Analyzing The Budgeting for school Infrastructure in the USA
Research Project
A 2000-word double-spaced paper examining the difference between UAE
School Finance system and USA School Finance System. Than Critique each
system on your own philosophy of school finance. For more information, “JEF
is a leading professional journal for school finance. Its articles include original
research and analysis on issues such as education reform, judicial intervention
in finance, school/social agency linkages, tax limitation measures, and factors
influencing teacher salaries. http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/jef.html
You mainly need to choose a topic from the following:
1. Schools, Values, and Money
2. Funding Schools: A Policy Perspective
3. Basic Funding Structures
4. School Funds: Accountability and Professionalism
5. Budget Planning
6. Budgeting for personnel
7. Budgeting for instruction
8. Budgeting for student activities
9. Budgeting for School Infrastructure
10. Budgeting for Transportation and Food Service
11. Legal Liability and Risk Management
12. The future of School Funding
Compare it to the UAE and the USA regarding this topic and critique each
part and then state you input about the topic (opinion and say what you will
do).
Choose the topic based on the reference that you will find for both sides the
UAE and the USA.
Solution
Introduction
The financial system of a learning institution is one of the most critical elements which
determine how funds and resources are obtained. Therefore, if an organization is unable to
manage their finances effectively they are likely to encounter other challenges that consequently
result in shut down and poor performance. Financial system in a school permits the exchange of
funds between investors, lenders and borrowers. A school finance system is an important
practice that involves proper management of money and money processes to ensure that the
school budget aligns with the institution strategic plan. A school formulates a budget to permit
the allocation of financial tasks and even responsibility in larger learning institutions.
Additionally, a school finance system is also accountable for the provision of fund relevant in
implementing education policies. For this analysis, the main tasks are to critique the school
finance system of the UAE and the USA financial system through examining the budgeting
school infrastructure of the chosen countries.
Budgeting for school infrastructure
School infrastructure is a major base for teaching and learning in schools. A school
infrastructure includes laborites for conducting science practical, dormitories, classrooms,
sanitation facilities, fields for games and games equipment among others. The budgeting process
requires planners and educational managers to develop a structural model for effective control
and planning (Banning-Lover, 2019). However, the budgeting process consumes a lot of time
since it needs a systematic and detailed analysis of the estimated expenditure and revenue within
a given period of time.
A school ought to consider the school infrastructure when formulating a budget. The
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 3
budget, therefore, should include the funds that will be needed in starting or completing a
project. As a result, if a school is unable to allocate the right amount of funds for infrastructure it
is likely to encounter other bigger problems that might not be easily solved. Firstly, the right
budget ought to be based on the school development plan which therefore involves examining
the old budget in order to learn from over-spends and under-spends. In addition to that, the
number of pupils, the exam results, staffing requirements, and other resource requirements
should be considered to ensure the plan is fostering improvement.
Secondly, an effective school budgeting to consider the essential principles for school
budgeting. In this case, therefore, it is important to comprehend the different types of funding
streams that the school obtains from their resources (Saber, 2019). Some of the different funding
streams include, capital funding, delegated funding, revenue funding and devolve funding among
others. Thirdly, a school ought to obtain the value of money when acquiring resources which
involves benchmarking costs on a smaller scale. Apart from that, a school can also help the
instructors in understanding financial accountability by using real-life situations.
Budgeting for School Infrastructure in the UAE
The UAE education system is classified two three major categories these are the public,
private and higher institution of learning. The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) keeps an eye
on all the authorities and school-based councils. Firstly, Dubai accepted the 2019 budget where
huge amounts of money are expected to fund schools infrastructure. The government came to the
realization that schools population is increasing rapidly which signifies that schools will need
more resources to handle the large population. Apart from that, in the UAE when budgeting for
the school infrastructure it first seeks to identify the challenges that a school has in order to
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 4
develop the right budget that aligns with the needs of the school.
The majority of the public schools in the UAE complain of inadequate funds which make
it difficult for them to complete projects or even to start new projects. Owing to such challenges,
the government still continues to launch new projects or initiatives to benefit students. Some of
the major participants in the education sector in the UAE have launched fresh educational
platform for almost 50 million students across the Arab world. Through launching these projects
the government expects that school overpopulation will be relatively reduced as some of the
schools are over polluted and also lacks enough resources to learn the schools.
