Running Head: MEDIA CENTER BUDGET

Media Center Budget

Cara E. Humphries

University of West Georgia

MEDT 6461: Administration of School Media

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Reese Road Leadership Academy (RRLA) is located in Columbus, Georgia in Muscogee

County School District. Columbus is the second largest city in Georgia. Reese Road Leadership

Academy serves Kindergarten through 5th grade students, including two specialized classrooms

with students that have emotional behavior disorders. Reese Road Leadership Academy is one

of 8 Leader in Me, Lighthouse Schools in Georgia. RRLA is also a Title I school, in which most

students receive free/reduced lunch. We are also a magnet academy. Each grade level has one

magnet class. The current enrollment at Reese Road Leadership Academy is approximately 500.

There are many different ethnic backgrounds that attend RRLA. The ethnic breakdown of

students includes: 59% Black, 21% White, 10% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 2% Asian, 1% American

Indian, <1% Pacific Islander. 70% of our students come from low-income families and 10 % are

English Language Learners. RRLA has a large population of students with disabilities as well. The

percentage of students with disabilities comes in above the state average with 20% of students

having an IEP.

Currently, RRLA implements Leader in Me Lessons weekly. Each teacher uses Stephen Covey’s 7

habits of Highly Effective People to guide lessons. Along with Leader in Me, our district has adopted the

PBIS initiative, which is used in every school for positive behavior interventions. Third, fourth, and fifth

grade students are departmentalized by subject and rotate to different classes each day. Our school also

provides opportunities for students to join a variety of clubs such as guitar club, math club, violin club,

art club, and many others. Our school is also in the process of becoming a STEAM certified school. We

believe that students learn best when they are engaged and allowed to show their creativity.
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I am a first year Media Specialist for Reese Road Leadership Academy. I do not have access to a

media center budget. Mrs. Long, the principal of the school was interviewed about the media center

budget. Mrs. Long stated that the district disperses funds as one lump sum (personal communication,

November 6, 2018). The administrator then uses funds according to the needs of the school. She also

stated that money that is allocated for the media center is only to be used to purchase books,

technology, software, and materials for the media center. Since our district is striving for 1:1 status by

2020, the district has purchased the majority of the technology available at our school. The other

technology has been purchased through Title I, so our principal has used the money allocated for that in

the media center budget for other materials that are needed.

A technology inventory was taken at the beginning of the school year to determine technology

needs.

2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 Total

Print Materials
Books $2800 $2800 $2800 $8400
GA Studies $1225 $1225 $1225 $3675
Weekly for 2nd-5th
Technology
Mice (10) $27 $27 $27 $81
Headphones w/ $85 $85 $85 $255
microphones (10)
iPad (2) $558 $558 $558 $1674
Software
Pebble Go Books $500 $500 $500 $1500
STEAM
Lego Go Brick Me $140 $140 $280
(5)
Makerspace $200 $200 $200 $600
materials
Ozobots (5) $265 $265
Bloxels (10) $200 $200
STEAM Lab $605 $465 $1070
Total $6000 $6000 $6000 $18,000

BOOKS:
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This year, I’ve been working to update our collection in the media center. Our current average age of the

collection is 2000. Some books have been weeded and new books purchased, but there is still a need for

more fiction, chapter books. More copies of popular titles will be purchased this school year. The library

was reconfigured before school started and books were rearranged according to the Dewey Decimal

System. Students have appreciated this format because they are able to find books independently. This

year, we have already purchased new hard-back non-fiction titles from Smart Apple Media.

GA STUDIES WEEKLY:

Teachers at Reese Road Leadership Academy use GA Studies Weekly to teach Georgia social studies

standards. These newspapers integrate reading, language arts, and social studies skills. The program also

offers an online component and weekly assessments.

MICE & HEADPHONES:

Additional mice and headphones with microphones are needed yearly to ensure that students have the

proper equipment to use computers and laptops. Our district has many digital programs that are

required by all students such as Lexia and Achieve 3000.

IPADS:

Our school is working towards becoming a STEAM certified school. We will purchase two iPads each year

to use in the media center to teach coding using Bloxels. We will also use the iPads for the production of

podcasts and videos.

PEBBLE GO BOOKS:

This software license will be purchased for the whole school to use. This program can be used for

students with accommodations or whole group. It has several non-fiction topics. With each topic there is
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a read-aloud component and printable activity. Several teachers use this for science and social studies

topics.

LEGO GO BRICK ME:

These kits will be purchased to be added to the Makerspace in the library. The library already has a

variety of different colored Legos but is in need of more Legos that will allow students to create people.

These Legos will also be used to incorporate literacy activities and engineering.

MAKERSPACE MATERIALS:

In order to foster creativity, the media center has a makerspace with a variety of art materials. These

materials will be replenished yearly.

OZOBOTS & BLOXELS:

Ozobots and Bloxels will be purchased for use in the library as well as for teachers to check out for use in

the classroom. Ozobots are used to teach students the basics of coding using different colored markers

to tell the robot which actions to do. Bloxels are used to teach students how to code video games. With

these materials, students are working on science, technology, and math standards.

STEAM LAB:

Since our school is working towards becoming a STEAM school, we will create a space within the

building for a STEAM lab. This space will house several different kinds of materials used for creating

projects. This space will also house STEAM bins and materials for science experiments.
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References

K. Long, personal communication, November 6, 2018.