Course Syllabus

 

A635 | Public School Budget & Accounting | Summer 2026

 

Instructor Information

Shenia Suggs, Ed.D.

Welcome! I’m looking forward to our class. Your success as a student in school finance is important. I plan to do everything possible to make that happen. Contact me at any time. If you get a minute, please post a picture of yourself at work or study to your profile on Canvas. 

Office & Hours: My office hours are from 8:00 - 4:00 PM. I check my email often, but always at the beginning of the day and at the end of the work day.  I also check Canvas daily for messages.

Email: ssuggs@iu.edu

Course Description 

Preparation and use of a budget for a public school system as a controlling and guiding instrument for revenue, appropriations, expenditures, and unencumbered balances. The course is based on the requirements of the Indiana State Board of Accounts and the considered judgments of the video stream presenters and instructor.

Special Notes for Summer 2026

Here are some items I hope will be very useful in an effort to maximize our time and the learning in this course.

1. Read the syllabus before you begin. Assignments must be completed as scheduled. To wait until the last minute will make learning extremely difficult. Several segments of the course interlock in content and with the work of other students. If you have any questions on any part of the syllabus please ask for clarifications. 
2. Contact me with any questions you may have throughout the course.
3. Please note that each week of the course you will submit a Discussion question and/or comment through Canvas assignments. These are due each Saturday by 11:59 PM. Don’t delay. Assignments open and close automatically. Do the assignments well before the close time. We will use these questions and/or comments to help guide our discussions during our in-person meetings or synchronous virtual meetings.  Only one question or comment is required though you may pose a couple of questions. Our weekly meetings will give us a great opportunity to share ideas and explore the course content deeply.  
4. Canvas operates well. If you get “stuck” on something connected with the use of Canvas, I first suggest that you switch browsers. Next, call the IU Help desk at 247- HELP. These types of matters are usually settled very quickly.
5. All times are Eastern Daylight Savings times.
6. You can submit the 2 visual/content items (3-minute presentation & 6-8 minute presentation) any time prior to the stated deadlines. However, it will be helpful to understand some basic concepts learned in the course to help facilitate your work.  There is also an option to share ideas with me on Canvas in regards to the 6-8 minute presentation.  I’d be happy to provide feedback and guidance.
7. Please view the Videos in their numerical order. Course content is best understood in succession.
8. Two quizzes will be given on specific days during a specific window of time.
9. Please regularly check Canvas Announcements.
10. TBA means To Be Announced.
11. I will utilize “Announcements, Messages or Inbox” areas of Canvas to send whole class notes and updates. Please ensure your Canvas notifications are set to receive these messages in the manner you prefer (email, text, push notification, etc.)

Required Texts

Required articles will be posted in Canvas. Each article must be read to increase the frame of reference of the course content. Read each carefully. Articles will be posted intermittently. Check the Relevant Articles Module as well for additional resources.

You will also need to download & read the following items. Note: these can all be found in the Canvas Modules Weekly Readings & Videos pages.

• “Digest of Public School Finance In Indiana”- It is also located on the IDOE website
• IDOE Finance Website – Includes latest updates from the department
• “School - Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual”.  Click on “Manuals” and you will see School - Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual.  
• “Property Tax Terms” located on the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) website. It can be found here https://www.in.gov/dlgf/8081.htm
• Indiana Department of Revenue - Tax Types
• “Indiana Content Standards for Educators - School Leaders – Building Level” and “Indiana Content Standards for Educators – School Leaders – District Level” located on the IDOE website.
• DUAB: School Corporation Fiscal Indicators .

Please note that any of the above can be part of online comments, conversations, quizzes or any evaluation process.

