Now that we have a pretty good idea of where the money comes from we need to understand where it goes. I’m sure that many of you ask that question all the time, just where does my money go? It helps to add transparency to school operation if people have an understanding of school finance. As described in the post where does the money come from? it was explained where the district money comes form. A portion comes from the state through the funding formula, a portion comes form the city through the local contribution, and a portion comes from federal grant funds. There are specific rules tied to the monies that are received by the district. Money received from federal title grants can only be used for allocated purposes the same way money allocated for special education can only be used for special education purposes. That scenario alone causes school business managers to stay up at night.
In Hoonah our funds are distributed among different operational areas. Within these areas is a more detailed breakdown of the categories. For example under regular instruction that is where the funds for textbooks would come from. Certified teacher salaries would come from there as well.
The six categories in the Hoonah City Budget are: Regular instruction, Special education, Building operations and maintenance, Food service, Board of Education, and support service and technology. The breakdown of the Hoonah City School budget by category is conveyed in the accompanying chart.
The allocation of the monies in the Hoonah City School budget is similar in districts across Alaska. The bulk of the monies received go towards instruction. The district administration strives to be transparent in how the funds entrusted to them are used. The school budget is a public document and can be found on our district website or can be requested from our district office.