MANAGING RESOURCES
In this unit you have mainly considered resources that are either already in the school
or freely available in the surrounding area or community. There will, however, be times
when funds are needed to pay for transport, fees, equipment, materials or tools. This
may be for new items or for the maintenance of current resources.
This is a challenge for school leaders in schools where the community is poor. Where
there are affluent parents, donors or benefactors, there are options to seek money for
resources; however, some school leaders and committees, like the SMC, will need to
be more persistent in not only seeking but maximizing optimal utilization of funds.
Funding is most readily given for specific projects (e.g. a library, gardening tools,
blackboard paint) and is more likely to be given on an ongoing basis if the resource is
seen to be effective in supporting student learning and is well used. The school leader
needs to be able to offer a persuasive argument for investing in the school’s resources
but then also follow up with evaluation reports on their use in order to inspire further
investment. It may be useful to share your resource target and plan with a potential
funder in order to encourage their investment. You may even present a budget. It may
be that if there is not a single investor, there are individuals who are prepared to
contribute to a larger resource target; people may, for example, each donate a single
gardening tool or some seeds for a farming project.
Where parents are asked for contributions towards resources, this should be
commensurate with their income levels and take account of their other financial
outgoings. There is potential to exclude some students if a resource depends on
parental contribution (e.g. school field trips) and therefore options for subsidy or
payment plans needs to be considered if students are to have equal learning
opportunities.
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