Finding Financial Resources

Unit 8

Introduction
Without financial resources a school cannot survive; indeed unless a certain minimum level of financial provision is reached the effective operation of a school in terms of the quality of education offered is threatened. Note there­fore, that the title of this unit is 'Finding Financial Resources', since it is quite likely that no school can exist just on what the funding authority provides, but will have to find and create additional funds.

Funds are needed to:

¨ help facilitate the implementation of school policies and programmes
¨ enable activities such as educational tours and excursions to take place
¨ assist in the involvement of pupils in extra‑curricular activities such as music and sports
¨ assist in the development of schools as educational establishments.

In this unit we consider ways in which additional financial resources may be obtained. You should also study Unit 3 'Mobilising financial resources' in Module 5 Financial Management.
Note: Before working through this unit you should be aware of regulations and principles which should be observed in the raising and management of additional financial resources.

Individual study time: 3 hours

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:

· describe the limitations of the Government of Guyana in providing financial resources
explain the need for careful management and control of the school budget
· understand the need to make a budget for the school and the necessity for the careful management and control of this budget.
· identify ways in which government provision can be supplemented
encourage parents, pupils and teachers actively to participate in fundraising activities
· use financial resources to promote learning and teaching in schools clarify the purpose of fund raising so as to stimulate support for fundraising efforts.
Principles and constraints of financing schools

Consider for a moment the main principles which you think govern the financing of schools.
Identify some of the main constraints you face as a school head in finding and managing additional financial resources for your school.

Comments
The main principles governing the financing of schools include:

All finances both from government and other sources must be properly recorded and controlled.
In the school, the head and the head only, is responsible and finally accountable for all financial management.
All financial provision should be marshaled for the benefit of the pupils.

Constraints
There are many constraints which school heads have to face in finding and managing additional financial resources. They include the following:

The need to observe correct procedures in some fundraising ventures may operate as a restriction.
Inadequate government provision of funds can undermine educational initiatives.
The low economic level of the local community may result in an overdependence on outside funding.
In urban areas a lack of sense of community may make it more difficult to develop a sense of commitment to the local school.
Boarding schools often have no local community.
The initiative, confidence and financial knowledge of the school head may be inadequate.
Audits of the accounts of a school may be based on financial rather than educational expertise.
The academic year is not the same as the financial year.
The head and the staff may lack the skills necessary to marshal others such as the PTA to raise funds.

Government financial provisions
In Guyana, government through the Ministry of Education is the main source of funding for schools. There are two main categories of such funding, namely, capital (development) funding and recurrent funding.

Capital funding is not the direct concern of the head of school. Decisions in this regard are made at higher levels, but the head should lobby for favourable decisions to be made when necessary. Recurrent funding is the provision of money to run the school for a particular financial year, and is managed by the Ministry and Departments of Education on behalf of all schools.
The head has to be aware of the limitations of government to cover all expenditures, particularly in innovative activities which often help to distinguish one school from the rest. In such areas additional funding from non‑governmental sources will be needed. It is, however, unfortunately true that the ability of the government to pay for even basic capital and recurrent expenditures is limited, so that additional funds from alternative sources are required by many schools both for capital projects and for supplementing recurrent funds.

Activity 8.1
Indicate whether the items in below are likely to be funded through capital or recurrent funding, or through neither.

¨ The provision of additional classrooms
¨ Teachers' salaries
¨ Teaching resources
¨ Computers
¨ Software for computers
¨ The provision of a computer room
¨ Food for pupils
¨ Travelling costs
¨ Building the school kitchen
¨ The purchase of sports equipment
¨ 20th Anniversary celebrations
¨ Student textbooks
¨ Purchase of a school vehicle
¨ Prizes for Prize‑giving

Comments
The nature of your answers will depend very much on how much money the Ministry of Education makes available to you to spend on education. Where funds are fairly freely available most of the funds, whether capital or recurrent, will come from the Ministry. But sometimes, where the opposite is true, funding is severely limited. Then maybe many of the items on this list will be funded from alternative sources, except, perhaps, teachers' salaries.

Planning for recurrent funding
Your school is dependent on the regular funding provided by Government and that this is the only expected source of finance available. Recurrent funds are based on the head's estimate of the money needed for the school to operate properly during the next financial year. In the initial stage the money requested in the different areas of school management is entirely dependent on the head's awareness and knowledge of what is needed and what may be obtained. The head's submission to the Ministry and the Department of Education is the principle source of information used to allocate funds.

Activity 8.2
Consider the list below and decide which of the items should the Head use when making out recurrent estimates for the school? Can you add any more items to the list?

Items for preparing recurrent estimates

1. Last year's recurrent estimates
2. Last year's electricity / telephone / water bills
3. Estimated costs for a new classroom
4. Present school staffing establishment
5. Cost of maintaining school grounds and playing fields
6. Ministry menu for pupil meals
7. Financial records for the previous year
8. List of medical supplies
9. Pupils' files
10. Present stock of sports equipment
11. Previous year's commitment ledger
12. Consumable stock register
13. The state of the school playing field
14. The distance of the school from the Ministry
15. The current rate of inflation

Comments
The range of items on this list demonstrates the diversity of information which has to be gathered in order to prepare the annual school estimates. Basically, the Headteacher must gather together all of the costs which the school incurs on a regular basis in order to carry out its function as a school. This will include all costs for services such as water, electricity, telephone etc, repair and maintenance of the school and its property, maintenance of grounds, purchase of instructional materials (consumable and non consumable). In addition, supporting paperwork will be required to back up the claim.

