Introduction
The principals of elementary and middle schools all do follow the same budgeting process. The budgeting process that guides the principals of both elementary and middle schools is provided by their specific districts. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection on the interviews conducted with the principals of the elementary and middle schools about their budgets. The reflection focuses on the experiences got and lessons learnt as well as comparison and contrast of the two budgets. The principal interviewed for the elementary school budget was Lisa Gilkerson of Glenkirk Elementary School, Gaiensville, VA. The one interviewed for the middle schools was Carole Crawford of Bridgeport Middle School, Bridgeport, WV. Interestingly, despite the fact that the process of requesting supplies as well as services for the operation of a school is similar for both the elementary and middle schools, their budgets are significantly different.
Similarities between the two budgets
There are a few similarities between elementary and middle school budgets that were established from the two interviews. Firstly, principals of the two schools confessed that they have a very significant input in terms of the expenditure of funds provided by the budget. The two principals confessed that they are the ones who approve high expenditures of funds. In the middle school, the principal is the one who guides the school budget. It was also common practice for principals to operate by some set rules regarding the way they use the school funds. In both the elementary and middle schools, the principals do not have the full discretion in terms use of the school budget funds. In the case of the elementary school, the principal has some limited level to at which he can spend the school funds.
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Differences
As mentioned in the thesis statement of this paper, there are quite striking differences between the elementary and middle school budgets (Grosskopf et al., 2015). These differences arise from the way the school budget funds are spent, their complexities and components. In the case of the elementary school, the interviewed principal confessed that he did not receive any financial training before assuming financial responsibilities as the administrator of the school. For the elementary school principals who receive training, then it is very little one. However, the middle school principals are trained on financial management skills through the Principals Leadership Training Program. Moreover, the state provides the middle school principals with an Accounting Procedures Manual every year, something that does not happen for the case of the elementary school administrators.
Moreover, elementary schools, as learned from the Glenkirk ES, receive some significant financial support from the parents association. Therefore, the elementary schools do not depend on funds from the state alone. However, the PTA, PTO or the Booster Club does not raise any funds in support of the middle school budget. The Booster Club runs as a separate entity in the middle schools.
Middle schools have sound financial structures where financial advice is sought by the principal during the budget making process. The positions of people who give middle school principals financial advice include the financial secretary, the faculty senate officers and assistant principal. There are no such structures in the elementary schools. The interviewed elementary school principal said financial advice is sought from other principals and area education leaders.
Apply this knowledge in the future
I would apply the knowledge got from the interviews in future by encouraging the school principals to attend training on the use of funds. The knowledge gained from this interview will also enable me to advice principals on how to seal all the loopholes that lead to mismanagement of school funds.
References
Grosskopf, S., Hayes, K., Taylor, L. L., & Weber, W. (2015). Centralized or decentralized control of school resources? A network model. Journal of Productivity Analysis , 43 (2), 139-150.
