EDLD+5343+School+Finance+-+Comparing+District+Improvement+Plans

My district’s improvement plan is very straightforward. There are twelve strategic goals. Each goal has a description and then a table with the following from left to right: Activities/Strategies, Barriers/Obstacles, Person(s) Responsible, Resources, Timeline, and Evaluation (Measurable, Data Driven). There are no dollar figures attached to any of the activities/strategies except in a few cases where there are specific federal funds being used. The plan is very detailed, yet it is organized so anyone can understand what the districts goals are, and how we plan to reach those goals.

The Austin ISD plan, on the other hand, is a convoluted mess. I am unsure as to the districts goals and plan. There are several pages of extraneous information, such as meeting notes, memoranda, etc. It is only when one reaches Appendix A and Appendix B that one sees how the district is spending state compensatory education funds, grant funds, and federal monies. Appendix B is similar in format to my district’s improvement plan, but that is where the similarity ends.

I think the Austin ISD plan is a collection of smoke and mirrors trying to show the public how the budgeting process is supposed to work in theory, and then they append the compliance document at the end to show where they are spending the monies that must be shown by law in the district improvement plan. If I were a community member unfamiliar with education, this document would confuse me. I do not think I would make it past the first few pages. I have looked over the document several times and I cannot paraphrase the vision, mission, and goals of the district. I understand the budgeting process in my district. I know that it is important to have goals in place so you know where to allocate funds. The Austin ISD plan does not give me any indication of how to allocate funds. My district’s plan, on the other hand, is very useful in determining where funds should be allocated. I can put my district plan beside the budget and see how everything lines up. I cannot do this with the Austin ISD plan. Last school year when we had to cut $4.5 million out of the budget, the superintendent went to all of the department heads to see where monies could be cut. When I compared the cuts to the district improvement plan, I can see that there were fewer cuts and smaller cuts in the areas with the most activities and strategies in the district improvement plan.

I believe the district improvement plan should be a straightforward, easy-to-read document. There should be goals that are aligned to the mission and vision of the school district. Those goals should have activities and/or strategies listed that help the district to achieve those goals. Money, personnel, and other resources should be allocated to those activities/strategies to ensure success. Finally, there should be a timeline and evaluation piece to ensure that the activities/strategies are being successful.