A unique resource for both academics and practitioners, School District Budgeting provides a comprehensive look at the resource allocation process, from developing planning guidelines to reporting the results of financial operations. An all-inclusive guide, the book provides theoretical and practical treatments of the entire budget process.

In the current climate of scandals from accounting firms, major business companies, and executives, this is a very timely book. School business officials (SBOs), the chief fiscal officers for school districts, have responsibility for large amounts of public funds. In their positions, they face many ethical dilemmas involving financial, personnel, and professional issues in school districts. However, the business side of schools is a relatively unknown area for most educators and is less open to outside scrutiny. It is also an area where there may be many temptations. Consequently, the importance of ethical leadership has never been greater. This book highlights the importance of ethical behavior in SBOs' professional lives and provides assistance in incorporating ethical considerations into decision making in education. To address the complexity and range of issues that confront SBOs, the book sets out multiple ethical frameworks to deal with different and often competing perspectives of what should be done. They include models based on what is just, caring, and inclusive of all voices, as well as community expectations, and standards set forth by professional associations. Features: Sections to help SBOs to develop their own personal and professional codes of ethics to use in their position. A general approach to recognizing and dealing effectively with ethical dilemmas faced by SBOs. Real-life case studies of ethical dilemmas written by SBOs. Will be of interest to school business officials and graduate students in educational administration programs involving financial management and school business administration.

Resource allocation decisions made by school boards, principals, and teachers are critical for they determine the adequacy and equity of resources actually made available for specific schools, educational programs and individual students. The most important resources are often concealed by aggregate state or district measures such as dollars per student. For these decisions, the most important resources are elements such as basic and supplemental staffing levels, staff time, funding amounts for textbooks and supplies, selection of new equipment (particularly technology), and support for new or renovated facilities. The authors review current practices at each important decision-making level in school districts, from the school board to the classroom. At each juncture, the findings are interpreted to reveal both the causes of the practices and their implications for improving school effectiveness. This book provides new research in helping to inform and improve resource allocation practices in schools. The general conclusion is that improvement in the resource allocation practices in education requires a shift in focus to results instead of inputs, a strong emphasis on student learning as the primary focus of decisions, and systematic evaluation of results.