Week 5 Final reflection

In reflecting upon this EDLD 5342 course, I have to say that my knowledge of school budgets was initially very limited.  I feel that now I can engage in a conversation and participate in activities that deal with the district budget.  The lectures, readings, websites, and resource section provided a lot of help as I progressed through the course.  I often referred back to them as I was completing my assignments.  It is through the lectures and resources that I clearly see that the budget created in any district should be goal-driven.  A goal-driven budget is, as it sounds, a budget driven by the goals that the board and school administrators have set for the district.  These goals are determined by the needs of the students in the district.  In order to meet these needs, stakeholders must play their role and complete their assigned responsibilities.  I now understand more about how these roles and responsibilities affect the school budget.  It is through my interviews with the principal, superintendent and chief financial officer that I received more hands on knowledge.  My school principal addressed my questions regarding the budget as it pertained to our campus.  Through interviews with my superintendent and the Chief Financial Officer, I now have a wealth of knowledge about the superintendent’s role in budget making process and the audit process.  I enjoyed this personal interaction, and they were more than happy to assist me.  With their schedules, I was thoroughly surprised when they took the time to answer difficult questions regarding the district budget.   Now, I not only understand the role that these two stakeholders play, but now I understand the role the school board plays in the budget process. Equally important, I learned about TEA budget guidelines, and its affect on the district budget.   I now feel like I have greater knowledge on the correct steps to creating a budget, understanding stakeholder roles, analyzing legal requirements, and adhering to specific deadlines.  The most difficult parts of the course, yet most effective, were comparing district snapshots, analyzing various formulas, and looking at sources of funding.  I also enjoyed taking a closer look at the AEIS reports and looking at how my district allocates and spends its funds.  Each assignment, no matter how difficult and stressful, put me one step closer to expanding my knowledge about school finance and district budgets. The weekly assignments that I found most interesting were in week 4.  It is in this week that I learned about FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas), economy of scale, differentiated staffing, understanding personnel salaries in district budgets, and learning about the audit process.  Week 4 had a abundance of information that I will continue to use throughout my career.   My experience with the wiki and blogs were both good and bad.  At first, I was confused as to what posting went under which section.  I was anxious about posting assignments to the right place.  As the course went on, I enjoyed reading other members comments and positive feedback.  It was difficult, at times, to collaborate with the cohort because members of the cohort log in and complete assignments on various days and times.  Even so, we were able to successfully work in partnership to complete our assignments.  Through this entire process, I realize my areas of strength and areas that I need to work on.  I now feel stronger in the following areas: applying procedures for effective budget planning and management, working collaboratively with board of trustees and appropriate personnel to develop district budgets, using district and staff evaluation data for personnel policy development and decision making, applying knowledge associated with personnel management, including requirements related to certifying, recruiting, screening, selecting, evaluating, disciplining, reassigning, and dismissing personnel, managing one's own time and the time of others to enhance district operations, developing and implement plans for using technology and information systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of school district operations, and using revenue forecasting and enrollment forecasting to address personnel and budgetary needs accurately.   The areas where I need to continue to increase my knowledge are in the areas of establishing district procedures for accurate, effective, ethical purchasing and financial record keeping and reporting, and applying legal concepts, regulations, and codes as required.  I feel that I improved in the areas of facilitating and evaluating effective account auditing and monitoring that complies with legal and acquire, allocate, and manage resources according to district vision and priorities, including obtaining and using funding from various sources.  I will continue to study the budget making process as I continue my career.  I cannot truly say that I understand all aspects of it, but I plan to “sharpen my saw” and become as knowledgeable about the process as I can.  This course required me to do a lot of personal and professional reflection.   I see now that I have many more things to learn and they will not be learned overnight.  It will be through hard work, perseverance, and ethical consideration that I will become an successful administrator.    I realize that as a future superintendent that I must lead by example, serve as mentor, and earn the support of my community.  With this support, I will use flexible thinking, collaboration, and shared decision-making to make the budget making process more efficient and effective.