Article Reflections - 6/29

I loved Jacquie Henry's plan in "Book Budgets - Hanging On to What is Yours". She must have learned from mistakes to protect her library budget. I did not know that this was possible. She fills out three "Do Not Exceed" purchase orders at the beginning of the year, so in the eyes of the budget office, her money is already spent. I also liked the categories she breaks the orders down into: replacements and updates for outdated books, non-fiction books to support curriculum, and literature and fiction to support English, Language Arts, and Reading.

Doug Johnson gives great suggestions for creating an outcome driven budget proposal in his blog post "Budgeting for Mean, Lean Time Part 5". He says that good, outcome driven budgets have three components: goals - the effect a funded program has on student learning, specificity - exactly how much you want and exactly how you will spend it, and assessment - how you will be able to tell the the money helped the program to meet its goals. Doug also says to use local needs and objectives because they will have a larger impact.

In "Help Sweep Up the Budget Dust," Doug Johnson discusses that end of the school year money that is sometimes left over. I agree, many times you can get what you want at the end of the year. Administrators tend to be frugal throughout the year, which often leads to the leftover, the "budget dust".

In "Zero-Sum Budgets and Technology," Johnson gives suggestions for getting money when there really isn't much money left to get. He talks about the outcome driven plan and its components. He also suggests describing the consequences of an under-funded program. How will this impact technology users? Use examples from the school. He also says that others need to understand "maintenance" when it comes to technology. Without yearly maintenance, the technology will decline. He also suggests using an advisory committee. Rally support from parents, students, and teachers. As a group, your voice will be louder. The last thing that Johnson suggests is to serve in school and professional leadership roles. Go to meetings for various committees, serve on boards, join professional organizations. The more you do, the more your voice will be heard.

We are in tough times, especially when it comes to schools and budgets. I know that the administration at my school is terrified for the 2012-2013 school year when budgets are slated to be slashed. They are even talking about cutting a library position. The high school librarian would serve the high school 3 days a week and the middle school the other 2 days. Budget cuts make administrators take drastic measures.