Other: In addition, the following text provides an excellent guideline for overall school budget and finance information.  The text is not required but can provide a tremendous reference for future information in your leadership and future work.  Please see below:

School Finance: A Policy Perspective (Fourth Edition*Note this is an earlier edition which is actually the better book than the later edition) by Allan R. Odden & Lawrence O. Picus, ISBN: 978-0-07-352592-1 

Course Overview 

Being knowledgeable, conversant, and persuasive in the ongoing conversation about school funding in America is a necessity for all school leaders. The knowledge necessary to be part of this conversation is found at several levels: national, state, corporation, building & classroom. Knowledge and conversation about school finance is not confined to the schoolhouse - the conversation goes on across every community. This course will address material appropriate to each level and central to the conversation everywhere. A strong, applicable, working knowledge of the substance and mechanics of this conversation in Indiana will be among the student outcomes of this course. Resources articles are one voice in the conversation.

Course Outcomes 

Students will learn:

• Core concepts about school funding, revenue, and expenditures
• Budget practices at federal, state, and local levels
• Which fiscal policies and practices are in place in Indiana
• Some details of budgeting in Indiana which examine the concepts of equity, adequacy, access, complexity and the delivery of resources and instruction
• Key terms and formulas used to build tax structures, operating budgets/facilities
• Practices used by practitioners to develop building level budgets to support learning and community involvement
• How school finance is very important in implementing the changing goals outlined in current Indiana legislation (Indiana Code) and State Board of Education Rules
• To evaluate Indiana school data in order to accurately estimate a school corporation's ability to deliver education services and/or facilities

Students will be able to: 

• Engage in the school finance conversation
• Make an effective field presentation in an area of school finance appropriate to the ongoing conversation
• Speak knowledgeably about the Indiana school funding formula and budgets at several levels, as each impact services to customers, i.e. students, families & communities.
• Correctly access data on appropriate websites which will be useful in making fiscal analysis of Indiana
• Determine a School Corporation’s fiscal position
• Correctly compute fundamental data useful in school district budgeting and reach accurate conclusions
• Organize and implement a building level budget which complies with current state and local fiscal practices
• Intellectually connect the fiscal conversation to issues of democracy, capitalism, and social justice.

Attendance and Grading

Learning Activities/Assignments need to be completed in a thorough way. Calendar deadlines need to be observed. Total points of 90 or better will be some kind of A, a total of 80 or better will be some kind of B and so on.

The quizzes cover all material assigned, distributed, presented, read, viewed, downloaded or discussed to date. Any assignment submitted late will be penalized up to 100% of its point value.

Stay current with assignments, including watching the related videos. Taking notes on the video content will also be helpful to you and comments or questions concerning the content are always welcome and will be addressed in a timely manner.

General Guidance 

• Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation are required in written assignments.
• Written assignments are to be double-spaced in 12-point type and with 1-inch margins.
• Content is cumulative for all quizzes.
• Several video streams were developed in years past.  While the video may have aged, the information is timeless and extremely important to the conversation about budget and finance.
• To successfully complete this course you must begin each assignment well before the due date in order to meet the deadlines on time.  With the exception of the two quizzes, all other assignments are set to expire at 11:59 PM on the due date.
• Each week’s question from you must be based on that week’s module(s). While you’re encouraged to ask and discuss as much as you like, be certain you have an “on target” question submitted each week - on target means a question from the weeks’ work.
• Weekly meetings (asynchronous, synchronous, or in-person) will offer a great opportunity to explore ideas presented in the materials, as well as understand it through the lenses of our colleagues in the class.
• If you have a non-content question about an assignment, a personal situation, or an idea on how to improve the course, please send me a Canvas message. I check those messages frequently and will answer you directly.
• One page means one page, not front and back.
• Summer class meeting schedule is as follows:  

• • Wednesday, May 20 - Synchronous Class
  • Wednesday, May 27 - Synchronous Class

• • Tuesday, June 2 - Synchronous Class

• • Wednesday, June 10 - Synchronous Class
  • Wednesday, June 17 - Synchronous Class
  • Wednesday, June 24 - Synchronous Class

