I had so much going on this week that class seemed like a blur. I really enjoyed Friday evening’s class and hearing the three speakers giving us advice as future leaders. I was extremely excited to see Eduardo Martinez. Mr. Martinez was my learning director at Buchanan High School (he has been my favorite L.D) and I very sad to see him leave. Some of the advice given that I will walk away from all three speakers:
· Decision should be student centered
· When dealing with employee discipline make sure it is based on education code. If unsure, always consult your Human Resources and ask for next steps or procedures.
· You are what you hire!
· Make sure you document, document, document!!!
· When hiring with panel, it is important to ask for individual input. DO NOT have them pick as a panel their choice of hire. Remember it falls on the administrator not the panel if it was a “Bad” hire.
Dr. Terry Bradley is extremely knowledgeable and gave us a LOT of information on site based management-finances. I just hope that when I go into leadership that I’m not the person in charge of the District’s finances. Finance just isn’t the most exciting thing for me to learn about in administration but I know it’s important. It was interesting how the voters and teachers supported prop 98 thinking it would benefit schools but actually had a negative impact! If the schools taxes decrease then so will money for schools. Our schools must now rely on the economy. We also have to wait to see what happens on Dec. 15th –Budget Act (Trigger) and hope for the best for our schools. Some of the information I found important were:
· Majority Of Operational Revenue Raised Through Property Taxes
· The Revenue Limit Per Student is Adjusted Each Year Based On Statutory Formula (Referred To As The COLA)
· Prop. 13-Passed by the voters, imposed a Maximum Property Tax Rate of 1% of Assessed Value for all Local Governments—Cities, Counties, Special Districts, School Districts
· Prop. 98/111-Provides K-12 Education and Community Colleges with a Constitutionally Protected Portion of the State Budget. Envisioned to be Minimum State Funding for Education—Became Maximum.
· A Budget Is Not A Series Of Numbers. It Is A Reflection Of The Philosophy And Priorities Of A District
· Categorical Budgeting Must Be Closely Monitored
· A School District Can Afford To Do Anything, Just Not Everything
· Student Body Fund- Make sure you do NOT misuse funds and deposit ALL cash into the account. Don’t want to get FIRED!!!!
Nice reflection on the weekend. But, most importantly, how was the run on Sunday? ;-)
ReplyDeleteHey partner...Dr. Wise, she had a great run, and don't let her tell you otherwise. :) Although, she had a rough time walking around this week. haha! She's a stud!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post my friend. It has been a great experience going through this cohort but most of all it's been great completing this along side my office mate.
I have to agree with you. This last weeks worth of presentations has been great. So much important information. I know we will use it for many years. Dr. Bradley is incredibly intelligent. It was great to hear from him.
Dr wise, the marathon was mentally and physically harder than I imagined. My calfs and arches cramped up at mile 18 through mile 26.2! I don't think I trained enough because I was afraid to re-injure my IT band. Overall, I met my goal for my 1st marathon and qualified for Boston. :) Thank you for asking and I enjoyed your class.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Irene! Congratulations on your marathon achievement!
ReplyDeleteI too came away with much to tthink about after our class seasons! I agree that the advice given about panel interviews not being given the power to choose was great advice! I had not considered this in the past! I have enjoyed getting to know you and am sorry we have no more class meetings!