The Echo

Part I.  What the Most Recent Legislation Requires:

One of the trickier areas of Boardsmanship for me is Finance and understanding how Christina's schools are funded.  Fortunately, I was able to attend last night's Finance Management for School Board Members class, a mandated course taught in conjunction with Delaware's Department of Education and the Delaware School Board Association.

The most common way educators look at school finance in terms of "units," the number of teachers generated by the number of students present in a building on September 30th.  We groan about that date because it presents one of Delaware's hardest obstacles: Overcrowded classrooms throughout the month of September in many of our state's public schools.  Last year Delaware's legislators attempted to change that date in their education reform bills, but the stipulation never made it to fruition.  Hopefully, we'll see a renewed effort in Dover come January when legislative sessions reconvene.

The Legislation of 2007 and 2010:

In 2005 and 2006, Delaware witnessed Christina's financial meltdown.  I was a new parent at the time, my eldest had been in school only a year or so.  Like so many other parents and tax payers I was furious with how poorly my district's money had been handled.  But, from mistakes and meltdowns, we all shall learn:  Delaware's Legislators responded with a plan to create an early warning system for all Delaware districts.

In 2007, legislators passed their first finance reform act.  It required:
1) School Board members to attend financial responsibility training
2) The addition of a third Local Finance Position Report due on Feb 1st of each year.  (Prior to this mandate, districts were only required to submit these reports in May and August.)
3)Authorization for DOE to intervene when a school district meets the criteria for financial distress
4)Authorized the wit holding of 25% of state funds until the August 31 report is received.

In 2010, legislators took action again with a heightened emphasis on Financial Transparency and Board Member Accountability.
1) District Financial Advisory Groups (Christina already has one in place)
2) Finance reporting on District Websites
3) The publication of a District checkbook on its website (which is actually a link to the State of Delaware's On line checkbook.)