Understanding School Funding

Topic: Understanding School Funding:

There have been several school funding programs over the years that have gained attention in the educational community because of how they succeeded and the difficulties they presented when they were implemented. As an educational leader, you will be expected to have a firm understanding of these programs and how they can have a positive impact on your school budget that you wish to implement.

There will be those in your community who come to you with questions about the school budget and to have a better understanding of where the funding comes from. How will you explain these programs and funding formulas to someone who is not familiar with the budgeting process?

For this discussion, suppose you are a lead teacher of a public school and you have the task of writing an article on school budgets for your local newspaper. This will provide you a forum to get the correct information out to the public and hopefully end any misinformation.

After reading the articles linked below, post a 300- to 500-word opinion piece that explains the initial intent of the documents, your role in promoting the success of a school’s budget, and the state and federal functions you must address in your budget. Support your thoughts with references and citations.

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn

U.S. Department of Education. (2019). Fiscal year 2019 summary and background information. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget19/summary/19summary.pdf

U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Education budget prioritizes students, empowers parents, saves taxpayer dollars.  https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-budget-prioritizes-students-empowers-parents-saves-taxpayer-dollars