Understanding School Budgets and Allocating Resources

Write a 2- to 3-page proposal to the faculty, in which you:Write a 2- to 3-page proposal to the faculty, in which you:
Explain how you will reallocate school resources to provide small-group time in the sixth-grade reading classes.Identify the number of minutes of small-group time to be provided weekly.Explain how the proposed plan will be financed and which non-instructional position(s) will be eliminated.Present a financial breakdown of the reallocation of school resources within a simple spreadsheet.The spreadsheet should contain at least one formula to total all the values in a column and that updates its result if values change later on.Explain how you made your choices.Provide a research-based explanation for the trade-offs and rationale behind these choices.Address possible concerns or obstacles in response to the plan.
Understanding School Budgets and Allocating Resources
This worksheet will help you decide how much small-group time you are going to providesixth-grade reading students and how you will finance thisstrategy.

You will use this information to complete Case StudyB:

You need to hire additional teachers (e.g., reading experts, part-time teachers to train in reading instruction) to work in collaboration with reading classroom teachers; each one will take a small group for readinginstruction.

Togeneratethefundstohiretheseteachers,youneedtoeliminateotherpositions(whichwillfreeup those salaries). According to district policy, you must finance this change solely by eliminating non- instructionalpositions.

The district office has given you the following information, which is based on the averageteacher salary at your school and allows for the addition of two teachers in each classroom during small- group time to ensure three groups of approximately eight students in eachclass:

By eliminating one or more positions,with salary totals of $55,288 (plus or minus $2,500), you willbe able to hire enough teachers to cover 45 minutes per week of small-group reading time for every sixthgrader. By eliminating one or more positions,with salary totals of $110,576 (plus or minus $5,000), you will be able to hire enough teachers to cover 90 minutes per week of small-group reading time for every sixthgrader. By eliminating one or more positions,with salary totals of $165,864 (plus or minus $7,500), you will be able to hire enough teachers to cover 135 minutes per week of small-group reading time for every sixthgrader.

The following chart (also found in the Case Study Documents as “Exhibit E: Non-Instructional Positions”) lists the non-instructional positions at Lincoln Middle School and the number of full-time equivalents employed in eachposition:

Non-Instructional Positions
Full-Time Equivalents
AssistantPrincipal
1.0
CafeteriaWorker
2.5
Counselor
3.0
Custodian
3.0
Diagnostician
1.0
FamilySupport
1.0
InstructionalAide
14.0
Librarian
1.0
LibraryAide
2.0
Nurse
1.0
OccupationalTherapist
1.0
OfficeAide
3.0
Principal
1.0
Psychologist
1.0
Secretary
2.0
SecurityOfficer
1.0
SocialWorker
1.0
SpeechSpecialist
1.0
Total
40.5

Refer to the “Exhibit C: Uses of Funds” Excel spreadsheet document (listed in the Case Study Documents) to view the average salary for each non-instructional position. Translate the salary of the position(s) you wish to eliminate into the equivalent teacher salary (using the average teacher salary of$55,288).Whenconsideringwhichposition(s)toeliminate,youmayfigureonplusorminus$5,000 (e.g., if the total for positions you wish to eliminate is a number between $105,576 and $115,576, you may count this as 2.0 equivalents). Use this information to help you decide which position(s) to eliminate.