 Special Assignments 

5 Favorite Taxes - Due Tuesday, May 26th by 11:59 p.m.

List your five (5) favorite taxes and explain why you chose these particular taxes.  There is no right or wrong answer.  This is a great way to begin to think about how dollars flow and how taxes should be utilized to support schools.  The Indiana Department of Revenue website will be helpful at Indiana Tax Descriptions

3 Minute Process Presentation - Due Tuesday, June 2nd by 11:59 p.m.

For this task you will select a topic in school finance that is included in reading, the syllabus or your professional experience. Through a field interview, focus on a fiscal process/practice.  This topic should be an item like purchasing furniture, buying instructional equipment, repairing a broken HVAC unit, counting the bake sale money - anything that involves a school staff member and a monetary transaction. Meet with/interview the person in your corporation responsible for facilitating this process.  This could be a principal, the building treasurer, athletic director, or even the school corporation business official.  There are other possibilities too.  Name that individual. Report your findings by creating and submitting a video presentation. You should be able to explain how this topic is “actualized” in your corporation (how it is done formally or otherwise.) There is a 3-minute time limit on your presentation. Submit your video to Canvas. Note: I must “see” you in the video - No voice over PowerPoints accepted. 

6-8 Minute Presentation - Due Tuesday, June 16th by 11:59 p.m.

You will create a 6-8 minute video presentation. Your presentation will be aimed at convincing the group, real or imagined, that a particular program, process or project should be undertaken/supported. Group Examples: Rotary Club, school faculty, PTA, Superintendent’s Cabinet Program/Process/Project Examples: Turn swamp behind school into a nature study area, a student trip to Brazil) should be undertaken and/or supported. You name/pick the audience. The presentation will include at least five (5) concepts, ideas, facts or data references from A635 course. Further, this presentation will clearly link to any one of the Standards for Building Level Administrators.  A budget for the project must be displayed, clearly showing revenue and expenditures. During the presentation a direct link to an appropriate website must be smoothly integrated. Connect your presentation to the ongoing conversation about school finance in Indiana.

Your presentation must include a PowerPoint presentation (or some type of presentation slides) within the video (not a PP with voice-over). Within the PowerPoint presentation you will need to include a live link that will supplement the content of your presentation. In addition, a one-sided, one-page, double-spaced (12-pt font) outline should be electronically submitted via Canvas, along with the presentation. Your grade will be based on how well you address the points/components above.  

Community Donation Assignment

You will complete a donation assignment on Friday, June 19th by 11:59 PM.  This assignment is designed to facilitate exploration of the community norms and expectations as it relates to school funding. 

Quiz #1 & Quiz #2

• Quiz #1 will occur on Monday, June 8th. It is 60 minutes in length during a 24 hr window.
• Quiz #2 will occur on Monday, June 22nd. It is 120 minutes in length during a 24 hr window to complete both Part 1 and Part 2 (60 minutes for each part)

Weekly Discussions- Due Each Saturday by 11:59 p.m 

Each student, each week, by 11:59 PM on Saturday, must submit a Discussion question or remark for comment to the instructor. The first entry is on May 23rd and the last entry is on June 20th. This can be done by putting your question or comment in the appropriate dated location in Assignments in Canvas. You may respond to a classmate’s comments as it relates to the material being studied in the course.  In response, the instructor will address the questions in the following meeting according to the schedule/calendar.  Please be sure to have your notification settings turned on to receive emails/texts/push notifications. These Q & As will pull together some of the thoughts and questions of students, which when addressed by the instructor, will provide useful knowledge and learning for the entire class.

Timeline of Major Events in Indiana School Funding - Due Wednesday, June 24th by 11:59 p.m. 

Based on course content you will design a timeline of major events in Indiana school funding history. It is to be readable and only one-page. A simple traditional timeline will do or use a program/graphic that provides unique design. Submit via Canvas.