 |
 |
 |
January 10, 2006 Focus on Budget: FTE and the Staffing Ratio If you’ve read my earlier CounterPoint articles in this series on Full Time Equivalent (FTE), you’re now ready to apply what you’ve learned on a more detailed level. This article will show you how your district uses the staffing ratio to set annual budgets. Your school district uses several related financial values – FTE, Student-Faculty Ratio (SFR) and Pupil-Staffing Ratio (PSR) – to establish the number of students assigned to each classroom teacher. As you might already guess, these calculations form the basis of many important budget decisions that directly affect the strength of your school’s music curriculum. What is the Staffing Ratio & How is it Used? The staffing ratio is based on the relationship between two basic figures – the number of Pupil Units (PU) and the number of FTE staff positions (teaching and non-teaching). The staffing ratio is used to determine the amount of funding available for hiring (or retaining or cutting) staff. The Pupil Unit (PU) is the equivalent of one full time student (or 1.0 FTE PU). Your district defines Pupil Units by calculating the number of courses taken (per day, week or year). It’s important to understand that the PU number is not necessarily the same as the number of students in a grade, classroom or school. For example, if kindergarten students attend school for only one-half of each day, each student is the equivalent of .5 PU. If there is a staffing ratio of 28:1 at your school, your local school will receive a budgetary allocation equivalent to the average cost of 1.0 FTE staff position for every 28 Pupil Units. How the Staffing Ratio is Established You can quickly see, then, that changes in enrollment may have a direct affect on the number of teachers employed in each school. Other factors also affect the total budget for staff, including whether FTE positions are exclusively for teachers, or whether they include non-teaching staff as well. The staffing ratio is established by your school district’s central administration and approved by the school board. Once defined, the staffing ratio offers guidance to each school’s site administrator (or principal) regarding how funds may be allocated for staff and teaching positions. <<See my previous article on Central vs. Site-Based Management for more information about the various levels of administrative responsibility.>> The staffing ratio provided to your local school is based upon your school board’s particular definition of Student-Faculty Ratio (SFR) or Pupil-Staffing Ratio (PSR). Generally speaking, the SFR is the average number of students for each teacher. It is calculated by simply dividing the number of Pupil Units by the number of teachers. Some districts may also include non-teaching staff, such as guidance counselors, in the SFR. The PSR is used to determine overall staffing needs based on the number of pupils in the district. This ratio is the number of students per each 1.0 FTE position (and, may at the discretion of the school board, include all staff as defined by the district). Since the salaries of administrators, teachers, clerical and other staff may vary widely, districts often assign different “average” values to the 1.0 FTE in each of the various categories of staffing during budgetary planning sessions. Local Discretionary Decisions May Affect the Staffing Ratio, Too The staffing ratio directly relates to class size, of course, but it is primarily used by the various levels of administration to determine the amount of funding available for staff hires. Unless specifically defined by the school district, site administrators normally have autonomous discretion in the expenditure of funds designated for staffing. In other words, the extent to which a principal chooses to use staffing funds for non-teaching positions will proportionately increase the "average" class size, and decrease the number of teaching positions. The staffing ratio may be consistently used throughout all of your school district, or it may be individually calculated by grade or curricular area. For example, the staffing ratio may vary according to grade level as determined by district philosophy: Grades: Staffing Ratios: Grades K-3: 24:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 24 PUs) Grades 4-6: 25:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 25 PUs) Grades 7-9: 26:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 26 PUs) Grades 10-12: 26.5:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 26.5 PUs) If we assume in the example above that the average 1.0 Staff FTE equals $50,000, and that there are 1,000 students in grades 4-6, we can assume that the site administrator will receive funding equal to 40 FTE, or $2,000,000 as shown below. 1. The staffing ratio in grades 4-6 is 25:1. 2. 1,000 total students divided by the PU figure of 25 results in 40 FTE. 3. 40 FTE times the average FTE value of $50,000 equals a budget allocation of $2,000,000. 4. The site administrator then hires staff according to needs as determined autonomously, by district guidelines, or in collaboration with other staff, teachers, and/or the community. The Staffing Ratio’s Special Impact on Music Teachers Music teachers may – or, in some cases, may not be - a part of these staffing formula. Here are some important cautions and considerations: 1. Elementary general music teachers are often excluded from the staffing formula. This is because they may be interpreted as a part of the central administrative budget for providing preparatory time for classroom teachers, or assigned to multiple schools. If this is the case in your school district, this budget item should be considered part of the elementary staffing formula, not part of the music budget. 2. Elementary instrumental music teachers or other itinerants (i.e, teachers with multiple school assignments) are often excluded from the staffing formula. This may happen when management of their salary line items fall under the central (vs. site) administration and may be based upon the size of the school population. 3. Secondary music teachers are normally part of the staffing formula unless they have multiple school assignments. 4. Staffing FTE provided for person(s) serving as chair, coordinator or supervisor of the music curriculum may or may not be funded with the staffing formula. District Financial Status & Ratio Point Finally, one more crucial aspect of the staffing ratio must be considered: the overall financial health of your school district. The staffing ratio may be altered – in some cases quite significantly – by increasing costs and reductions in available funding. One indicator that the staffing ratio may be altered (either by new hires or staffing reductions) is use of this key phrase: “changes in class size.” Remember, school administrators use the staffing ratio to determine the amount of funding available for new staff hires. If the ratio of Pupil Units to Full Time Equivalent teachers in Grades 4-6 above is changed from 25:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 25 PUs) to 26:1 (1.0 Staff FTE per 26 PUs), several financial changes occur: 1. The site administrator will have a reduction in funding. 2. The site administrator will assign only 1.0 FTE for each 26 students, and will therefore have approximately 38 FTE (a reduction of 2.0 FTE). 3. The site administrator will then have to make staffing cuts in either teaching or non-teaching positions – or both - to recover the deficit. Changes to the staffing ratio are expressed in the form of a ratio point and assigned a financial value by the district. The cost of a ratio point is the financial value associated with changing the Pupil Unit (PU) in the ratio formula by 1.0 PU. Once again, you can see how crucial it is that music advocates remain well informed and active throughout the entire school budget development process. Armed with accurate information and a solid working knowledge of how staffing ratios are used to establish the budget for music programs, advocates can have a positive impact on strengthening and protecting music participation for all students. Until Next Time, John Benham |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Organizations:
Artists:
Scott Brady |
