Robyn Allphin-Navasota ISD-Webb Elementary

1.         Develop strategies for funding.

With the current budget crisis in the Texas public schools, school districts have to be more resourceful and careful with how funds are allotted.  “Meeting the needs of schools, teachers, and students in this technological age does not come without a price tag” (University of Illinois, 1999).  Therefore school districts must seek out funding from federal, state, and local entities.  “The federal government acknowledges it must take a leadership role, it must also encourage state governments and local communities to help with the financial burden the schools face” (University of Illinois, 1999). 

Strategies for funding:

*Create Technology Plan that follows TEA guidelines

*E-rate:  “Based on the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC created the E-rate program to provide schools and libraries affordable access to advanced telecommunications services” (What is E-rate, n.d.). 

*Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST):  “The purpose of the financial accountability rating system is to ensure school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources” (Texas Education Agency, 2012).  Our district’s strategy will to gain a passing rating score from the FIRST rating system. 

*Seek out TEA Grants by looking and applying for them according to TEA Grant Opportunities Calendar (Texas Education Agency, 2012)

2.         Develop strategies for management plans.

*Each campus within NISD will have a campus technology plan

*Evaluate and adjust technology plan once a year

*Provide data disaggregating software to teachers and administrators

*Provide software and updates for online Gradebook for record keeping of student grades and attendance

*Keep ParentsChoice (automated phone calling system) for communication and notifying parents

*Automated tracking software, Zenworks, will be update regularly and reports ran regularly

*Installation of remote management tool for work order tracking, trouble-shooting, and district’s website

*District’s infrastructure will be kept up-to-date and protected from intruders and viruses

*Annual maintenance agreements will be developed and planned for all management software and hardware

*Equipment inventory will be updated whenever new equipment is purchased

*Backup servers will be kept current

*all newly purchased computers will have minimum 3 year warranty

3.       Describe the required procedures for the proposed strategies.

*E-rate:

1.  bid all eligible service on SLD website and select most cost effective proposal after minimum of 28 days

2.  obtain technology plan approval from TEA

            a.  plan must have clear goals and realistic strategies for using telecommunication and information technology to improve education or library services

            b.  include professional development strategies

            c.  include assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services needed to improve education and libraru services

            d.  provide sufficient budget for acquiring and supporting non-discounted elements of plan

            e.  include evaluation process to monitor progress and make modifications to plan when new opportunities arise

(What is E-rate?, n.d.)

*FIRST:

            1.  district create plan to manage financial resources to “provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes” (Texas Education Agency, 2012)

            2.  Pass with achievable standards according to FIRST ratings:  superior achievement, above standard achievement, standard achievement

  *hold public meeting to present financial management report and explain the district’s scores of 22 indicators for current and prior year within 2 months of receiving FIRST rating

 *notify public and taxpayers of meeting through newspaper “not be more than 30 days prior to or less than 14 days prior to the public meeting” (Texas Education Agency, 2012)

         a.  meeting should be combined with a regular scheduled board of trustees meeting

         b.  review all parts of financial management report, including disclosures

*post on district’s website or in financial management report the reimbursements

         a.  presented to superintendent and board of trustees

*TEA Grants:  Each grant has different requirements and procedures.  The technology facilitator, with the help of our grant writer, will read through each set of guidelines and due dates to determine if we are eligible. 

            1.  Federal Grants:

                        a.  American Reinvestment and Recovery Act

                        b.  Carl D. Perkins

                        c.  Education Jobs Fund

                        d.  No Child Left Behind

                        e.  School Improvement Program

                        f.  Special Education and IDEA-B Discretionary Deaf

                        g.  Statewide Longitudinal Data System LEA Grant

                        h.  Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2 – Rural Low Income School Program

2.  State Grants

                        a.  Life Skills Parenting Program

                        b.  Optional Extended Year Program

                        c.  Prekindergarten Early Start (PKES) Tier 2, Year 2

                        d.  Special Education

                        e.  Student Clubs Grant, Cycle 2

                        f.  Student Success Initiative Program  (SSI)

                        g.  Texas Fitness Now Program

                        h.  Texas Ninth Grade Transition and Intervention Grant Program (TNGTI)

            3.  Local and Private Entities Grants

                        a.  Navasota Education Foundation

                        b.  Bill Gates Foundation

Management Strategies Policies and Procedures for Implementation:

*Each campus within NISD will have a campus technology plan.  This will be created by the campus’ technology teachers, lab manager, librarian, and a selected committee.  It must be approved by the Director of Technology and the school board. 

*Evaluate and adjust technology plan once a year.  This will be done by technology committee, community members, central office administrators, librarians, principals, assistant principals, academic coordinators, and select teachers and lab managers.  In addition, it must be approved by the school board.

*Provide data disaggregating software to teachers and administrators.  Policy that administrators on each campus must provide annual report of implementation and evidence of student accountability scores are increasing

*Provide software and updates for online Gradebook for record keeping of student grades and attendance.  Policy and Procedure include software support and updates are kept current each school year.

*Keep ParentsChoice (automated phone calling system) for communication and notifying parents:  A procedure and chain of command policy will be put into place – only administered by District Technology Specialist, Principals, and Attendance Clerks.  Other faculty members must submit requests to technology specialist. 

*Automated tracking software, Zenworks, will be update regularly and reports ran regularly.  Policy and Procedures include:  reports must be ran on a monthly basis showing the software installed, workstation specs, and malfunctions of all PC’s on network

*Installation of remote management tool for work order tracking, trouble-shooting, and district’s website.  Policy will include:  managed by District Technology Specialist and data reports showing reduction in wait-time has been accomplished

*District’s infrastructure will be kept up-to-date and protected from intruders and viruses:  A contract with an outside company will require them to ensure hardware and software will be kept up-to-date and protected as long as the contract term is in place to ensure viruses are contained and no intruders are getting into the system

*Annual maintenance agreements will be developed and planned for all management software and hardware:  A contract for each company and manufacturer will be signed.

*Equipment inventory will be updated whenever new equipment is purchased:  A Google Doc’s inventory list will be shared with each responsible person per campus.  A policy will be put in place requiring that person to enter the new equipment within 3 business days of it arriving

*Backup servers will be kept current:  policy will be put in place to require servers to be backed up at least once a week for offsite locations and daily for each campus

*all newly purchased computers will have minimum 3 year warranty:  vendors will be notified immediately through district’s technology specialist – proper chain of command procedures will be followed

References:

Texas Education Agency. (2012, February 8). Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST). Texas Education Agency . Retrieved March 16, 2012, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3864&menu_id=645

Texas Education Agency. (2012, March 12). TEA Grant Resources. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved March 16, 2012, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147487920&menu_id=951

University of Illinois. (1999, March 1). Funding issues. Ethical and Policy Issues in Informational Technologies. Retrieved March 16, 2012, from http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/access/funding.html

 What is E-rate?. (n.d.). TPESC. Retrieved March 16, 2012, from http://tpesc.esc12.net/erate/default.html