ABSTRACT
The opening quotation to this chapter and the combined weight of this text thus far point to a highly complex relationship between the aims of schooling and the adults in schools charged with carrying out the educational mission. The introduction to the budget process in the last chapter noted that the single largest proportion of public elementary and secondary education’s costs is the human resource function. Today’s school budgets are under significant stress, especially given the considerable costs of education reform. States have increased academic requirements for schools without corresponding increases in funding, and federal education reforms, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, have resulted in new costs for schools. These changes have reper - cussions throughout the entire school district budget. Personnel costs are the single largest item in public school budgets, a fact underscored in the previous chapter where it was emphasized that after estimating enrollments and envisioning educational programs, determining the total financial costs of salaries, wages, and benefits is the next most important task in balancing revenues and expenditures. As a consequence, this chapter examines the act of budgeting for personnel. It begins by considering the scope of the personnel function, followed by an examination of determining staffing needs for each school throughout a school district. The chapter then examines recruitment and selection along with an analysis of issues affecting compensation structures including those associated with traditional salary schedules and alternative reward systems. Finally, the chapter examines the legal context of budgeting for personnel; that is, the personnel budget cannot be separated from the myriad risks and obligations that have implications for school district resources. In sum, the act of budgeting for personnel consumes a major portion of a school district’s financesan act that in large measure determines the school district’s ability to accomplish its educational mission.
