Capital Budget Essay

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CAPITAL BUDGETING FOR SCHOOLS When educational leaders are preparing a budget, they need to consider meeting the needs of all students as well as balancing costs of debt, capital outlay, maintenance, and operations, which is called school infrastructure (Thompson, Wood, & Crampton, 2008, p. 256). The current climate of educational reform and accountability of student growth has forced districts to make difficult choices between instructional programs and infrastructure needs. “The role of infrastructure is to support good instructional programs by providing a safe, appropriate, and inviting physical environment for learning (Thompson et al., 2008, p. 257). Improvement of air quality, fire safety, and the presence of asbestos and lead, for…show more content…
By engaging in a process that projects the districts’ need of space, technology, and safety, to support the curriculum and needs of students and faculty in order to provide an outstanding education, the capital budget requires knowledgeable people to organize and prepare a well-designed infrastructure. According to Thompson et al., there are five goals in infrastructure planning that will guide the capital budget so it does not waste money (2008, p. 284). • Prepare and maintain a comprehensive analysis of al facilities. • Assure a well—designed physical environment to enhance teaching and learning. • Assure that all facilities remain useful over the life of each building because outdated facilities are costly to maintain. • Evaluate facilities for future educational programs in ways that assist decisions to reconstruct or retire buildings. • Reserve maximum flexibility in all buildings so that future generations are served. Districts need to carefully plan and continually reflect on their infrastructure needs, just like they need to do for instructional

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