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April 4, 2006 FOCUS ON BUDGET: Actual FTE Value & Individual Student Load In previous articles in this FTE series, you’ve seen how the student load of an individual teacher or group of teachers is used to determine staffing needs. And, you’ve come to understand the problems that arise from relying completely on the use of average FTE values during the budget development process. This time, we’ll look at how actual FTE Value relates to an individual teacher’s student load. You’ll see, once again, why it’s so important to use accurate, real numbers when analyzing what’s needed for your school’s music programs. Your district officials may be surprised to discover that your music program is a financial asset! What is Actual FTE Value? The actual FTE value of each individual teacher is based upon the actual student load (or the actual number of students taught) of that instructor. Some teachers will have smaller loads than average; others larger. This often depends on the type of class being offered. For example, an advanced calculus class may have only 15 students, while a typical music performance class may have 50 or more. Actual FTE value is key to determining the economic viability of your school’s music program. It is similar to the concept of the average FTE Value, but is distinctly different because it’s based on real numbers, not estimates or projections. The actual FTE value of an individual teacher is rarely (if ever) average. How is FTE Value Determined? Your district first calculates the average student load based upon the total number of students divided by the total number of teachers, or the average class size multiplied by the number of classes taught. For example, if the average class size is determined to be 25 and each 1.0 FTE instructor teaches 5 classes, the average student load is determined to be 125. But, consider the example of Mr. Wong, a typical (1.0 FTE = 5 classes) secondary music teacher, with an actual student load as demonstrated below. Band #1 50 students .2 FTE Band #2 50 students .2 FTE Band #3` 50 students .2 FTE Jazz Band 25 students .2 FTE Lessons/ensembles(non-load) .2 FTE 175 students 1.0 FTE Music Teachers Offer Higher FTE Value – and How That Benefits Your District Several observations may be made when examining Mr. Wong’s student load: 1. Students taking lessons or small ensembles may be non-load bearing. That is, they are normally students who are "pulled out" from the other music or non-music classes who do not receive extra credit for their lessons. 2. Mr. Wong provides instruction for just four – not five – load-bearing classes. However, his student load (175) is 50 students higher than the average teacher’s student load of 125 (5 classes x 25 students). 3. The excess student load of Mr. Wong is equivalent to two classes of the average classroom teacher. This equates to an excess (above average) load of 50 students, or two extra classes and excess value of .4 FTE. Mr. Wong has an FTE Value of 1.4 classroom teachers. Mr. Wong’s higher student load (compared to the average student load of the classroom teacher) translates into a higher FTE value and much greater financial value provided to the district. 4. While Mr. Wong may have a 1.4 FTE value, he still only receives compensation equivalent to 1.0 FTE. The district uses the .4 FTE savings to fund other areas, primarily teachers with student loads under the average figure. 5. Since music performance teachers normally have a significantly higher FTE value than other classroom teachers, they carry the highest FTE value. This provides several benefits to the district: a. Justifies any small group or individual lessons provided to secondary students by the music teachers. b. Justifies the inclusion of any music classes in the curriculum that may be under the normal minimum number of students required for a class. c. Justifies the financial costs for an equivalent number of elementary music performance personnel. d. Assists the district is maintaining smaller class sizes in other academic areas of the curriculum. As more than one superintendent has commented, "We are able to justify – and maintain – smaller classes in other academic areas because of the large classes in music. You don't save any money by cutting your music program." Assuming your district does not have a Music Coordinator, the best advice I can give your music coalition is to have a Statistics and Finance Committee : The Local Music Coalition that annually collects the kind of data requested on the Music Participation Survey . Once the above survey data is collected, your committee should do the following: 1) Determine the actual FTE load of each music teacher; 2) Determine the average FTE value of all music performance teachers combined (Band, Choir, Orchestra); 3) Compare the average FTE value of the music performance teachers to the average FTE figure used by your district. My prediction? Your music program may actually be the most cost effective program in the entire district! Until Next Time, John Benham |
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