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October
3,2005 SCHOOL
BUDGET PRIMER: UNDERSTANDING “FTE” This
article is the first in a series of articles on school budget definitions,
primarily “FTE” or full-time equivalency. Simply put, FTE is a measurement used
to establish the financial value of music teachers and music programs. Understanding
FTE will help you – the parents, teachers and other advocates of school music
programs – unravel some of the complexities of your school budget process. The
terms and concepts presented here are the building blocks used (or, in some
cases, neglected) by administrators and school board members as they decide
where monies should be allocated and where cuts will be made. Though this
“insider” information may seem a little daunting at first, you too can learn to
“speak the language” of your school’s administrators and board members. Bottom
line? If you understand FTE – as it relates to individuals and positions, as
well as programs – you’ll be a stronger advocate for expansion or preservation
of your school music program. OK,
get out your calculators and let’s get started! What is FTE & why is it
so important? FTE
stands for "Full Time Equivalent," or one (1.0) full time teaching
position. Your school defines each FTE
position by a job classification or category (ie, teacher, administrator,
staff, etc.). The definition of one (1.0) FTE is based on the district contract
and input from your local teachers' organization. How do you
calculate FTE? You
can calculate the FTE of any teacher by counting the number of classes he or
she teaches each day. When you break it down this way, each class they teach
also receives an FTE value. For example: If 1.0 FTE teaches 5 classes per day, each class equals .2 FTE. If 1.0 FTE teaches 6 classes per day, each class equals .17 FTE. If 1.0 FTE teaches 3 classes per day, each class equals .33 FTE. FTE may refer to both
positions and individuals An
FTE value may be assigned to a position
(band director) or an individual (Ms.
Sanchez). That is, while Ms. Sanchez may be a full-time teacher (1.0 FTE), she
may not necessarily work full-time in just one curricular area (band
director) because she may also have other duties (such as study hall). The
individual in the example below teaches full-time, but the music positions
total only .6 FTE (highlighted in bold): Teacher Load (Based on 1.0 FTE as 5 classes per day) Period 1: Computer Science .2
FTE Period 2: Concert
Band .2
FTE
Period 3: Study Hall .2
FTE Period 4: Varsity
Band .2
FTE
Period 5: Music
Appreciation .2
FTE
Likewise,
the position (band director) above is only .4 FTE. While the administration may
perceive the district as having a full time band director, it is the individual (Ms. Sanchez) not the position (band director) that is full
time. Now
can you begin to see how understanding this important distinction might help
you develop stronger proposals to increase staffing or save a position? FTE can be shared, too Another
very common situation is revealed by the following two examples. Here you’ll
see how one (1.0) FTE elementary music position is shared by two individuals
conducting classes at several schools. In example one below, both individuals
are full time, but each position shares one-half of the elementary position. In
example two, the 1.0 FTE elementary position is shared by two part-time
individuals. In both examples, the elementary music position equals 1.0 FTE. Example 1: Two full-time teachers
sharing 1.0 FTE elementary position Teacher 1 (1.0 FTE contract): Elementary Band (3 of 6
schools) .5
FTE Middle School Band .5
FTE Teacher 2 (1.0 FTE contract): Elementary Band (3 of 6
schools) .5
FTE High School Band .5
FTE Example 2: Two part-time teachers sharing 1.0 FTE elementary position Teacher 1 (.5 FTE contract) Elementary Band (3 schools) .5
FTE Teacher 2 (.5 FTE contract) Elementary Band (3 schools) .5
FTE A board’s eye view
of part-time teachers Your
school board’s budget committee may see advantages to hiring part-time
teachers, even though this may not always be in the best interest of music
students or teachers. From the board’s perspective, the reasons for hiring
part-time teachers may be financial:
or
practical:
• some highly qualified
teachers may be unable or unwilling to teach full time. Here’s how FTE
looks in a real budget OK,
you’ve learned quite a lot by now about FTE. Let’s take a look at how FTE
impacts an actual budget summary. In
a typical example like the one below, the district may assume it has 37
full-time individuals teaching music. However, without doing a full analysis of
FTE, they may have little or no knowledge of the actual distribution of those
positions among the various components of the music curriculum. Consequently,
if the administration proposes cuts in one or more curricular areas it will be
up to you to demonstrate the actual effect (loss) of FTE in each
curricular area. The example states that there are currently 37
individuals on the music faculty in the school district comprising a total of
36.24 FTE positions. Assignments of FTE are broken down as follows.
Note: In this example, at least one individual was
part-time. Notice that no FTE is allocated to elementary choral music or
coordination of the music curriculum. Some individuals who work in multiple
schools receive payment for "travel time" driving between schools:
students lost instructional time, but the district had not factored in the loss
of time in the classroom. Asking the Right
Questions Makes All The Difference Are
you asking some questions now that would simply not have occurred to you
before? That’s great! As you move through the rest of this series on FTE,
you’ll see more and more where – and how – you need to ask questions to
evaluate just how much time a teacher actually spends on each area of the music
curriculum. And, you’ll begin to understand how your district’s budget process
works in relationship to the distribution of FTE. Once you
learn to ask the right questions – and understand how budgetary
decisions impact students, teachers and curricular offerings - then your role
as a music advocate can really have a positive impact! In
the next “Counterpoint” article in this FTE series, you’ll read a case study
that shows how understanding FTE helped one school save a full time music
teacher position during a budget crisis. Until Next Time, |
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Organizations:
Artists:
Scott Brady |
