The purpose of this study was to confirm the necessity of a financial resource guide for beginning secondary choral directors in Texas. Budgetary information was gathered through an on-line survey addressing the financial knowledge of 25 participants made up of choral directors, college professors, fine arts directors and student teachers. Further information was gathered from college course guides, music periodicals and college textbooks. From the gathered survey data, a definite need for better financial education was identified. Collected data also demonstrated the necessity for additional courses to be added to the college curriculum with expanded literature on budgeting. Recommended college courses, as well as a calendar time line, Web sites for on-line music software, fundraising tips and budget proposals are also included resources.

School finance is the topic of numerous research studies; printed in newspapers and magazines, heard on the radio and television, and frequently spoken among educators throughout the nation. Anyone dealing with education is searching for methods of obtaining additional funds for projects and supplies; and even adding money directly to school districts' budgets. To better understand the importance of searching for additional funds to supplement the annual school districts' budgets, this study examines four sources for obtaining financial assistance: partnerships, fundraising, foundations, and local source venues. Participants include 10 school districts in the state of Texas having only a single high school campus; five Chapter 41 school districts and five Chapter 42 school districts. Two school districts are selected from each classification level: A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA. One Chapter 41 (wealthy) district will be compared with one Chapter 42 (poor) school district within the same classification level. The five selected Chapter 41 school districts are above the equalized wealth limit of $305,000 per weighted average daily attendance. Data gathering procedures utilize a purposive case study by interviewing administrators in each of the school districts; studying Texas Education Agency's School Report Card, each school district's Actual Financial Data Report; sending a survey to a district administrator within each school district; gathering data from the directors of partners-in-education or adopt-a-school programs; reviewing financial records from booster clubs and education foundations; and studying financial audits for each of the school districts. This study looks at the dependency on outside financial assistance to further educational endeavors, whether they are for enrichment purposes or for extended educational pursuits. The study examines how each school district utilizes some combination of supplements to obtain additional funds for their annual budgets, whether the district is classified as Chapter 41 or 42. Using the actual financial data records for each school district, per-pupil revenue is determined. Not all school districts have access to education foundations, and not all school districts rely on business partners in education. Yet, all school districts receive assistance from local parent-teacher organizations and booster clubs and allow fundraising efforts among the various campuses. All school districts have access to local support venues, even though some are quite limited. Overall, these four areas of obtaining additional funds make only a small percentage of impact upon the majority of the school district's budgets. Yet, some of the school districts are impacted by these revenue sources as much as the percentage of federal aid received.

The problem of this study was to determine the status of program budgeting in selected Texas public schools as perceived by superintendents of those schools. The purposes were (1) to determine the implementation status of program budgeting in the major concept areas of systems analysis, multiyear planning, objective-based programs, cost inclusiveness, and administrative commitment and (2) to determine if the perception of the superintendents differed significantly depending upon the size of the school district they represent. Conclusions and recommendations for effective transition to a program budgeting system were then formulated. It was concluded from the findings that program budgeting concepts are present in all sizes of school districts surveyed; however, the data failed to reveal a fully implemented system in operation in any of the districts. The moderate level of program budgeting implementation in school districts appears to be the result of mandated utilization of the program-oriented accounting system. The program budgeting concepts other than the program budget seems to be implemented only to the degree necessary to adequately operationalize the required accounting system elements. There were no significant differences for any of the concept items relative to the size of the districts. Tire review of the literature failed to reveal significant encouragement from the state level for the full implementation of a program budgeting system in local school districts. It was implied from, the findings and conclusions that program budgeting should continue as a priority for Texas school districts, and efforts at all levels of education be expended to establish fully operational program budgeting systems in Texas school districts.