0.3 Preparing and training superintendents for the mission of  (Page 7/23)

Fiscal Planning

This important management task plans and sets spending patterns for present and future budget years. Competentfiscal planning establishes a reality frame around which a district can create a strategic plan. A critical decision made yearly by thesuperintendent is the forecasted revenue upon which to build next year’s budget. Incompetent fiscal planning and revenue forecasting may result in the district not meeting program commitments,incurring unexpected budget deficits, and creating distrust with district personnel and in the community. Knowledge of state,county, and local tax revenue systems is imperative.

An often overlooked fiscal planning task is that of forecasting the future number of children to be served.Particularly in districts with budgets driven by state aid formulas, the number of children to be served is a critical budget variable. Knowledge of demographic variables and forecasting isvery important to fiscal and facility planning.

Budgeting

Allocating sufficient funds to each district program is a very difficult process. The superintendent does notusually make budget decisions alone. However, the superintendent must deploy and supervise the budget system in the district. Thestructure of budget systems is often mandated by the state. Although district staff may participate in the budgeting process byproviding input, the final decisions about how scarce resources are to be allocated rests with the superintendent and ultimately theschool board. After board (and state) approval, the superintendent must implement a plan to implement and manage the budget. This taskcan be complicated in districts with bottom up types of budget systems.

Accounting

While superintendents are not expected to be certified accountants it is important for them to competentlymanage cash (sometimes accrual) accounting systems. Most important they must be able to adequately use the fund accounting systemsrequired by state departments of education. In perhaps nine out of every ten districts the superintendent participates daily indistrict accounting processes (Ray, Hack,&Candoli, 2001).

Debt Management

Due to reliance of school districts on state funding systems, most districts on a routine basis incur short andlong term debt. Understanding bonding systems and borrowing options available to the district are very important management options.Districts frequently use short term borrowing to meet cash flow problems. In most districts cash flow management is a veryimportant task for the superintendent to oversee.

Investing

All districts, large and small, have funds to invest in short term or long term options. These funds augmentregular program funds and often provide for a“rainy day”crisis. Superintendents often make almost daily decisions regarding thestructuring and use of district financial investments.

Auditing

The annual external audit is but one part of the districts auditing requirements. Cash accounts must beinternally audited on a frequent basis. Program progress audits are often required by states as well. Federal auditing procedures, manytimes, do not align with state systems and this creates a challenge for superintendents. Understanding state auditing standards is alegal as well as professional obligation of superintendents. Bad audit reports in recent years have claimed the careers of more thanseveral urban superintendents unaware their districts were many millions of dollars in debt.