Saturday, October 2, 2010
Action Research
This is the foundation of how change can happen and happen in a hurry! Defined simply as doing research with a group of people to improve the way something is done or functions, action research is an absolute must in any organization that wants to be at the fore front of change. This school year, I've learned more about this process than at any time prior because we are actively engaging in it in College Station ISD. As school administrators, we are obligated to be good stewards of the tax payers money and to best utilize the resources we have. The simple solution to budget shortfalls, either real or projected, is to raise taxes a penny or two at a time to gain an increase of a few hundred thousand dollars. This will dry out and become unpopular- there is no question about it. In CSISD, all district administrators have been broken into budget reduction committees, looking a how the district can save money with the upcoming opening of our 8th elementary school in 2011 and our 2nd high school in 2012. We've been charged with looking at areas ranging from the way the school day is constructed to temperatures in the class and all areas in between. As committees, we've been tasked with looking at how other school districts operate, their costs, and how we can streamline our efforts while maintaining the high level of education that is currently going on in our schools. This is the true definition of action research and utilizing it is allowing our district get real solutions in a timely manner.
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What are some of the ways you've found that people are willing to support for "budget sake?"
ReplyDeleteChris, your district's effort to find cost savings is a good example. Not only will raising the tax rate become unpopular--it already is--but the law places a limit on tax rates. This limit impacts the M & O budget significantly and, in a district in which new schools are coming on line, resources must be allocated efficiently. The I & S Budget provides resources for new buildings and capital improvements, but the cost of running those new facilities in the future will fall under the M & O Budget. Blogs and Wikis may be excellent tools to help you and your colleagues identify strategies for maximizing limited resources. Jimmy Creel
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of things people have been willing to do without any real push back- one is a more staggerd start time, allowing busses to run one additonal route, meaning less drivers and less busses. Pretty simple, supported by tranportation, and you can save up to a half million dollars (salaries, maintanence, etc). Another is an understanding that teachers may have to teach 6 sections instead of 5- this has been tougher and is just in a discussion phase, but there is a genral understanding that we have to look at it.
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