Joseph Tramontana

The Citizen's Guide to School Finance

[josephtramontana]

Professional Development Best Practices..!

Read full Article

[josephtramontana]

The Value of Hybrid Schools

Hyrbid schools are a combination of traditional schools with an online learning component. Without a doubt, home schooling has been very successful for some parents. Many of their children do very well and attend top universities. The logical extension of home schooling is online charter schools. In this scenario, the child can still be supervised by the parent, but they are not burdened with the curriculum and teaching aspect.

The alternative of learning at home is not very practical for most families. Many households have a situation where both parents work. I believe the future of technology is not one of students staying home. The majority of families will need their children to be instructed and supervised outside the home. Students will want to participate in activities the school provides like sports, band and the arts. There is also the social and emotional aspect such as debating and working in teams. Most families will want their children attending a physical school.

Schools of the future will be different. Using full time online schools as an example, students can thrive by learning online. The online learning model is the wave of the future. Learning can be customized to the individual and supplemented with human instruction. The promise of increased performance and reduced costs are real.

The conservative approach would be to introduce online instruction incrementally. For example elementary students could have two hours a day, middle school three hours a day and high school students five hours a day. Advanced high school students may take most of their courses online. Standard courses like Algebra may be online for everyone. Therefore, we can be sure the instruction is standardized and deficiencies can easily be pointed out and corrected in real time. Students that master the material can move on at a more rapid pace. We all know for example, that teacher’s instruction can vary. Some grade easily and teach at a slower pace, while some are more challenging.

Hybrid schools are the future of public and private education.

[josephtramontana]

School districts are going to have to learn to find new revenue sources. I read with great interest an article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram; “Fort Worth Sc… Read more...!

[josephtramontana]

The case for Differential Pay

There can be a clear case made for Differential pay. Differential pay is a relatively new concept in Public Education. Anyone involved with the process of recruiting hard to fill teaching positions such as Math or Science can relate to this blog post. Administrators, especially in urban districts, will find it extremely difficult to recruit teachers in hard to fill disciplines. It is a simple concept of supply and demand. It is no secret that in the private sector employees that are in demand are paying much more. This includes engineers, scientists and mathematicians. College graduates majoring in disciplines such as Math, Science or Technology are paid much more than those in the teaching field. This can make it extremely difficult to recruit quality applicants in competitive fields like math and science.

The time has come for districts to adopt a comprehensive differential pay schedule. Teachers in short supply and/or great demand need to be compensated at significantly higher levels. This concept has worked well for years in the private sector and its time has come for all public schools. Examples include higher pay, bonuses, tuition assistance, house subsidies and assistance paying off student loans.

The pay scales in many districts are governed by collective bargaining contracts making it very difficult to recruit quality teachers in hard to find disciplines. Unionization over the years has flattened salary guides were all teachers receive the same compensation regardless of the difficulty of the degree they obtain. Prior to the spread of collective bargaining school district’s had much more flexibility in their ability to pay teacher’s at different rates.

The time has come to rethink the concept of differential pay and employ methods that attract the brightest talent especially in hard to fill teaching disciplines. The result will be better teachers in the classroom and increased student performance. Teaching quality is a far better indicator of student success that class sizes. These strategies combined with better professional development practices are some of the keys to success.

[josephtramontana]

Two ways to cut enormous Special Education Costs..! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1KlKNxL

[josephtramontana]

The Value of Computer Labs

The value of computer labs is a way of offering quality education at a much affordable cost. It is the cornerstone of Rocketship Education a successful charter school operation on the west coast.

Rocketship Education is a network of public elementary charter schools serving primarily low-income students in neighborhoods where access to excellent schools is limited. Academic performance at Rocketship has been exceptional, especially in comparison to neighboring and regional schools and overall statewide district performance. Their model of education combines traditional methods in combination with computerized learning labs, where students focus on math and reading and receive individual tutoring. These innovations come with the promise of fundamental cost redesign and different staffing patterns.

Their model of computer labs can be incorporated into a public school setting and it will increase student performance and dramatically reduce costs as well. Their model consists of computer labs supplemented by fewer teachers and more lab technicians. The cost of technology is falling, but the increase in labor is rising. As long as school districts rely on labor, costs will eventually surpass revenues. The basic premise behind Rocketship deals with “lab rotation.”

For example if a second grade class has four classes there would typically be four teachers (one per class). Rocketship only assigns three teachers and a laboratory aide. These teachers are specialists. Two generalists cover two classrooms, while one math and one science teacher splits time among four classrooms. This may appear that the teacher’s workload is increasing, but actually they do not need to prepare for as many classes. Students spend 25 percent of their time in a computerized learning laboratory supervised by uncertified staff. During their time in the lab the students work on math and reading and receive individualized tutoring.

The judicious use of computer labs over time can reduce a typical labor cost in public schools which is around eighty percent to around forty-seven percent. The savings can also be reinvested enabling for a longer school day and to compensate quality teachers at a higher salary.

[josephtramontana]

The Promise of Technology..! Read full Article: http://bit.ly/1LteexW #technology   #josephtramontana   

[josephtramontana]

Reading is Power...! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1MtBNe7

[josephtramontana]

How to Increase Revenue in Schools

This post will discuss a creative way to increase revenue in school districts The ability to increase revenue in your school district by partnering with private entities is critical. The ability to depend entirely on traditional revenue resources is no longer a viable strategy. Remember it is only through “outside the box” thinking that will solve our future revenue and expense problems.

