Finance

Paper instructions:
Funds for public education are generated with dollars obtained from three sources; (a) Local Property Tax – a major source of funding for schools. School district’s impose a tax on local properties to fund public schools, (b) State Funds – a source of support for school districts; however, the amount of funds vary from state to state and comes from a variety of sources, and (c) Federal Funds – in comparison to state and local funds, very little support actually comes from the federal budget, but these funds help support programs like free and reduced-price lunches, technology, bilingual education, and special education. Public education relies heavily upon this method of funding. The greatest demand on the private sector is funding public education. Although property tax is the most stable source for school funds, many inequities are being debated in this current structure. As congress is constantly reviewing and revising the funding system at the federal level, it is uncertain how the increasing costs for these much needed services will be funded. As certain trends in generating taxes is being debated, more states are supporting education reform, but have set ceilings on property tax levy increases.

Activity Required Reading:
• Financing education in a climate of change. Chapters 5, 6
• Education funding sources (2008)
• School-finance reform in red and blue (2010)
Activity 3 PowerPoint
Main Task:
School personnel, the community and the state and federal policymakers each play a role in influencing how much money is raised for education and how school funds are used. School personnel make major budget decisions and the school board approves the budget which is presented to the voters. Policymakers make rules on school funding and appropriations that determine how much money is available for education and how it should be allocated to different programs. In some states, community members have a key role in approving the budget at the polls (please address procedures according to your state). The relationship between parents, schools and community members with state policymakers is the key to ensuring tax dollars are used to fund schools fairly.

Politicians, School Superintendents, Principals, School Board Members and community members each have their own perspectives and personal opinions on school funding. Although each advocates for different reasons, the realization that the current burden to fund public education relies on the tax payers is a reality. In this paper, please create a thorough analysis in comparing and contrasting the two elements listed below. Assume one of the listed roles, and present an argument for the side which you support.
1. Consolidating school districts within a state
2. Privatizing various elements of public education
Criteria:

• Evaluate the impact of school district employee contract on the school budget.

Variance, Covariance and Standard deviation are introduced in the first 3 chapters of the text book. These are important statistical concepts. They really aren’t that bad. Please use YouTube, Google and Wikipedia to gain a solid understanding of these concepts. Please complete a brief write up demonstrating your understanding of these concepts. I need to see that you know how to calculate them from a series of random variable (IE prices, or values) and how they relate to our concept of risk in finance. HINT: volatility = standard deviation = square root of variance. Variance = Total Risk.