Upcoming Events
Monday, 12/8 Iowa Testing, Kinder
Tuesday, 12/9 Iowa testing, Kinder
Wednesday, 12/10 Iowa Testing, Kinder
Thursday, 12/11 Iowa Testing, Kinder; Spelling Pre-Bee, 7:15 a.m.
Friday, 12/12 Iowa Testing, Kinder; NTB Book Talk, 11:30-12:30; Faculty Caroling, 6:00 p.m.
Monday, 12/8 Iowa Testing, Kinder
Tuesday, 12/9 Iowa testing, Kinder
Wednesday, 12/10 Iowa Testing, Kinder
Thursday, 12/11 Iowa Testing, Kinder; Spelling Pre-Bee, 7:15 a.m.
Friday, 12/12 Iowa Testing, Kinder; NTB Book Talk, 11:30-12:30; Faculty Caroling, 6:00 p.m.
Monday, 12/15 3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, 12/16 3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 12/17 Community Exhibition, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 12/18
Friday, 12/19 Classroom Winter Holiday Parties
School Funding, Part 1
Where Does the Money Come From?
In the State of Texas, schools are funded through a combination of local tax revenue and state dollars based on a per unit allocation. Approximately 80% of school funding in HISD is generated by local tax revenue, with approximately 20% coming from the state. The amount of money provided by the state varies depending on local tax revenue. Districts can increase school funding by raising taxes, but often have to share that increased revenue with the state for redistribution to other poorer districts, referred to as a"Robinhood" funding system.
Districts receive money for each student enrolled. For the 2013-14 school year, HISD received approximately $6,000 for each "unit". Most school districts centralize funds and make decisions for all campuses. In HISD, we recognize that our district is very diverse and the needs of one campus are not necessarily the same as the needs of another campus. We operate under a decentralized budget.
Within a decentralized budget system, some services are centralized, such as maintenance, utilities, accounting, purchasing, human resources, assessment and textbooks. Other funding decisions are made at the campus level, such as whether or not the campus needs a reading specialist or a librarian or a school nurse. The decentralized budget allows us to choose and fund programs like IB and more rigorous curriculum like Everyday Math. The decentralized campus budget is based on a per unit allocation of $3470 in the general fund.
So what is a unit? Each year in January we project the number of students we expect to have enrolled at the campus in the upcoming school year. That number is multiplied by our average daily attendance to create the number of units in our base allocation for which we will be funded. For instance, if we project 100 students, and our average daily attendance during the prior year was 97.3%, then we will be funded for 97.3 units with our preliminary budget.
Schools also receive weighted units for students who have special learning needs, such as limited English proficiency, special education or those identified as gifted and talented. For instance, this year we have 292 students who qualify as gifted and talented, creating Special Populations Refined Units (292 x .12) of 35.04. Special Population Refined Units are then added to the Base Allocation, and multiplied by the "per unit allocation".
For those interested in learning more about this topic, take a few minutes to view a video at http://vimeo.com/60502113.
Next week learn more about how we use our decentralized funds to create a budget that best meets the needs of children at Roberts.
Tuesday, 12/16 3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 12/17 Community Exhibition, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 12/18
Friday, 12/19 Classroom Winter Holiday Parties
School Funding, Part 1
Where Does the Money Come From?
In the State of Texas, schools are funded through a combination of local tax revenue and state dollars based on a per unit allocation. Approximately 80% of school funding in HISD is generated by local tax revenue, with approximately 20% coming from the state. The amount of money provided by the state varies depending on local tax revenue. Districts can increase school funding by raising taxes, but often have to share that increased revenue with the state for redistribution to other poorer districts, referred to as a"Robinhood" funding system.
Districts receive money for each student enrolled. For the 2013-14 school year, HISD received approximately $6,000 for each "unit". Most school districts centralize funds and make decisions for all campuses. In HISD, we recognize that our district is very diverse and the needs of one campus are not necessarily the same as the needs of another campus. We operate under a decentralized budget.
Within a decentralized budget system, some services are centralized, such as maintenance, utilities, accounting, purchasing, human resources, assessment and textbooks. Other funding decisions are made at the campus level, such as whether or not the campus needs a reading specialist or a librarian or a school nurse. The decentralized budget allows us to choose and fund programs like IB and more rigorous curriculum like Everyday Math. The decentralized campus budget is based on a per unit allocation of $3470 in the general fund.
So what is a unit? Each year in January we project the number of students we expect to have enrolled at the campus in the upcoming school year. That number is multiplied by our average daily attendance to create the number of units in our base allocation for which we will be funded. For instance, if we project 100 students, and our average daily attendance during the prior year was 97.3%, then we will be funded for 97.3 units with our preliminary budget.
Schools also receive weighted units for students who have special learning needs, such as limited English proficiency, special education or those identified as gifted and talented. For instance, this year we have 292 students who qualify as gifted and talented, creating Special Populations Refined Units (292 x .12) of 35.04. Special Population Refined Units are then added to the Base Allocation, and multiplied by the "per unit allocation".
For those interested in learning more about this topic, take a few minutes to view a video at http://vimeo.com/60502113.
Next week learn more about how we use our decentralized funds to create a budget that best meets the needs of children at Roberts.
What is Spelling Pre-Bee?
All students in grades 3-5 who are interested in competing in this year's spelling bee must qualify through the Pre-Bee. This will be a written qualifier test using words from the Scripts National Spelling Bee list. Teachers have copies of the student list. The Pre-Bee will begin promptly at 7:15 am. on Thursday, December 11th. There will be no late admittance.
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