In a report that was written by Shahbandari (2018), the reporter stated out that UAE
ought to have over 150 schools by the year 2022 in order to accommodate the increasing school
population within the country. According to the author, school population is expected to
increase at 3.4% from the 1.3 million which shows that school enrollment will also increase.
Although there has been a rapid population increase in the UAE, the country is still leading in the
Middle East in terms of the quality education which they provide to students. The major
contributing factor for this achievement is the UAE government who supports education efforts
by providing them with adequate funds to run and maintain the school.
Additionally, the UAE government continuous committed and focus on matters related to
education was clearly reflected in 2018 during the budget allocation. The 2018 budget allocated
schools with Dh10.4 billion which is almost 20.2% of the overall expenditure. The 2018 budget
ranked the UAE higher when compared to other developed states such as Germany and the UK.
UAE has been able to budget school infrastructure by studying careful the school educational
needs and developing an estimate of the revenues that is important in meeting those needs.
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 5
Apart from that, during the budget allocation for infrastructure, the concerned people also
identifies and lists down all the activities which they hope will be conducted in school within a
year. Besides that, they also plan for potential sources of revenue that are required in
implementing educational programmes (The national, 2019).
The MoE in the UAE plays a significant role in ensuring that the right amount of money
is set aside for school projects and infrastructure. In doing so the MoE takes charge of the entire
management of funds located in schools under the jurisdiction of the ministry. As a result, they
participate in developing policies for obtaining and allocating capital investment and educational
funds during the construction for the purposes of education (Export.gov, 2019). The UAE has
continued to reform schools where these reforms demand proper budgeting for the infrastructure.
These educational reforms have to pass to the right individuals before they are fully
implemented. In addition to that, tax limitation measures also influenced budgeting of
infrastructure where if people refused to pay the taxes are there will be fewer funds secluded by
the government to cater for school infrastructure.
Budgeting for school Infrastructure in the USA
USA mode of funding schools is relatively different from that of the UAE, public funding
mainly comes from the local sources, the state and the federal. In spite of that, the federal
government does not formally governor fund education this is according to purview laid out in
each state. In addition to that, the government mete out a relevant amount of funding to the
states based for education by the federal government hence it exerts some pressure in the state
system with their funding. Additionally, the state government also distributes and gathers a
relative amount of funding schools through income taxes, state sales, property taxes, and
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 6
lotteries. The local government also contributes to the funding education sector by giving out
their respective taxation system also (Teatechnology, 2018).
The majority of the people in the USA do not understand where schools obtain their
funds and how the money they have is included in the budget to cater for the school
infrastructure. In relation to the school infrastructure and running of daily operations in school,
the USA government sets aside $12,000 per student annually (Bernstein, 2019). Actually, the
USA is tied with Switzerland for leading in higher in per-capital learner expenditure.
Washington DC, for instance, the public school has the highest amount of funding levels in the
USA with about $ 13,000 per student yearly (D`mello, 2018). The private schools on the other
side, they often receive their funds from gifts, endowments and tuition fees among others. The
private school, however, tend to provide a higher quality of education to students than the public
schools.
Once schools have been located the funds they need to start and complete the pending
project, the next step involves budgeting the available funds such that the right amount is
secluded for each project. In the USA schools, the most considerable method for infrastructure
planning involves demographic planning, architectural planning, facility programming and
planning, and capital program planning. The school leaders in the USA have the responsibility of
ensuring proper operations and maintenance. In doing so the educational leaders have to ensure
that grounds and school facilities are in proper condition since they play an integral role in
helping a student achieve academic success.
In addition to that, USA educational reforms have continued to witness in most of the
regions where the state excludes some money meant to reform schools. The reforms that the
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 7
government has always worked include, providing schools with laboratories, building halls,
ensuring that schools water and electricity. However, concerning the teachers’ salaries most of
the time the government fails to include the teacher’s salary on it hence making it difficult for
teachers to continue teaching due to low pay (Camera, 2018). It is important to ensure that
teacher needs are met and this should be clearly documented in budgeting the school
infrastructure.