I want to share with you a recent success that was achieved by working together with school  district’s before and after school providers. These community groups provide before and after school care for parents. The school district selects these providers and they provide the services directly to the parents. These groups also had access to our facilities at no cost.  Maintaining facilities are expensive and some of the larger expenses include custodial maintenance and utility costs.  

I began to calculate the profit margin for these outside community groups. Their profit margin was quite impressive even when you factor in their operating expenses. This led to some spirited discussions with the leaders of these community groups as they traditionally want to guard their existing profitable contracts. In the end we came to a reasonable solution and everybody agreed. These community groups continued to use our facilities, but now are another revenue source in the amount of $130,000 a year. This revenue helps with the maintenance costs of our buildings. In addition, they committed not to increase fees to the parents.

In conclusion, the parents continued to receive great services, the community groups remained profitable, and the district will continue to receive significant revenue. This is a true win-win relationship for all involved.

The question of how to increase revenue in schools will be one that will be continually asked in the foreseeable future. We will discuss fund raising on a much greater scale which can also increase revenue significantly.

Connect to Mr. Joseph Tramontanta on Linkedin.

[josephtramontana]

Two Major Revenue Sources

This post discusses the two major revenue sources and how they affect school budgets. According to state law revenues (monies coming in) must equal revenues (expenses going out) at the time the budget is created. In reality, at the end of the school year, revenues do not exactly equal expenses. Budgets are spending estimates and they are not an exact science. Unexpected expenditures can occur as well. The difference between revenues and expenses is called “fund balance”. If the district brings in $100 in revenue and spends $50 in expenses the remaining fund balance would be $50. The remaining fund balance is subject to an end of year audit and it can be applied to next year’s budget as a revenue source.

2012-13 General Fund Revenue Sources for the Hamilton Township School District*:

Local Sources $96,839,447

State Sources $73,170,915

Other Revenue Sources $12,303,156 (Fund Balance, Pilot Income, Interest Income and Gate Fees).

It is obvious that major school district revenue sources come from local property taxes and state aid. It is also important to note that there is a state cap on property taxes of 2%. This means that despite the district’s expense obligations it cannot raise property taxes more than 2% each year. Most experts agree that the best we can hope for is that state aid remain level. All districts in the State of New Jersey experienced a major decrease in state aid during the 2009-10 school year. This can happen at any time.

So revenue is essentially capped and expenses continue to grow. How do school districts continue to function and meet their obligations? This is the question that confronts every school district in the nation and there are no easy answers! You cannot look in the same places and expect to find different results.

We will continue to explore these topics and more once we get the basics down. Major revenue sources in the school budget are critical in order to support a quality education program.

Source: Hamilton Township School District Operating Budget

Chief Financial Officer Joseph Tramontana

[josephtramontana]

The three benefits of Laptops in the classroom....! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1CUvSwE

[josephtramontana]

Six Major School District Expenses...! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1Igs1uf

[josephtramontana]

Different Types of Financial Advisors...! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1H6dZY3

[josephtramontana]

How to Find Best Financial Advisor? Secrets Reveled...! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1J0nrwx

[josephtramontana]

Motivation Brings in More Business in an Organization..! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1HB5qKi #motivation   #josephtramontana  

[josephtramontana]

Making Money Being a Financial Advisor is Not Easy..! Read full Article >> http://bit.ly/1LU49vK

[josephtramontana]

Should You Blame Your Financial Advisor for the Losses?

A very clear question, Should you hold your financial advisor responsible for the losses that occurred in your business? Yes, of course in some cases. He is the one who is responsible for this. Just take an example; you hired a financial advisor to suggest you for your investments. You are unaware of the investment options, so you asked him. And he after analyzing the situations suggested you to invest somewhere which he thought would be a perfect venture. But what happened? After investing, your business suffered a huge loss.

Now, think yourself that who is at the fault. It’s your financial advisor undoubtedly. You know why it happens? It is because financial advisors pretend to be your well wishers but actually they are working for some firm and bound to sell their products. And such advisors are called commission based advisors who are paid on commission basis. The more products they will sell, the more commission they will get. Working with such advisors can be problematic as you cannot risk your business. Just keep this thing in mind that a person who is bound to sell products or services will never give you a good advice. In this case, expect only wrong or biased suggestion or advice which will definitely risk your established business.

Now, don’t get worried if you are planning to hire a financial advisor because, I have a solution for you. Hire fee based advisors as they work to build their reputation and goodwill to grab more clients but not money. Such advisors give you a fair advice and guide you to invest in something from where you can get better return on investments.

Blaming financial advisors is fine but sometimes it’s your mistake also. While hiring you didn’t checked the experience and qualifications of the potential advisor and as a result you have been betrayed. Some advisors are innocent and it’s their firm who is asking them to trap you in buying things giving some appealing benefits. So in this case, you cannot blame an advisor and you are also not wrong at this place.

Commission based advisors are asked to offer the products and services to the potential investor even when he knows that other products are better. But due to that firm’s benefits, he is obligated to do this. So in all this, you have to act smart and know at what time you are getting an unbiased advice and when not. Or find a fee based advisor who will act according to you keeping your financial needs and situations in mind. A fee based advisor will not work with you to sell someone’s products or services but for your welfare.

As a conclusion, I would say that giving your finances in someone’s hands is an important decision and you cannot take it lightly. If you hire a wrong person, it would badly affect your business or finance and it will take years to get on the same position again. Joseph Tramontana is a good financial advisor so you can take help from him as well to manage your finances. Good luck!