The Wilkinson County Middle High School Media Center has a total annual budget of $7,500 from the district. This budget will be divided into thirds to support the three goals of the Strategic Management Plan: 1) Develop the library as a learning commons with new technology and materials, 2) Purchase more ebooks and databases for instruction, and 3) Add an Accelerated Reader math subscription and Common Core resources to increase test scores. Funding will also continue for existing supplies and Accelerated Reader rewards budgets.

1. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 1
Strategic Management Plan
SMP6: Budget Plan
Prioritizing with Dollars
K. Hope Goodner
Georgia Southern University

2. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 2
Budget Sources
At the Wilkinson County Middle High School Media Center, budgeting is determined at
the district level per school, resulting in a budget of $3,750 for the middle school and $3,750 for
the high school, for a total of $7,500. This budget is supplemented with $375 for assorted
supplies and approximately $600 in miscellaneous fundraising. According to the Georgia State
Department of Education Earnings Sheet for FY 2014 Wilkinson County and the Weights for
FTE Funding Formula report, the FTE per student for the media center should be 2.1485%,
totaling $99.78.
A small facility, only serving approximately 700 students, the Wilkinson County Middle
High School Media Center has not been subject to many of the budget cuts mentioned by
McClung (“Budget cuts” 2012, p. 33) that have affected many SLMPs nationwide; the budget
has been the same for as long as the SLMS can remember. For the current needs of the facility
and program, the budget is adequate according to the school library media specialist. However,
with the ever-changing realm of education, the current needs and budget are misrepresented. The
SLMS spends nearly all of the money available on books, with none of the budget devoted
towards the development of a learning commons area or the virtual facility.

3. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 3
Budgeting Plan
Funding for the supplies and Accelerated Reader rewards will remain the same from last
year. The supplies budget is used to purchase various tapes, labels, laminating film, and office
supplies. The Accelerated Reader rewards budget is funded from various fundraising projects,
completed throughout the year such as doughnut sales and candy sales, and is used throughout
the year to reward students who have reached certain points milestones with parties, prizes, and
fieldtrips.
The remaining budget will be divided three ways in support of each of the three goals
outlined in the Strategic Management Plan: Program Plan. Resources will be spent equally
amongst the three goals to enrich the value of the school library media program as an integral
part of the school community.
Goal 1: In order to promote a lifelong love of learning, the SLMS will devote this portion
of the budget towards developing the library media center as a learning commons area. Gaming
consoles, corresponding games, comfortable seating, and ebooks for the new Nooks will be
purchased. Media center professionals should make “user-centered” to better the media center
decisions as suggested by Harland (“Toward a learning commons” p. 34). In order to be more
user-centered and for students to come to love the library media center and all that it offers,
SLMSs must draw them in with technology and social interaction; once students are in the
facility, the battle is half won. Also as an allocated portion of this budget, Follett subscriptions
will be purchased at the middle and high school levels; books to be purchased will include Great
Reads for Girls, Great Reads for Boys, core-related books, popular books, award-winning books,
high-interest low-level books, and starred review books. By providing students with access to

4. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 4
new and relevant books that are of interest to them, they come to value the library and its role in
the process of lifelong learning.
Goal 2: To create students and staff who are effective users of information and ideas, the
SLMS will allocate this portion of the budget to purchase more ebooks and accesses to online
databases to be used in collaboration and instruction. As noted by Farmer, “The overall budget
for ebooks remains small” (“Brace yourself”, p. 42); however, if SLMSs work the purchase of
ebooks in the budget to serve other purchases, the collections can grow quite quickly. Accesses
to online databases make appropriate information more readily available to teachers and
students, thereby providing more instructional opportunities pertaining to the effective and
ethical use of information and ideas, which is the mission of the school library program as
expressed in Empowering Learners (2009, p. 8).
Goal 3: As a way to increase student test scores on End-Of-Course Tests and student
Learning objectives, a portion of the budget must be spent on proven methods to increase
achievement. In addition to the reading Accelerated Reader subscription that the school currently
holds, the math subscription will be added as a method to increase test scores through quizzing
reminiscent of benchmark testing. Purchasing high-interest low-level books also will also
contribute to the accomplishing of this goal by encouraging lower level readers to read more,
thereby increasing their level of comprehension. Blended funding will also be utilized to
purchase new Common Core resources as suggested by Harris (“Enter ‘Blended Funding” 2012,
p. 16), with each content-specific department budgets and textbook budgets partially funding
resources to support the Common Core literacy standards in conjunction with the SLMP budget.

5. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 5
29%
29%
29%
8% 5%
Budgeting Plan
Goal 1: $2,500 Increase the level
of student learning by instilling a
lifelong love of learning in
students in order to ensure their
educational success in post-
secondary education and beyond.
Goal 2: $2,500 Increase the level
of student learning by providing
students with education that
promotes a community of
students and staff who are
effective users of information and
ideas.
Goal 3: $2,500 Increase student
achievement on standardized
tests to move off of the Priority
List by collaborating with
content area teachers to
integrate the Standards for the
21st-Century Learner into
instruction, using the Common
Core Crosswalk.
Accelerated Reader Rewards:
$600
Supplies: $375

6. SMP6: BUDGET PLAN 6
Resources
"Empowering Learners: ", American Library Association, April 20, 2009.
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/program-guidelines (Accessed April 18,
2014)
Farmer, L. (2012) Brace yourself. School Library Journal, 58(3), 38-43. http://proxygsu-
gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
ofm&AN=72884580&site=ehost-live
Georgia state department of education earnings sheet for fy 2014. (2014, February 17). Retrieved
from http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/qbe_reports.public_menu?p_fy=2000
Harris, C. (2012). Enter 'Blended Funding'. School Library Journal, 58(12), 16.http://proxygsu-
gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
ofm&AN=84310401&site=ehost-live
Harland, P. (2011). Toward a learning commons: Where learners are central. Teacher Librarian,
38(4), 32-36.
McClung, P. (2012). Budget cuts: How to deal with less. School Library Monthly, 28(5), 33-35.
Persistent link to this record (Permalink): http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofm&AN=70701607&site=eho
st-live
Weights for fte funding formula. (2013, June 17). Retrieved from http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows
bin/owa/qbe_reports.public_menu?p_fy=2000