Summary comparison
Based on the analysis conducted on the budgeting for the infrastructure of the UAE and
USA there is no doubt that without proper budgeting for infrastructure the education would still
be lagging behind. In both countries, the government plays an important role in funding schools
to ensure that student’s needs are met and that they have a healthy learning environment
(Gokulan, 2018). The UAE has been able to lead in the entire Middle East owing to their
continuous support for education through funding. In the USA on the other hand, there have been
many challenges whereby the government has been blamed for not being able to provide
adequate funds for schools to run themselves. In both countries however the policies for funds
distribution have clearly been spelled out to ensure that the allocated funds as indicated in the
budget are used effectively by the schools. The policies of usage of funds in completing
infrastructure stipulate that legal action is to be undertaken for this individual who misuses
funds. Improper usage of school funds can, therefore, result to arrest, suspension or even firing
of the employee. The UAE is more conservative while formulating school budget than the USA.
UAE tend to ensure that budgeting is future-oriented thus the schools are expected to prevent
themselves from setting very high expectations without the consideration of what they need
most.
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 8
Conclusion
In summary, based on the comparison made between the UAE and USA there is no doubt
that the finance system in an organization play a major role in ensuring that school activities are
undertaken smoothly. As stated in the report effective budgeting for infrastructure ought to
determine the entire levels of spending, there is the need to prepare a draft of the budget and
ensure that there is proper management of funds allocated to the school. This report has
examined in depth the budgeting for school infrastructure in the UAE and USA. From the
analysis, it has shown that there are many similarities in these countries based on their finance
system. Both countries fund education and also responsible for paying teachers' salaries. In spite
of that, there are changes that which ought to be made to ensure that budgeting for infrastructure
is done in the most appropriate manner. Both states ought to ensure that all the needs of the
schools or even facilities are properly indicated in the budget. Additionally, when the teacher's
salary should also be included in the budget to ensure that their needs are met and that they can
teach without raising complaints.
Recommendations and Own Opinion
Based on the analysis done on the two countries I think there is still more that can be
done. All incomplete school projects ought to be completed since funds have already been set
aside for that. Also concerning embezzlement of funds it is important to tighten the laws so that
people do not misuse funds meant for school development. In the future, more people should be
involved in budgeting for the school infrastructure to ensure projects are complete and on time.
BUDGETING FOR THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE 9
References
Banning-Lover, R. (2019, January 8). A beginner's guide to planning and managing school
budgets. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-
network/2016/jun/19/beginners-guide-planning-managing-school-budgets
Bernstein, J. (2019). Fixing our school facilities: An essential combination of education and
infrastructure policy. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/30/fixing-our-school-
facilities-an-essential-combination-of-education-and-infrastructure-
policy/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.06e2f80b6473
Camera, L. (2018, January 30). Access Denied. Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-01-31/infrastructure-spending-
for-schools-if-history-repeats-itself-no
D`mello, S. (2018, November 13). UAE will need 150 more schools by 2022: Study. Retrieved
from https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/uae-will-need-150-more-schools-by-2022-
study-1.60339797
Gokulan, D. (2018). Education in the UAE: Then, now and tomorrow. Retrieved from
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-40-anniversary/education-in-the-uae-then-now-and-
tomorrow
Export.gov. (2019). United Arab Emirates – Education. Retrieved from
https://www.export.gov/article?id=United-Arab-Emirates-Education
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10
The national. (2019, January 1). Dubai approves 2019 budget with focus on infrastructure ahead
of Expo 2020. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/dubai-
approves-2019-budget-with-focus-on-infrastructure-ahead-of-expo-2020-1.808434
Saber. (2019). What makes an school financesystemeffective? Retrieved from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-
1290520949227/7575842-
1299533754312/SABER_School_Finance_Framework_and_Approach_HDNED_websit
e.pdf
Teatechnology. (2018). How Are Schools In The U.S. Funded? Retrieved from
http://www.teach-nology.com/edleadership/funding_for_schools/
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