7.61
• SD 61 Victoria (572) (2.79)
• SD 85 Vancouver Island North (239) (11.01)
• Total (6,591) (1.14)

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School District Operating Spending

• School Districts allocate their spending between
  4 key functional areas
• Instruction

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School District Operating Spending

• School Districts allocate their spending between
  4 key functional areas
• District and School
  Administration

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School District Operating Spending

• School Districts allocate their spending between
  4 key functional areas
• Operating and
  Maintaining buildings

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School District Operating Spending

• School Districts allocate their spending between
  4 key functional areas
• Transporting and
  Housing Students

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School District Operating SpendingA Provincial
Picture

• Instruction 76
• Operations Maintenance 13
• Administration 8
• Transportation 3

Salaries 74 Employee Benefits 15
Supplies Services 11
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Budget Process - A question of Balance

• School Districts need to establish their own
  process for preparation, consultation and
  approval of their operating budgets.
  Communication throughout the budget process is
  vital.
• When establishing Budget timelines, Boards need
  to take into account staffing deadlines and
  implementation processes.

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Budget Process and Accountability Cycle
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Preparation of the Budget

• Guiding principles and priorities are set.
• Costs of providing existing services are
  projected into the next year (salary and
  benefits, utilities, etc.)
• Factors that will change such as student
  enrolment, inflation, contract changes, one time
  items are determined.
• Revenues, any surplus/deficit from the previous
  year are projected and the net budget position
  (shortfall or surplus)
  is determined.
• Options and strategies to address net
  budget position are
  identified.
• Decisions are finalized.

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SD 91 Budget Allocation Criteria

• Addresses board goals
• Stays within existing resources
• Equitable
• Understandable
• Predictable
• Encourages efficiencies
• Decision neutral

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Centralized vs. Decentralized

• The level of school control over budgets and the
  allocation of resources varies across the
  province.
• There isnt one best way to allocate resources.
• What decisions are flexible?

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Who Makes the Decisions?

• A significant number of districts indicate that
  they allow schools limited decision making
  (primarily around what the supplies budget can be
  spent on).
• Conversely, there is a fairly high number of
  districts that, subject to varying constraints,
  allow some decisions to be made at the school
  level around staffing as
  well as supplies and
  service.

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Who Makes the Decisions
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What Information is Provided by Districts to
Their Schools?

• Districts provide information to schools about
  the number of teachers and the amount available
  for teaching supplies.
• Many districts also supply information
  associated with the teaching and other support
  staff.
• In most cases, districts provide a rationale or
  funding formula that derives the amounts that
  they have announced.

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SD 91 (Nechako Lakes)
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SD 91 (Nechako Lakes)
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Outline

• Purpose/Why School Resource Allocations
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Ministry Funding Allocation System
• School District Spending
• Budget Process
• Centralized vs. Decentralized
• Sample Information