The information required and the means of funding schools is reveiwed by the Ministry on a regualr basis and, therfore, trainees should consult current legislation. See also Module 5 Financial Management.

Finding financial resources
As was suggested at the start of this unit, the emphasis here is on the word 'finding'.
All school heads must look for ways of augmenting their school's financial resources. Community involvement in this venture may increase community interest in the school; so the first source of extra finances should be your local community.

Consider for a moment the type of money raising activities that are likely to succeed in your community.

Comment
Every school and every area is different. Often the ability to raise funds will be dependent on the socio-economic area from which the school draws its pupils. This is not necessarily to say that children from poorer backgrounds will not have parents who will wish to support the school fully. However, the type and scope of the events may be different.

The following are often used to raise funds for schools:-

Sponsored events, (for example, walk, swim, spell, run), dances, discos, raffles, film shows, jumble sales, fetes, cake sales, fancy dress competitions, concerts, the sale of produce and the operation of a school canteen.

Remember that in Guyana, the Head should encourage others such as the PTA, Past Students’ Associations and the local community to raise funds for the school rather than doing it himself / herself.

Activity 8.3
A regular source of income comes from the contingency fund operated by many schools. In this way a regular amount of funding can be anticipated each year.

1. Choose the action you would take if a parent of a child refused to pay the levy from the following list. Would you:

make a home visit in the case of a non‑paying parent?
suspend the child from school until the levy is paid?
allow the child to attend school but instruct teachers not to issue the child with any materials or equipment?
meet with the parents to persuade them?
inform the PTA so that social pressures can be exerted?
publish names of pupils whose parents default?
report the child to the local school welfare officer?
make allowance for a proportion of poorer parents not to pay?

2. Can you think of any other appropriate action which might be effective?
Comments
It is important to involve both community and school in all stages of fundraising, planning, implementation and assessment of results. Some activities are ongoing with money being raised on a regular basis, for example, through the school canteen; others are single occasions aimed at raising fairly large sums. A school should organise a 'mix' of these activities.
The ability of a school to raise funds through contingency funds will depend on such factors as the amounts already being required, the income levels of parents, and the demand for places in the school. If too many parents refuse to pay then the scheme will be discredited and collapse. A distinction should be drawn, if possible, between parents who are reluctant to pay and those with genuine difficulties.

The need for supplementary fundraising
When a fundraising activity is promoted, the first task is to decide which educational need of the school will be satisfied by the money raised. The amount of money to be raised and the way in which the money will be spent must then be communicated to the community so that there is full support for the activity.

In most cases, it will be obvious to the Headteacher where there is an educational need. However, there may be so many that fundraising alone will not be able to meet them and, therefore, it is necessary to prioritise so that the money will be put to the best use. In addition, it is important to gain the enthusiasm of those who will do the work of fundraising. The scheme must be one which is “close to their hearts” and particularly, in the case of the PTA, which will directly benefit their children. Below you will find some suggestions of who you might consult and the process you might go through to help you decide upon your priorities.

· Consultation with PTA
· Consultation with teachers
· Consultation with student representatives
· Visiting other schools
· Personally noting deficiencies in physical plant
· Reports from social workers on needy pupils
· Subject enrichment plans ‑ e.g. educational visits
· By listening to appeals from parents
· Through reading educational literature
· Professional conversation with colleagues
· By observing the school in operation

Note, however, that fundraising should not be done in areas for which the Ministry of Education or other bodies have responsibility. (e.g. payment of teachers) Instead, you should lobby their support where possible and ensure that they carry out their function. You may wish to consider some of the following activities for fund raising support.

¨ School magazine
¨ School newsletter
¨ Educational visits
¨ Pupil prize giving
¨ Graduation and party for pupils
¨ Additional sports equipment
¨ Attendance at a music competition
¨ Transport for Sports Teams
¨ Purchase of reference books for teachers
¨ Purchase of First Aid kit for the sports teams
¨ Finance of a school based workshop relating to welfare of children
¨ Video camera for the Geography department
¨ Laser printer for computer studies
¨ Teaching aids to supplement those supplied by the education authority
¨ Sport Day competitions

Comments
Despite some limitations that exist on the raising of additional funds by schools, there is no school that doesn't need to raise funds somehow for maintaining and developing the quality of all aspects of school facilities and life.

As school head you must take a pro‑active approach to this by regularly consulting with the pupils, staff, parents and the community, as well as your line managers, to find ways of raising funds and identifying areas where the greatest benefit would be derived through some additional expenditure.

Summary
Each school experiences two levels of funding - recurrent and capital (or develop­mental). In order to secure adequate recurrent funding the school head must know how to prepare an annual budget to submit to the Ministry and Department of Education, and another to cater for funds expected from fundraising activities. He or she must also be able to motivate the PTA, other school bodies and the community, in fundraising activities to supplement the educational offerings of the school. All monies received by the school must be accounted for according to financial legislation and managed effectively by the head and staff to ensure that pupils are given the best possible education.